Python for P-Chem

I just got back from an ESCIP Workshop. ESCIP stands for Enhancing Science Courses by Integrating Python. ESCIP partnered with MolSSI (the Molecular Sciences Institute) and hence this workshop was aimed at faculty members mainly in the physical sciences. The examples used were therefore well-geared towards someone like me who teaches both general chemistry and physical chemistry. The majority of us were chemists, but there were some physicists, and even one mathematician. There were around forty people, a nice size for a workshop.

 

Recently, one of my colleagues took the plunge and started incorporating python into our analytical chemistry lab course. Python is useful for data analysis and manipulation. I mean manipulation in a good way. Not faking data, but arranging and rearranging it to learn what is going on in our scientific experiments (or computations). My colleague had posed the possibility of scaffolding python across our curriculum. The next logical place for our chemistry majors to see python is P-Chem. While I considered taking the plunge last academic year, we were just getting back to in-person courses and I thought that students had enough to deal with so I held off. I’m not teaching P-Chem this academic year, but I’m slated for next academic year.

 

I’ve never learned python properly. When I taught myself to code and write scripts, python didn’t exist. There’s an inertia to learning something new, especially since I can do what I want (for my research) in a more archaic programming language. But for our students today, and especially for the science majors, it would be a disservice if they did not learn some fundamentals of utilizing an open-source scripting language. It’s super useful in so many contexts, and I think python is the right choice today. But if I want my students to do something, I should be able to do it myself.

 

The workshop was fantastic! And very well organized. I prepared for the workshop by doing some python tutorials through MolSSI. There were live-coding sessions, and the primary instructor was very experienced in moving us through the process. I learned some good pedagogical practices just by observing the instructor(s) in action. Even more valuable was the opening of my eyes to resources I didn’t know existed. The workshop brought folks who had built and maintained excellent resources, and as participants we were able to tap directly into their expertise. I also appreciate learning about the many caveats and tricky points from those who had gone before.

 

While I’m normally introverted and quiet at conferences, I made an extra effort to meet new people and get to know them. I made a number of connections that will help me as I incorporate python into P-Chem starting in the fall semester. I’m glad I waited because after seeing the resources and making the connections with experts at this workshop, I feel better prepared and more motivated! It was also a wonderful experience to be with so many other physical chemists in the same room. At most small schools and liberal arts college (and many of us were from these types of institutions), there aren’t many physical chemists. Only students majoring in chemistry (and in some cases biochemistry) need to take P-Chem. That’s a much smaller proportion than students who take G-Chem or O-Chem, so one doesn’t need to hire many P-Chemists. I loved exchanging ideas with these colleagues, many of whom were younger early career folks who were enthusiastic and got me excited about what can be done in our P-Chem courses. This was one of the highlights of the workshop.

 

But now I’m back to focusing on the start of my spring semester this week. Once things get underway, I’ll be able to devote some time to strategizing for python in P-Chem in the fall. In any case, I feel energized by this workshop and hope to bring that energy into the classroom as I meet my students for the first time in class this week!