When Dr. Bill Carroll lobbied for the president’s seat at the American Chemical Society, many in the industry were questioning whether there was a future for chemistry in the U.S.

In his presentation and advice session to about two dozen science students at Missouri Western State University on Tuesday, he started with some grim facts that would suggest the naysayers were on target — 40 percent to 50 percent of chemistry, physics and math teachers in American high schools will retire or will be eligible to retire in the next five years. More sobering was Dr. Carroll’s assertion that about 50 percent of the current high school chemistry teachers have less than a minor in chemistry as their qualification.

“The most critical thing to point out is that if we’re going to build our future on technology,” he said, “we need a better foundation and we need to feed that foundation by encouraging people into teaching.”

Dr. Carroll addressed the current job market in the sciences and said most new graduates are flocking to companies with fewer than 500 employees. He said people are finding more opportunity to come in and “make a difference” there. He warned that “right now is a tough time to get started,” but that there could be a silver lining for the dedicated.

“What you will discover is that you are now in a global market,” he said. “Regret it if you like, but that’s the way it is ... In spite of the way the current economic situation is, there are some opportunities. It is more important now than it has ever been that you network.”

His recommendation is for students to take a broad interest in science but have depth in a specific discipline. Many people, he said, ask “what is hot” in regard to which discipline they should pursue. His answer is always in the form of a question: “What interests you?” He added that the passionate and talented will be rewarded.

As president of the ACS, Dr. Carroll was part of a contingent that visited China and discussed issues with members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences a few years ago. He said he was stunned to learn that more and more Chinese students are turning away from the sciences and toward business and law. China faces a similar problem in education, with science teachers who have little or no background in what they’re teaching.

Still, China is graduating many more in the math and science fields than American institutions. Some academics look at the numbers and fear that America’s grip on the world science community will dissolve. Others, such as Dr. Carroll, look at the quality of the institutions in China, which beyond the top 10, don’t compare to the quality of the average higher education institution in America.

“To some extent, we have that in the U.S. as well, but it is certainly true there,” he said. “I don’t look at competing globally as being a place where we are destined to lose ... but you have to want to compete.”

Dr. Carroll suggests research shows that when competing globally, the game begins with middle school students. American students’ science test results begin to fall below the world average in middle school. Unfortunately, around the time a student hits the eighth grade, he or she is making the decision whether to enter science and math.

“If you’re going to pick one thing to fix,” Dr. Carroll said, “it’s to find a way of doing a better job of presenting science, encouraging people into science in the middle-school level.”

Dr. Carroll, going back to networking again, said it’s important for teachers to have a strong network, as well as the technical knowledge to engage students effectively, especially in high schools.

“High school teaching is perhaps the loneliest job in the world,” he said. “It’s like a stand-up comic doing six shows a night. Some nights, the audience is kind of hostile.”

Jimmy Myers can be reached at jimmym@npgco.com.