Book explores ethics, science | News

In his new book “The Ethical Chemist,” University of Tennessee chemistry professor Jeffrey Kovac seeks to provide readers with an introduction to chemistry ethics and a collection of relevant case studies.

While there have been a number of books dealing with the ethics of scientific study, Kovac said that “The Ethical Chemist” is the only text written expressly for an audience of chemists.

The book’s first four chapters provide an overview of ethical theory, ethics and professionalism in science as well as ethical problem solving. The remaining bulk of the book presents 50 case studies with commentaries.

The hypothetical cases in the book are all based on real, practical situations that might be encountered by anyone from undergraduate chemistry students to professional researchers.

“I don’t know a book that does that as extensively as my book,” Kovac said.

While the 2003 Prentice Hall publication of “The Ethical Chemist” marks the first major market printing of Kovac’s book, the first edition of the text that would become “The Ethical Chemist” actually saw limited publication in 1993. A second edition was published in 1995 through a local coffee shop. Around five hundred copies were published.

“It was a word of mouth kind of thing,” Kovac said.

Over the years, Kovac has enlisted the aid of various UT students to assist with the process of writing and revising the book.

During the summer of 2002, Rachel Graves, a junior in mathematics, brought a student’s perspective to the project.

“I read cases and commented on everything from the clarity of sentence structure to the appeal of character names,” Graves said.

As for the book itself, Graves suggested that one of the key strengths of the book is its emphasis on the frequency of ethical dilemmas in chemical research and the necessity of identifying and evaluating them as they occur.

“(Kovac) recognizes that you cannot anticipate every ethical situation that may arise,” Graves said, “and he respects the individual’s right to decide what the ethical course of action is.”

Kovac received his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Reed College in 1970. He went on to attend Yale University, where he earned his master’s and doctorate degrees. He spent two years as a postdoctoral research associate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology before joining the faculty of the University of Tennessee in 1976. Kovac also serves as director of the Tennessee Governor’s School for the Sciences.