This study presents the experiences of current science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) Ph.D. students and alumni with respect to professional development opportunities in their Ph.D. training. Specifically, it investigates if and how the Ph.D. training supports graduates to pursue non-academic and non-R&D roles, which have become increasingly common career paths post-graduation. A mixed-methods questionnaire was developed to obtain quantitative and qualitative data regarding the graduate school experiences of current Ph.D. students and recent Ph.D. graduates pursuing diverse career paths. The study investigates the values, needs, and conceptions of professional development from the student perspective, as well as the contributions of peers and mentors in graduate school towards their professional development. Experiences of Ph.D. alumni are used to identify the barriers for transitioning to the first job post-graduation and to provide an assessment of the current professional development opportunities in Ph.D. programs. It is reported that although Ph.D. training allowed alumni to develop a robust skillset that includes research, teaching, and scientific writing; some common barriers associated with obtaining a job post-graduation were lack of awareness about career options, limited or no professional networks outside academia, and a lack of preparation and support for non-academic job transitions. Through analyzing the student perspective on various aspects of professional development, the study identifies gaps and avenues for improvement for professional development in Ph.D. training, including increased awareness of diverse career paths for STEM PhDs, increased networking opportunities for PhD students with sectors outside academia, embedding professional development in the PhD curriculum, and others; so that programs can support students in entering the labor market in a variety of careers that extend beyond academia and traditional R&D jobs, using interventions that resonate with the students and meet their needs.

Professional development in chemistry doctoral programs has traditionally relied on the skills and opportunities embedded within the requirements of the Ph.D. program being sufficient for employment. As a result, little emphasis is usually placed on career planning and exploration within the doctoral curriculum. Additionally, the support provided in finding employment after graduation can vary largely depending on individual advisors, departments, and university resources. Although the resources provided by individual departments for chemistry doctoral students may appear sufficient, this article discusses the establishment and implementation of a peer-supported professional-development initiative (PSPDI): a nondepartmentally initiated program created by doctoral students for doctoral students to provide opportunities for professional development and career resources. The implementation of a PSPDI and the benefits a peer-supported program are discussed, along with other details that may be relevant for programs looking to implement or enhance existing doctoral professional-development programs.

Today, scientists increasingly bear the responsibility of sharing scientific results with the public. To help meet this challenge, there is a need to provide scientists with training in science outreach and education. This kind of professional development would benefit both scientists and the public if scientists could learn these skills while simultaneously creating resources that can be shared with the larger community. To this end, we have developed "Annotator Professional Development," an interactive professional development opportunity designed to introduce interested graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and STEM professionals to the basic principles of science education through participation in an educational outreach opportunity. Here we present details about this project including data suggesting that participants begin to comprehend how outreach skills can be valuable in a variety of STEM careers. We also discuss the feasibility and potential of expanding the program.

Increasingly, communicating science to the public is recognized as the responsibility of professional scientists; however, these skills are not always included in graduate training. In addition, most research on science communication training during graduate school, which is limited, has been program evaluation or literature reviews and does not report on or seek to understand graduate student perspectives. This research study provides a comprehensive analysis of graduate-level science communication training from the perspective of STEM graduate students. Using a mixed-methods approach, this study aimed to investigate where graduate students are receiving science communication training (if at all), what this training looks like from the student’s point of view, and, for graduate students that are engaging in science communication, what do these experiences look like. This study also explores how graduate students define science communication. Taken together, these results will give graduate students a voice in the development of science communication trainings and will remove barriers and increase equity in science communication training.

Medieval gunpowder recipes of potassium nitrate (KNO3), charcoal (C), and sulfur (S8) were investigated by bomb calorimetry to determine their enthalpies of combustion and by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) to determine their pre-ignition and propagative ignition enthalpies. Various sample preparation methods and several additional ingredients were also tested to determine any effects on the thermodynamic values. Gunpowder recipes were prepared and used in a replica cannon that was manufactured and operated according to medieval records. Post-firing residues were collected from the bomb calorimeter and the cannon in efforts to further characterize recipe energetics using DSC. In general, during the period of 1338–1400, the %KNO3 increased, and heats of combustion decreased, while between 1400 and 1460, the %KNO3 decreased, and heats of combustion increased. However, since KNO3 was usually found in the post-bomb calorimetry and post-cannon firing residues, it was not the limiting reactant. The highest pre-ignition and propagative ignition energies occurred when the KNO3:S8 ratio was 3:1 as determined by DSC, and the highest enthalpies of combustion were measured for recipes where the KNO3:C ratio was 1:1 as determined by bomb calorimetry.