This film “Challenging Careers in Chemistry” was produced by Motion Picture Service and presented by the Agricultural Research Service at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). It probably dates to 1958 or 1959, and serves as an announcement of the A-R-S Summer Trainee Program to persuade undergraduate and graduate students of Chemistry, Biochemistry, and Chemical Engineering to join. The film shows different opportunities that ARS brings to young researchers, such as freedom to explore the latest equipment, receive research associateships & fellowships, prompt publication of research results, career service benefits, attractive salaries, and advancement based on research accomplishments. The film is also educational in the sense that it provides step by step guide to certain chemical processes.
A scientist holding a beaker conducting an experiment in a lab (00:55). Similar imagery with different tools such as a microscope (1:59). The Agriculture Research Service building (2:02). American University Washington D.C.’s Hearst Building (2:56). Students, including a Black girl, interacting with each other on the campus of A-R-S (4:20). Physical chemist in A-R-S lab (4:40). Two suited men discussing a chemical formula (4:43). Organic chemist creating polyfoam plastic made of resins derived from castor oil (4:55). Polymerization explained with imagery to transform agricultural products (6:00). Animation of components of corn starch (6:15). Scientist grounding corn in a laboratory and extracting the starch (6:24). Oxidation of the starch to create aldehyde starch (7:05). Scientist cutting a piece of leather to show the use of dialdehyde starch in tanning leather (7:18). The process to determine the shrinkage temperature of the leather (7:42). Chemical engineer setting up miniature factory to produce paper through dialdehyde starch (8:11). Shows paper made through dialdehyde starch resists disintegration by water (8:30). A baby’s face being cleaned with the sneeze proof tissues or wet napkin (8:47). Two men in lab coats taking notes of a machine in the manufacturing site (8:57). A woman with the test tube (9:17) Liquid boiling in a Pyrex flask (9:40). A man experimenting on animal fat (9:47). Gas chromatograph facilitating the experiment (10:15). A woman conducting plasticization (10:28). Vinyl raincoats donned, a plastic shower curtain put up, a rubber garden hose and child’s toy car are shown (10:54). Piles of oil-bearing seeds spray out of a harvester driven by a Black farm worker (11:08). Five female scientists in a lab looking through microscopes (11:33). A fiber of cotton seen through a microscopic lens (11:54). Creating cotton fabric (12:29). Turning wool into thread and then cotton fabric (13:01) microbiological chemist using a microscope for research. (13:44). A number of published papers (14:11). Suited men sitting around a table for a meeting (14:17). Man smelling and tasting cheese (14:35). Production of Dextrose (medicine) bottles (15:12). The way a spectrophotometer works (16:20). Two scientists making sheet film (16:42). A scientist drinking dehydrated/powdered whole milk (17:36). Creating dry tomato juice created by creative scientists (18:30). Danger sign of radioactive material (18:45). Scientist conducting a radioactive reaction test (18:50). A centrifuge is used in a lab (19:00). Nixie tube type Spectrometer (19:10). Two men using a machine at the lab to remove radionuclides from milk in the event of nuclear accident (19:35). Images of the device that removes the radionuclides from milk (21:07). Scientists in a lab growing crystals (21:55). A-R-S commercial of the benefits of the Summer Trainee Program (23:10).
The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is the principal in-house research agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). ARS is charged with extending the nation’s scientific knowledge and solving agricultural problems through its four national program areas: nutrition, food safety and quality; animal production and protection; natural resources and sustainable agricultural systems; and crop production and protection. ARS has five major regional research centers: Albany, California, Fort Collins, Colorado, New Orleans, Louisiana, Peoria, Illinois and Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania.
This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
