Claim: Marie Curie was trained in an academic discipline.

A chemist -LRB- from Greek chēm -LRB- ía -RRB- alchemy + - ist ; replacing chymist from Medieval Latin alchimista -RRB- is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry . Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties . Chemists carefully describe the properties they study in terms of quantities , with detail on the level of molecules and their component atoms . Chemists carefully measure substance proportions , reaction rates , and other chemical properties . The word ` chemist ' is also used to address Pharmacists in Commonwealth English .   Chemists use this knowledge to learn the composition , and properties of unfamiliar substances , as well as to reproduce and synthesize large quantities of useful naturally occurring substances and create new artificial substances and useful processes . Chemists may specialize in any number of subdisciplines of chemistry . Materials scientists and metallurgists share much of the same education and skills with chemists . The work of chemists is often related to the work of chemical engineers , who are primarily concerned with the proper design , construction and evaluation of the most cost-effective large-scale chemical plants and work closely with industrial chemists on the development of new processes and methods for the commercial-scale manufacture of chemicals and related products .