Hi!
I am a biologist pursuing advanced degrees in chemistry/biochemistry. This is not by accident and I am very invested in making this pivot so that I can study biological systems through a chemical lens. I recently got the opportunity to ask a chemist for advice and she recommended that I beef up my comfort/familiarity with math. Our meeting was brief and I wasn't able to ask her to elaborate.
I have always had a moderate phobia of advanced math. Excepting statistics, I haven't taken a math course since my freshman year of undergrad, which was Integral Calculus. I miraculously managed a B, but I would be lying if I said I remembered anything useful or have consciously applied anything I learned there since then. But it's high time I face my fear and befriend math. I have under a year until I start my PhD, so a comprehensive review of all math relevant to chemistry is beyond my capability, especially as I am finishing up my Master's.
So, I am seeking informed opinions on where I should focus my efforts. Specifically, I am aiming to do work in metabolomics, so analytical chemistry is about to become my best friend. What kind of math does an analytical chemist do on a daily basis? What topics/equations are essential to work in that field or fundamental to understanding how the instruments work/ how the analytes respond to the instruments?
I am not looking to become a mathematician; I just want to know what I need to know so that I can be good at what I do.
Best & thanks!
