1. What made you want to be a chemist?

When I was a junior high school student, I was charmed by the periodic table. I have never lost interest in it because of its beauty. I needed to understand the nature of all atoms. Now, there is a big Japanese poster of "A periodic table for a family" produced by the Japan Foundation of Public Communication on Science and Technology in my office, so I can always see it.

2. If you weren't a chemist and could do any other job, what would it be - and why?

A painter or a farmer. One of my grandfathers was a painter. He painted beautiful pictures of plants or animals on Japanese traditional cloth. My other grandfather was a rice farmer. He grew Koshihikari, the very popular and most expensive variety of rice in Japan. My family considered me to be the most likely successor in either event.

3. How can chemists best contribute to the world at large?

Education. People tend to keep chemistry at a distance. A product that originates from natural resources is highly thought of by people, in other words, they tend to be afraid of "a chemically synthesized compound". For example, vanilline extracted from vanilla beans and chemically synthesized vanilline are virtually the same compound, but they will choose the former even if it’s three hundred times more expensive than the synthetic one. It's crazy! I think the goal of chemists is to produce people who have high scientific or chemical literacy by using our chemical knowledge.

4. Which historical figure would you most like to have dinner with – and why?

Prof. Adolf Butenandt, Nobel Prize winner, and also the person to discover the first insect pheromone, bombykol. I am interested in bio-regulators such as insect or microbe pheromones and hormones. I would like to hear his private lecture about his historical work on the isolation of bombykol.

5. When was the last time you did an experiment in the lab - and what was it?

Yesterday. I am active in our lab. My teacher and master, Professor Kenji Mori (now 73 years old), is still active in his lab! So I can't retire.

6. If exiled on a desert island, what one book, and one CD would you take with you?

I like movies, especially Science Fiction movies. So, I would take the soundtrack of Star Wars and explore the island with the music in the background during the day. And I will go on reading Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky at night.

Arata Yajima is in the Department of Fermentation Science at the Tokyo University of Agriculture and works on the synthesis of natural products and biosynthetic intermediates interest at the interface of chemistry with biology particularly the microbe pheromones and rice phytoalexins.

Posted by Alison Stoddart at 05:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

I enjoyed chemistry in high school and continued to enjoy chemistry at MIT. When I made a polymer in an advanced organic chemistry lab, I was hooked and then pursued my PhD in polymer science and engineering at UMass, Amherst.

2. If you weren’t a chemist and could do any other job, what would it be - and why?

After graduating from MIT, I was accepted to both graduate school and medical school. If I wasn't a chemist, I would probably have been a medical doctor (not sure what type though).

3. How can chemists best contribute to the world at large?

We can advance knowledge. We can take advantage of these advancements in knowledge to influence policy and create better products for the future. I'm particularly interested in tissue engineering/regenerative medicine where we can design polymers for use in tissue regeneration and delivery of drugs/therapeutics.

4. Which historical figure would you most like to have dinner with - and why?

Both Ralph Waldo Emerson and Abraham Lincoln are revered in our family (our sons are named after them, in part) - they were both great thinkers and great leaders. This would be an interesting experience.

5. When was the last time you did an experiment in the lab - and what was it?

When I was on sabbatical, I learned how to obtain primary neurons in Drs. Freda Miller and David Kaplan's labs - this was in 2003. The initial "sabbatical" became the basis for a PhD project, which Laura Yu completed (4 years later). I also recently did a demonstration for my son's grade one class last week (April 2008) on dissolving an egg shell in vinegar - but this probably doesn't count as an experiment!

6. If exiled on a desert island, what one book and one CD would you take with you?

I would take the book on "How to get off a desert island" and bring a solar-powered iPod.

Molly Shoichet is in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry at the University of Toronto and works on tissue engineering strategies to promote regeneration after traumatic injury in the central nervous system and targeted delivery in cancer.

Posted by Alison Stoddart at 05:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

My curiosity! Born with a strong dose of curiosity, I found early in life that this drive addicted me to chemistry. I found that no matter how many problems were solved, their solutions led to so many more new questions. That feature alone has made chemistry an insatiably exciting hobby, my “best friend”, and a lifetime career.

2. If you weren’t a chemist and could do any other job, what would it be - and why?

Probably a landscape architect. Firstly, I enjoy performing physical work. Secondly, I intuitively enjoy thinking about the unique function, dynamics and possible benefits that architecture contributes to structure at the pico-, nano- and micro-scale level. I believe one should expect to find similar issues at the macroscopic level. Undoubtedly, that is why I enjoy horticulture/gardening so much as a hobby.

3. How can chemists best contribute to the world at large?

Chemistry is so pervasive in life; the environment, our health, society and even our presence in the universe. As practitioners of such a ubiquitous discipline it is our responsibility to be certain that our efforts are positive and for the good of all these issues.

4. Which historical figure would you most like to have dinner with - and why?

Undoubtedly, John Dalton, Manchester, England (1766- 1844). I have always admired his courage, vision and commitment that led to his “New System of Chemical Philosophy” (1808). His vision and efforts launched our traditional chemistry platform from which all chemists have enjoyed, enhanced and derived benefits. I toast to Dalton on each of my birthdays since we share the same birthday (September 5), however, 172 years apart.

5. When was the last time you did an experiment in the lab - and what was it?

I conducted a dendrimer synthesis and a photochemical experiment within the past six months. I was curiosity driven by why a particular nanoscale dendrimer we had synthesized exhibited extraordinary fluorescence properties yet possessed no traditional fluorescent chromophores. At this time, these fluorescent properties have been confirmed; however, I still do not have a complete answer as to why they exhibit fluorescence.

6. If exiled on a desert island, what one book and one CD would you take with you?

My favorite book is The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci. I never cease to be amazed by his extraordinary discipline, articulation and keen observations on all aspects of life. My favorite CD would contain all the compositions/works of Wolfgang Mozart. I always seem to find fresh inspirations, excitement, new ideas and fulfillment in the presence of his unique notes, scales, musical patterns and sounds.

Donald A. Tomalia is Director of The National Dendrimer & Nanotechnology Center and Distinguished Research Scientist/Professor at Central Michigan University. He is engaged in research with a focus on nanomaterial synthesis (i.e., dendrimers, metal nanoclusters, etc.), their nano-stoichiometries, nano-sterics and the identification of nanoperiodic reactivity and assembly patterns associated with these well defined nanomaterials to produce higher complexity.

Posted by Alison Stoddart at 05:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

I enjoyed chemistry at school and was fortunate to have an inspirational chemistry teacher, Mr. Cullingworth, who always showed that there was something more, something new, something unexpected to be discovered and learnt. My parents were also very committed in enabling me to go to university and I, therefore, received a lot of support from home.

2. If you weren’t a chemist and could do any other job, what would it be - and why?

I have never seriously thought of doing anything other than what I do. If I had not studied chemistry at university I might have applied to study medicine, but I suspect that I would always have been drawn towards teaching and research. Second guitarist with “The Best Band You Never Heard in Your life” would have been fun and profitable, but I have shown no evidence of any musical talent so I guess that has passed me by, for now.

3. How can chemists best contribute to the world at large?

Chemistry is highly multi-faceted, impacts across many disciplines and is relevant to so many of today’s major problems in health, energy and sustainability. Obviously, chemists contribute by carrying out front-line research in their chosen areas, but it is also vitally important, especially for academics, to retain their enthusiasm and commitment to undergraduate teaching. It is in our undergraduate teaching that we inspire students to take up the challenge and be the scientists of the future.

4. Which historical figure would you most like to have dinner with - and why?

Charles Darwin. A very, very clever theory which has as much impact today as it did when it was first published.

5. When was the last time you did an experiment in the lab - and what was it?

About 20 years ago! One of my PhD students was having problems isolating and purifying a functionalised aza crown and I showed him how to recrystallise this material properly. The student had been struggling for many days and, as I recall, I solved the problem in about 5 minutes. I decided to leave experimental work on a high.

6. If exiled on a desert island, what one book and one CD would you take with you?

I would cheat: I would sell the CD and book to someone else stuck on their island, and buy a hard drive for music. First would be live opera recordings of Parsifal, Ring Cycle, Meistersinger, and Tristan and Isolde (Wagner), Marriage of Figaro (Mozart), Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk (Shostakovich), Khovanschina (Moussorgsky) and Palestrina (Pftizner), followed by the collected works of Todd Rundgren, Frank Zappa and Jorma Kaukonen, with a smattering of Van der Graaf Generator. Is this enough?

OK, if I had one CD “Hot Rats” by Zappa; book “The God Delusion” by Richard Dawkins. Since the latter would be highly depressing reading on a desert island I would probably have to change this to “Hard Times” by Dickens.

Martin Schröder is in the School of Chemistry at the University of Nottingham and works on metal coordination chemistry with particular emphasis on metals in unusual oxidation states, assembly of porous nanostructures, and metal cation and anion complexation.

Posted by Alison Stoddart at 05:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

When people are asked, “What is your hobby?”, they would probably answer with things like stamp collecting, music, gardening or sports. For me, chemistry is my hobby. I am not fond of complicated mathematical formulae, electric circuits or biological systems. Chemistry is what remains and I feel like I have been brought up with it all around me.

2. If you weren’t a chemist and could do any other job, what would it be – and why?

A long-distance truck driver. I like to drive my car and make long journeys. In particular, I am filled with a sense of achievement when I work out the best way to my destination on a road map before driving – although nowadays car navigation systems would direct me automatically!

3. How can chemists best contribute to the world at large?

When considering the contribution that chemistry can make to society, industry and human beings, I hope it involves secure and safe goods. Take, for example, organic materials that are produced by the self-assembly of molecules and then decompose after they have played their role – these should be safely adsorbed into a living body or by the environment, without damaging effects. We are now earnestly developing the industrialization of organic nanotubes with this in mind.

4. Which historical figure would you most like to have dinner with – and why?

If possible, I would not like to have dinner with any historical figure since we, who are living now, create history by ourselves. There would be no hot topics for conversation between me and the historical figure since our times would be so different.

5. When was the last time you did an experiment in the lab – and what was it?

Looking back through my lab notebooks for my last experiment, I found it on October 23, 1995. I performed differential scanning calorimetry on various synthetic lipids with a peptide moiety. In those days, no matter what the outcome was, I wanted to polymerize functional lipids using molecular self-assemblies as a matrix without changing the morphology. However, the notebook ends for some reason or other.

6. if exiled on a desert island, what one book and one CD would you take with you?

If I could take one book, it would be a highly detailed world atlas. Even though I am exiled on a desert island, I would like to be able to look at the atlas so I could travel the world in my head. For the CD, I would take some American folksongs, like Brothers Four or Peter, Paul & Mary. I used to play folk guitar with sing American and Japanese folksongs in my student days.

Toshimi Shimizu is currently Director of the Nanoarchitectonics Research Center (NARC), National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) in Tsukuba, Japan. His research focuses on the non-covalent synthesis and structural analysis of high-axial-ratio nanostructures through the self-assembly of amphiphilic monomers. In particular, he is now engaged in developing organic nanotube materials.

Posted by Alison Stoddart at 05:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

I grew up around chemistry (and chemists) and developed the usual youthful obsessions with setting things on fire. I also had some inspirational science and chemistry teachers, Mr. Covington and Paul Groves, in junior high and high school. However, I went off to college planning to study anthropology and later linguistics. At the end of my sophomore year I realized I liked chemistry and went on from there (though I still snuck in a few more linguistics classes). The idea that molecules interact at progressively larger scales to give observable objects and effects combined with the perpetually growing number of ways to go about designing and synthesizing interesting molecules continues to fascinate me and a large community of chemists.

2. If you weren’t a chemist and could do any other job, what would it be - and why?

While I have come to increasingly enjoy cooking as my time in the lab has become less frequent, I don't think I have the fortitude to survive in the food-preparation industry, even with the embrace of scientific apparatus that “molecular gastronomy” has brought. Participating in the production of alcoholic beverages, while an honorable application of chemical principles, would probably have similar difficulties in terms of financial survival and would be hard on an already overworked liver. If I weren't a chemist, I would probably be happiest writing about science and/or food and liquor (especially given the chance to consume interesting varieties of the latter substances).

3. How can chemists best contribute to the world at large?

There are a number of levels on which to consider this one (and I worry that anything I say here will come off as so much hand-waving nonsense). On the most basic level, some of us can make new and useful molecules and materials and others of us can work to understand how new and old molecules interact with each other (and can tell the first group of folks what new types of molecules to make). On a more societal level, I think we somehow need to convince an even greater percentage of the population (1) that what we do as chemists is important and fundamental to our everyday lives and (2) that physics, chemistry and biology are all worth trying to understand on a basic level and that they’re nothing to be scared of. (I’m still working on point 2 myself).

4. Which historical figure would you most like to have dinner with - and why?

If it were mostly a liquid dinner, I would have loved to have had the chance to get Brendan Behan wound up and to enjoy the resulting songs, stories, etc. Benjamin Franklin would probably be a hoot too, and the food would probably be better. If it were someone still alive, I would enjoy the chance to dine with Haruki Murakami and then hang out drinking in smoky Japanese jazz clubs talking about stories.

5. When was the last time you did an experiment in the lab - and what was it?

In September 2005, I tried out a semi-novel route to some new initiators for free radical polymerization that worked well enough to have a few graduate students follow up and we have so far squeezed a few papers out of it. Mostly I end up doing basic repairs on simple machinery.

6. If exiled on a desert island, what one book and one CD would you take with you?

If it were the right kind of desert island, Euell Gibbons' Beachcomber's Handbook would be indispensable (even if just for its description of how to make palm wine). Otherwise Hard-boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Murakami might strike some concordant notes with the situation. Unless I could somehow get a magical live stream of WFMU, the CD would be a toss-up between the depleted glory of the Pogues' "Rum, Sodomy, & the Lash," the epic black metal of Weakling's "Dead as Dreams," or the otherworldly spirituality of Pharoah Sanders’ “Tauhid,” and then I would really miss a whole bunch of other music (and civilization, too). [And what did I do to earn an island exile anyway?!]

Barney Grubbs is in the Department of Chemistry at Dartmouth College and works on making polymers that really ought to assemble into larger, allegedly more interesting, maybe even someday useful, but still very tiny structures.

Posted by Alison Stoddart at 05:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

It was the influence of three people. I went to Gateacre Comprehensive in Liverpool and had an excellent chemistry teacher called Dave Lutner. He was inspirational - I really enjoyed his classes. In those days, health and safety hadn’t taken over the world and we were treated to some fun demonstrations and had the chance to do a fair amount of practical work ourselves. Then, at university in the early 1990s I hadn’t found my niche until I started as an undergraduate student (doing a whole year of full time research) in Paul Beer’s group in Oxford. Paul is a supramolecular chemist and, at the time, was working on bis-crown ether molecules containing bipyridyl groups that could be used to control the conformation of the molecule via coordination to a transition metal. I found the idea that you could think of molecules as molecular machines absolutely fascinating and that was it – I was hooked! I did a PhD for Paul working on calixarene chemistry and then moved on to Jonathan Sessler’s group in Austin, Texas. I was very fortunate both to have the chance to work with Jonathan, who is an inspirational mentor, and to work on a project which resulted in the discovery of an important new class of anion receptor.

2. If you weren’t a chemist and could do any other job, what would it be - and why?

I’ve become increasingly interested in publishing and have had the opportunity to contribute to a number of journals on editorial boards and as editor. I’ve really enjoyed the experience and think it would be an interesting challenge to work full time in science publishing. With the potential rise of open access journals in chemistry and the general proliferation of journals I think the battle ahead will be to maintain quality. I think working towards that would be a really worthwhile goal.

3. How can chemists best contribute to the world at large?

I think chemists already make significant contributions to the world at large but these often go unrecognized by the public. We can fix this by engaging with groups outside the chemistry community – whether they be school children or politicians. We can’t complain that chemistry has a bad reputation amongst the public if we’re not prepared to put some effort into fixing the situation.

4. Which historical figure would you most like to have dinner with - and why?

Adolph von Baeyer – in the latter half of the 19th Century he started a lot of the chemistry that I’ve worked on over my career but without the aid of NMRs, crystal structures and HPLCs etc. I’d like to talk to him about his work and his mentor Kekulé.

5. When was the last time you did an experiment in the lab - and what was it?

If molecular modeling counts, then about three hours ago!

6. If exiled on a desert island, what one book and one CD would you take with you?

As a reminder of my youth, the CD would have to be New Order’s Substance. I’d need a large book for swatting mosquitoes on this island (I’m allergic to them) so I think I’d take the Lord of the Rings which has always been a favourite.

Phil Gale is in the School of Chemistry at the University of Southampton, UK, and works on supramolecular chemistry and particularly the binding, sensing and transport of anionic species.

Posted by Alison Stoddart at 06:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

My career in mass spectrometry derived from its practical applications as it is such a diverse technology. This interest primarily comes from my enjoyment of mathematics, innovative physics technology and that mass spectrometry draws these things together allowing it to be applied to many areas of science.

2. If you weren’t a chemist and could do any other job, what would it be - and why?

A coastal surveyor in Alaska from May to August and a carpenter during the off months in Mulege, Baja.

3. How can chemists best contribute to the world at large?

Develop a room temperature, high current capacity, superconductor energy storage device.

4. Which historical figure would you most like to have dinner with - and why?

Luigi Amedeo, Duke of the Abruzzi (adventurer), with what, by our standards would be the crudest traveling means, he explored the world and his own physical existence. Or perhaps Samuel Johnson (English writer) for pure entertainment value.

5. When was the last time you did an experiment in the lab - and what was it?

1999, a set of metabolomics experiments designed, with a visiting high school student, on the effect of Krispy Kreme donuts on skin composition... the changes were very substantial and interesting. Among the many observations, we saw that in some individuals there was a dramatic increase in skin cholesterol almost immediately.

6. If exiled on a desert island, what one book and one CD would you take with you?

The Lesson (book) and the Squirrel Nut Zippers (CD).

Gary Siuzdak is at the Scripps Center for Mass Spectrometry, The Scripps Research Institute, California, and works on developing and applying new mass spectrometry technologies for metabolomics.

Posted by Alison Stoddart at 06:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

I only took A-level chemistry because it completed a sensible set of three. Then, the first thing that we learned about was atomic structure. I can remember thinking that this was the most interesting thing that I had ever heard. From then on, I was hooked.

2. If you weren’t a chemist and could do any other job, what would it be - and why?

I had always thought that I would be an aeronautical engineer. I had always loved aeroplanes.

3. How can chemists best contribute to the world at large?

Aside from the obvious contributions in terms of the products of the chemicals industries and understanding how the world works, I think that most chemists are well grounded, practical people who like to proceed on the basis of evidence. These qualities seem to be surprisingly rare in today's world. Keeping these in the public discourse is really important.

4. Which historical figure would you most like to have dinner with - and why?

This is the question that I have found the most difficult to answer. Do you go for someone who has had huge impact on the world, a person of great beauty or famous charm or a damn good comedian? I don't know.

5. When was the last time you did an experiment in the lab - and what was it?

If you mean to have finished an experiment, it's so long in the past that I can't remember. I can remember very clearly when my two most experienced PhD students came to my office one day to speak to me on behalf of the group. They told me that whenever I came into the lab to do some practical work, I left things half completed and that they had no idea of what to do with the mess that I left behind and that I was slowing their progress. So, I stopped.

6. If exiled on a desert island, what one book and one CD would you take with you?

The CD is easy, it would be the complete collection of Round the Horne. I've always quite fancied reading the Mahabharata - at least it's good and long.

Tom Welton is in the Department of Chemistry at Imperial College London and works on the effects of solvent-solute interactions on chemical reactivity, particularly in room-temperature ionic liquids.

Posted by Alison Stoddart at 05:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

When I was a teenager I used to read, rather regularly, the Italian translation of Scientific American and was fascinated by genetics. When the time came to decide where to go, I was recommended, quite wrongly but I realized it only later, to study chemistry, biochemistry and then specialize in genetics. As a matter of fact, I enrolled in chemistry and while studying, I became more and more attracted by organic chemistry until I completely fell in love with this discipline. At that time, I was also strongly influenced by my mentor in organic chemistry, in Padova.

2. If you weren't a chemist and could do any other job, what would it be - and why?

A medical doctor. Understanding how the human machine works always fascinated me. Also, saving lives makes you feel good. But, I am actually very happy to be a chemist and a scientist in general.

3. How can chemists best contribute to the world at large?

Today, the general image of chemistry in the public is totally biased and is mainly associated with pollution. Young people are therefore less and less encouraged to study and develop chemistry and instead are attracted by chemistry-based disciplines, like environmental sciences. However, the contributions of chemistry, from drugs to an infinite number of commodities, have so much improved the quality of our lives that the question of how chemistry contributes to the world at large is actually pleonastic. Maybe, we should be more aware of society-related problems and be ambassadors of the "good" chemistry among the public.

4. Which historical figure would you most like to have dinner with - and why?

The great Greek philosopher Plato. The Greek civilization was one of the most active and influential periods in Western Europe. Much of their behaviour was more pleasant and open-minded than today's lifestyle. Their culture was extremely well-developed, their mathematics very sophisticated - the Platonic Solids, for instance, are amongst the most fascinating geometrical forms for a chemist. In addition, there are many mysterious stories that are described in their books, which we still do not know about. For instance, Plato, in his dialogues Timaeus and Critias, mentions Atlantis, the legendary island, for the first time. Did actually Atlantis exist? Was it really in the Atlantic Ocean? Why did it sink into the ocean?

5. When was the last time you did an experiment in the lab - and what was it?

It was more than 15 years ago, and I cannot remember exactly what it was. At that time I used to carry out cycloaddition reactions, so I tend to believe it was one of these.

6. If exiled on a desert island, what one book and one CD would you take with you?

As a book, I would take The Magic Mountain (or The Enchanted Mountain) by Thomas Mann (original title: Der Zauberberg). The reasons one likes and remembers a book strongly depend on the historical moment of one's life when he/she read it. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy is another one I was fascinated by when I read it. What I like in these books is the vision of life, not only love and sentiments, but also philosophy, natural sciences, history, etc. They have such an amount of interesting issues that it takes ages to digest everything. In addition to this, I would take a copy of the third act of Die Walküre, by Richard Wagner, which contains an intense and musically unparalleled dialog between Wotan and Brunnhild. I never get tired of listening to it.

Maurizio Prato is in the Dipartimento di Scienze Farmaceutiche at the University of Trieste, Italy, and works on several aspects of synthetic organic chemistry applied to materials science and medicinal chemistry.

Posted by Alison Stoddart at 05:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

When I was twelve years old, I reasoned that if I only knew what matter was made of, I would understand “Life, the Universe, and Everything”. Chemistry not only seemed to provide an answer to this big question but, luckily, the recipes to make fun explosives.

2. If you weren’t a chemist and could do any other job, what would it be - and why?

I guess being an artist would be an attractive alternative although I think I lack talent. Both the art that artists can create and the molecules that chemists can make, are truly novel.

3. How can chemists best contribute to the world at large?

Chemistry is different from biology and physics in that it creates new things. Chemistry has changed the world with the invention of new molecules and reactions. Just consider antibiotics, the discovery of nuclear fission, the polymerase chain reaction, cracking or the industrial synthesis of ammonia. All these achievements and many others had a profound impact on the world. The next big challenge for chemists is just around the corner: Solving the energy problem of our planet!

4. Which historical figure would you most like to have dinner with - and why?

Emil Fischer, a master of chemical intuition and an organic synthesis genius. I wonder why and how he was so much ahead of his time.

5. When was the last time you did an experiment in the lab - and what was it?

In 2004 I had a relatively small group, but was convinced a certain molecule would be a good catalyst. It was Easter Sunday; nobody was in the lab and so I made it myself. It involved a Grignard reaction and an acetalization. Unfortunately, the catalyst was pretty much inactive…

6. If exiled on a desert island, what one book and one CD would you take with you?

B.K.S. Iyengars’s “Light on Yoga” and Bach’s St. Matthew Passion.

Ben List is in the Department of Homogenous Catalysis at the Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung, Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany, and develops new concepts for catalysis.

Posted by Alison Stoddart at 05:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

As you will have noticed, today is Friday, and that brings with it a new Reactions piece to the Sceptical Chymist – but this one will be slightly different to the previous 52. That’s right, we’ve racked up a whole year’s worth, and so 'Reactions' is celebrating its first birthday!

Apart from finding out what people would want to be if not chemists, one of my favourite things is finding out who they would invite to dinner. A quick survey of the last year shows that the most popular dinner guest is Leonardo da Vinci (with 5 votes). Following on closely is Jesus (4 votes), then Feynman, Einstein, Darwin and Mozart were popular choices (each with 3 votes). Isaac Newton and Nelson Mandela were each picked twice and it’s worth noting that a few US presidents made the cut, John Adams and Abraham Lincoln – and although nobody thought to invite John F. Kennedy, his brother Robert was. Have a surf through the older entries – it’s quite interesting. I would suggest that the strangest choice was made by Mark Green...

So, at this point, I want to ask you – the readers – some questions. Please leave your responses as comments to this post, and I encourage all of you to join in.

Should the questions change?

'Reactions' will continue, but we wonder if some of the questions are wearing a bit thin at this point – our least favourite is probably number 3, ‘how can chemists best contribute to the world at large?’ because most people say the same sort of things... Of the other questions we currently use, are there some that you really like (or dislike) and if so, why? Do you have suggestions for other questions that you would like to see us asking?

Who would you like to see featured?

As has been commented on, it’s obvious that there are a lot more male than female chemists featured in the 'Reactions' series. I don’t know the total numbers of chemists that we’ve asked to participate, or the gender breakdown of those, but the only criterion we have in terms of who gets featured, is those that say ‘yes’. A very large number of 'Reactions' e-mails go unanswered, and a lot of people do say ‘no’. I would imagine we have asked more men than women, but not in the proportions ultimately featured on the blog.

If you have any suggestions of who you would like to see featured, either in terms of subject area, or specific chemists, we’ll see what we can do. Again, however, there is no guarantee someone will agree to be featured.

Normal service will be resumed next week, Ben List, who has just had a paper published in Nature, will be answering the current set of six questions.

Stuart

Stuart Cantrill (Chief Editor, Nature Chemistry)

Posted by Stuart Cantrill at 05:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

Science was in the family, and I was encouraged by an excellent chemistry teacher. It seemed a good option after deciding I wasn’t going to follow music. Happily, chemistry turned out to be a very creative career and I haven’t looked back.

2. If you weren't a chemist and could do any other job, what would it be - and why?

A musician, touring worldwide and with a recording studio back home. I play guitar and studied as a teenager at the Royal Academy of Music. Music expresses the inexpressible, as they say. I’m also synaesthetic – I see musical sounds as shapes and colours – maybe that’s also why I’ve always been fascinated by it.

3. How can chemists best contribute to the world at large?

In at least two ways. On one hand we can help to address the technological challenges facing us – energy, health and cleaner processes – on the other we can provide inspirational, numerate, relevant, and problem-solving education.

4. Which historical figure would you most like to have dinner with – and why?

Mid-week, it would be Einstein. His insights are intellectually astounding and have utterly changed our view of nature. It would be fascinating to get a glimpse into how he got his insights. Weekend, Jimi Hendrix or Frank Zappa.

5. When was the last time you did an experiment in the lab - and what was it?

A couple of days ago, together with a PhD student. Very satisfyingly, we found an innovative way to purify a compound which had resisted all the usual methods.

6. If exiled on a desert island, what one book and one CD would you take with you?

The CD would be purely for enjoyment, Sheikh Yerbouti by Frank Zappa, which is a fantastic, hilarious, creative, masterpiece. The book would be something mind-expanding and very long which I haven’t read before, possibly Don Quixote in Spanish, which would probably keep me occupied for 20 years or so...

Stuart James is in the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at Queen’s University Belfast and works on self-assembly, porous liquids and solids, and solvent-free synthesis.

Posted by Stuart Cantrill at 05:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

I was always fascinated by nature as a child. I studied lake water and plants with a microscope, spent a lot of nights outside watching stars, built small electric circuits and, of course, I had a small chemistry lab in our cellar. I enjoyed all these experiments and what they told me about nature. Later in school I had a very good chemistry teacher who encouraged me to take part in the International Chemistry Olympiad (an international competition for high school kids). The first time I totally failed in our national selection rounds. But I guess that finally tipped the balance towards chemistry. I got ambitious and the more I got involved with chemistry, the more I loved it.

2. If you weren't a chemist and could do any other job, what would it be - and why?

Most likely a medical doctor. As a teenager I started to work as a voluntary paramedic and I still do it from time to time. Being able to help people is a very gratifying job, even though it is a very tough job with a lot of responsibility. So I guess if chemistry or natural sciences were not my profession I would have ended up in medicine. Although as a child, to become a cook was also tempting for me. I still love to cook, even though I am probably not as skilled in the kitchen as I am in the chemistry lab.

3. How can chemists best contribute to the world at large?

First, as Ronald Breslow once put it, chemistry is the central science. Everything that goes on around us is somehow linked to chemistry. The more and more we learn about the molecular basis of life itself, the development of diseases or the function of drugs on a molecular level or how material properties depend on their molecular composition, the better we will be able to improve our life and deal with the upcoming challenges threatening our planet. Second, chemistry is the only natural science that not only tries to understand what is going on around us but also is capable to create. We can make new molecules, that never existed before; new molecules with new and much desired properties. Chemists create new drugs in order to improve our life and health. Chemists create new materials with improved properties for thousands of applications in our modern world. Chemistry can help to solve so many problems we are facing today: energy crisis, food and water supply, health issues or environmental challenges just to name a few.

4. Which historical figure would you most like to have dinner with – and why?

Leonardo da Vinci. He was probably the most fascinating scientist that ever lived on our planet. It is amazing how much this one person accomplished and in how many different disciplines and fields: arts and sciences, chemistry and physics, medicine and biology, architecture and engineering and many more. He invented so many things that we still use today, even though in a modified and improved version, but still essentially going back to his ideas. And he achieved all this under really challenging and also sometimes life-threatening political circumstances.

5. When was the last time you did an experiment in the lab - and what was it?

Well, that was quite some time ago at least in terms of real scientific research. It was about six years ago when I just started my own academic career and when I had only three coworkers who just started to work with me for their diploma. It was a five-step synthesis of one of the building blocks, a guanidiniocarbonyl pyrrole derivative, we need for our research. Unfortunately, I do not have any time for lab research myself any more. And I guess by now my coworkers are much more skilled in the lab than I am due to lack of practice. However, I organize a chemistry day for high school students once a year. And on that day I also present some experiments like the classical nylon synthesis or gun cotton. It is always a “big show” also for my coworkers to see me in lab coat again and doing experiments.

6. If exiled on a desert island, what one book and one CD would you take with you?

Is there a book, how to make coffee from coconuts? That would be my first choice. Otherwise, perhaps the New York City telephone directory. That has so many pages which are good for making fire. As for a CD, does a CD player run on coconut oil? To be more serious, I could read the Lord of the Rings again and again, and a CD with music from Andrew Lloyd Webber would be nice.

Carsten Schmuck is in the Institute of Organic Chemistry at the University of Würzburg and works on supramolecular chemistry and its application in bioorganic chemistry (e.g., development of drugs and sensors) and material sciences (e.g., self-assembled nanostructures).

Posted by Stuart Cantrill at 05:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

I see this as a two phase process, first why I chose chemistry and secondly why I decided an academic career was for me. The first one is straightforward, I decided to take chemistry at university because my teacher (Abraham Darby School) went that extra mile to make studying chemistry enjoyable. The reason I decided to become an academic is more diffuse, but does include being inspired by wonderful lectures by the late Donald J Cram (Pacifichem 1987), who sent a CPK model of a carcerand around the audience, and Sir J Fraser Stoddart (1990 Halifax, Canada) who used language and colours to convey difficult concepts. Special thanks also go to Professor Seiji Shinkai who polished my skills as a chemist and taught me that "even monkeys fall from trees"!

2. If you weren't a chemist and could do any other job, what would it be - and why?

An artist – art has always been one of my greatest passions. I am particularly inspired by sculptures and 3D art. You could say the love of sculpture is why I am a chemist – since in chemistry we create art in the form of molecular sculptures.

3. How can chemists best contribute to the world at large?

I believe that what we do as scientists should be for the greater good. I also believe that it is your chemistry that should contribute and not you the chemist. In science, it is what has been achieved and not the individual which is important.

4. Which historical figure would you most like to have dinner with – and why?

Richard Feynman – who was one of the most inspiring scientists of the 20th century. In particular his Horizon Interview in 1981 – “the pleasure of finding things out” sums up the way a scientist should live their life. One problem may be that during the meal he may have to be stopped from dropping O rings into everyone’s iced water. However, he could make this up by providing post dinner entertainment on the bongos.

5. When was the last time you did an experiment in the lab - and what was it?

I like to be involved in experiments as much as possible. This summer I helped a visiting Japanese student who is part of a Royal Society International Joint Project collect fluorescence data. This was a rewarding experience and resulted in a paper for the student (Jusaku Minari) and the academics involved (Kazuo Sakurai, John S Fossey, Steven D Bull and Tony D James). Finding time to do experiments can be difficult – but thanks to the JSPS, I will get 60 days (Short Term Fellowship) from the end of January as a visiting Professor in Kyushu University to spend time experimenting to my heart’s content.

6. If exiled on a desert island, what one book and one CD would you take with you?

I prefer listening to music than reading books, since I can listen to music while doing other things. Therefore, I would choose two CDs which contain songs that remind me of my time spent in Canada as a PhD student and one that reminds me of my postdoctoral research in Japan. The first is by Pink Floyd (The Dark Side of the Moon) containing the track ‘Time’ and the second is by The Boom containing the track ‘Shima Uta’. The one reminds me of camping on Galliano Island and the other of humid summers spent cycling around Japan

Tony James is in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Bath and works in the area of supramolecular chemistry and in particular on the development of sensor molecules for saccharides.

Posted by Stuart Cantrill at 07:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

I always wanted to be a chemist. As a child I loved playing with my chemistry set and was always looking for supplies and reagents to run new experiments.

2. If you weren't a chemist and could do any other job, what would it be - and why?

I love to write. If I had the time I would love to try my hand at writing fiction.

3. How can chemists best contribute to the world at large?

We have already made very important contributions, although most people are unaware of them. In the next few decades, chemists must play an important role at solving the energy problems that we will face as we run out of oil. We should also learn to publicize our efforts and success stories more effectively.

4. Which historical figure would you most like to have dinner with – and why?

I have always been very intrigued by Hannibal, the Carthaginian general who could have changed history in unforeseen ways as he came very close to defeating Rome. But I am not sure that he would be a good dinner guest! I would also love to meet Santiago Ramon y Cajal, the first Spaniard Nobel Laureate in a scientific discipline. His impact in neuroscience has been very pronounced and he did all his research work without any support at all.

5. When was the last time you did an experiment in the lab - and what was it?

Just a few days ago I was helping in my own lab, testing a new design for a spectroelectrochemical cell. Unfortunately, I have little time to work in my own lab. About seven years ago, I did a lot of scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) experiments during my last sabbatical, in Al Bard's lab, at UT-Austin.

6. If exiled on a desert island, what one book and one CD would you take with you?

This is an impossible question to answer. OK, I would take "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez and The Beatles' Abbey Road.

Angel Kaifer is in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Miami and works on the electrochemistry of supramolecular systems.

Posted by Stuart Cantrill at 07:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

I first became interested in chemistry in high school. I was fooling around at the back of the class and was made to sit at the front by one Mrs Davis. When I was forced to listen to the material in this way I realized that it was all rather logical and elegant. We were studying basic nomenclature of salts and valences of various ions. On going to college I initially wanted to study chemistry and physics jointly but quickly opted for chemistry, although I have always been drawn to the more physical, more theoretical aspects of chemistry. For me chemistry has just the right mix of visualisability, abstract thinking and mathematics.

2. If you weren't a chemist and could do any other job, what would it be - and why?

That's an easy one! I would be a blues guitarist touring the world with a band of musicians. I have been playing this kind of music since I was in high school in London, the place where a blues revival took place in the late 60s and early 70s. I learned to play by copying the greats like BB King, Eric Clapton, Freddie King, Peter Green, Albert Collins and many others. In any case my exposure to public performance, while playing in various groups, helps me these days when I teach general chemistry classes of 350 students at UCLA. Anyone who has done this would agree that there is a strong element of 'performance' in keeping such classes interesting.

3. How can chemists best contribute to the world at large?

I am not the best person to ask this question since I specialize in history and philosophy of chemistry and writing about chemistry. However from the perspective of my own specialty I think it is essential that chemists develop their writing and communication skills so as to be able to explain to lay-people about their work and that of other chemists. Much concern about chemistry and science in general, for example Darwin's theory, seems to come from a lack of understanding of the real issues.

4. Which historical figure would you most like to have dinner with – and why?

I think it would be Dimitri Mendeleev, the person who is most strongly associated with the discovery of the periodic system. And it's because I have spent a good deal of time thinking, researching and writing about the history and philosophical significance of this central icon of our science. Most recently I have published what I am pleased to say is being described as the definitive book on the periodic system. I include two chapters out of ten just on Mendeleev. The main thread running through the book is the relationship between chemistry and physics, such as the extent to which quantum mechanics explains the chemist's periodic system or as they still call it in Russia, Mendeleev's periodic system.

5. When was the last time you did an experiment in the lab - and what was it?

I regularly do demonstrations in my large general chemistry lectures. Students seem to appreciate them and I think it serves to bring things down to earth given all the mathematical abstraction that chemistry students need to take on board in a modern general chemistry course. But as for full scale experiments, it was the preparation of a compound of europium back in London. After weeks of false starts, futile trips to the glassblowers and so on, I finally had the sample in hand but dropped it on the floor on the way out of a building. I decided at that moment that my strength lay in thinking and writing about chemistry rather than hands-on chemistry.

6. If exiled on a desert island, what one book and one CD would you take with you?

I'll talk about the CD first since that's easy. I would take Fleetwood Mac's, Live in Chicago. This was recorded back in the early 70s and features the exquisite electric guitar playing of Peter Green. Listen to the opening track on volume 1 called "Watch Out" and you will see what I mean. And just as a back up I would have to take one of the 'Live Cream' CD's with the sheer magical improvisation of Clapton, Bruce and Baker.

As for a book, I might cheat a little and ask to have the whole of Encyclopedia Britannica. I love to learn new things and discover completely new areas of knowledge. But if really pressed to take one volume I think it would be Condon and Shortley's book on Atomic Spectroscopy or Atkins' Physical Chemistry.

Eric Scerri was educated in the UK and is now a continuing lecturer in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry at UCLA where he has been for the past eight years. He teaches large general chemistry classes as well as courses in history and philosophy of science and has published widely in history and philosophy of chemistry as well as chemical education. He is the founder-editor of the journal 'Foundations of Chemistry' and has written a best-selling book called "The Periodic Table: Its Story and Its Significance", Oxford University Press, 2007.

Posted by Stuart Cantrill at 07:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

I enjoyed chemistry in high school and did the usual teenage things with zinc dust and sulfur rockets and electroplating. However, I started my college career aimed at chemical engineering, but I was tripped up by engineering drawing, which in those days was pen and india ink — very demanding. Since I was doing well in general chemistry, I decided to switch and became a chemistry major. I truly enjoyed the lab experiences, particularly analytical and organic labs, and was then hooked.

2. If you weren't a chemist and could do any other job, what would it be - and why?

I had wanted to be a jet pilot when I was an undergraduate, but a bone tumor and a broken leg ended that dream.

Now if I had to choose another profession, I would be a jazz musician. Though I have no real formal training past high school, I enjoy drumming along with CDs of the greats of jazz, traditional, blues and funk.

3. How can chemists best contribute to the world at large?

Chemists have contributed tremendously to society in a myriad of ways that the public generally does not appreciate. Our contributions range from medicine to clothing to electronics. I anticipate that our contributions will continue to grow in importance as we experience changes in raw materials when petroleum feed stocks are depleted.

4. Which historical figure would you most like to have dinner with – and why?

This is a hypothetical question that I have not pondered before — too pragmatic, I guess. I guess my choice would be Thelonius Monk, the great jazz pianist. I would like to know how his mind worked to come up with the truly original way he played.

5. When was the last time you did an experiment in the lab - and what was it?

It was on August 25, 1988, according to my notebook. I carried out the reaction of 2-methoxycarbonyl-1,2-dihydroisoquinoline with benzaldehyde using NaH in DMF. The two diastereoisomeric carbonates were formed in 54:46 ratio.

6. If exiled on a desert island, what one book and one CD would you take with you?

For the CD it would be a very tough choice between one of Monk's compilations or one by Monty Alexander, another swinging pianist.

As to the book, I would probably pick a historical treatise, such as one by Stephen Ambrose on World War II.

Harry Gibson is in the Department of Chemistry at Virginia Tech and works on self-assemblies of the pseudorotaxane, rotaxane and catenane types, as well as efforts with endohedral metallofullerenes and ionic liquids.

Posted by Stuart Cantrill at 05:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

I suppose family background must have helped. Growing up in the 1950s, my father was an experimental engineer in the emerging electronics industry, and I was kept well supplied with popular books on science and technology. Our local university in Newcastle also put on evening science lectures for children, and I was sometimes allowed to tag along to these with my older brother and his friends. Later on, at grammar school, a group of enlightened science teachers ran a weekly chemistry club and I still remember my excitement when experiments such as the synthesis of Bakelite and Nylon actually worked!

2. If you weren't a chemist and could do any other job, what would it be - and why?

Maybe a writer – though of course a chemist has to be writer in any case. I'm not sure I'd have been much good at fiction, but I enjoy exploring some of the more obscure byways of Victorian and Edwardian art history, and I might possibly have made some sort of a career as a biographer of neglected painters and composers from that period.

3. How can chemists best contribute to the world at large?

I wish I knew! But I suspect that, with oil and gas now genuinely running out, the viability of nuclear fission still being debated, and fusion still a long way from being a realistic proposition, the development of new materials and processes for energy production, conversion and storage is going to be one area where chemistry really will have a major impact on society over the next twenty years.

4. Which historical figure would you most like to have dinner with – and why?

I wish I could have known Lawrence Bragg, who is I think one of the most underestimated scientists of the last century. His record of achievement, sustained over more than fifty years, is quite staggering. Not only did he discover the fundamental law governing diffraction of X-rays from crystals, but he used this insight to help understand, for the first time, the nature of literally almost everything, from simple salts through metals to silicate minerals and finally to the structures of the most complex molecules of the living cell. (He was also, by all accounts, a brilliant lecturer and a thoroughly decent chap).

5. When was the last time you did an experiment in the lab - and what was it?

I was working in the lab only yesterday (though admittedly this was the first time in about five years), doing some scouting experiments on the synthesis and crystallisation of tungsten-ruthenium molecular wires. I began my research career as an inorganic chemist, working with Bernard Aylett in London, and although most of my work now focuses on polymers, I still maintain a small but active research programme in coordination chemistry.

6. If exiled on a desert island, what one book and one CD would you take with you?

The book would be Jim Watson's "The Double Helix". The story raises serious ethical issues regarding scientific competition versus collaboration, but it also gives a vivid account of one of the most important discoveries ever made in science. Moreover, it really captures the atmosphere of intellectual life in England in the early 1950s – a fascinating period when science was just emerging from its wartime constraints, driven by scientists such as Bernard Lovell, John Randall and Geoffrey Wilkinson, whose early careers had all been frustrated by the war. My CD would be Vaughan Williams' "London" symphony of 1913 – another work which supremely catches the spirit of a time and a place.

Howard Colquhoun is in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Reading and works on the design, synthesis, structural chemistry and applications of high performance aromatic polymers.

Posted by Stuart Cantrill at 05:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

I became a chemist accidentally. In China, when you enter college, you have to take an entrance exam on seven subjects including maths, chemistry, physics, biology, English, Chinese, and Marxism (for me, this was in 1982). The exam is a national event, which typically occurs at the beginning of each June. Right after the exam, you shortlist colleges and majors. My first choice was Xi'an Jiaotong University (one of the finest engineering schools in China), with a major in manufacturing. At the very last second, I changed this (at the suggestion of my high school physics teacher) to the University of Science and Technology of China, with a major in chemical physics because I felt my chemistry exam had gone better than the rest! In the Chinese system, it is impossible to change your major once you have been admitted (now it is more flexible but can still be difficult). So, that is how I ended up in a chemistry program and how I eventually became a chemist. In retrospect, I think that this last-second change has completely changed the trajectory of my professional career, as well as my life.

2. If you weren't a chemist and could do any other job, what would it be and why?

I think I would have been a good engineer. I am always curious about how things work and I also enjoy making things from scratch. Interestingly, after so many years (25 years!) my ‘dream’ has finally come true, as I have recently switched from chemistry to biomedical engineering.

3. How can chemists best contribute to the world at large?

By working together with scientists from other disciplines to address and solve some of the major problems faced by our society which include better instruments for diagnosing diseases, more effective drugs for curing diseases, better materials for various applications, more efficient energy sources, and above all, making a cleaner environment to live in.

4. Which historical figure would you most like to have dinner with - and why?

An alchemist. I imagine we would have an interesting conversation because I know so much about chemistry and they would know very little. However, they would be very creative – they never tired of trying new things and formulating new theories.

5. When was the last time you did an experiment in the lab - and what was it?

A long time ago! When I started as an assistant professor in the fall of 1997, I had only one postdoc in my group for several months and we did many experiments together, including crystallization of colloidal spheres such as polystyrene beads into opaline lattices and microscopic and spectral characterization. As the group has grown in size, my role has changed completely. Nevertheless, I still walk around the lab a few times every day (if I am in town) to chat with group members about their research projects. I do hope my experimental skills have not decayed to the level of a high school student!

6. If exiled on a desert island, what one book and one CD would you take with you?

I would take a history book with me. For some reasons, I always want to know what has happened, and how/why it happened. In terms of a CD, my favourite is one full of some Chinese popular songs from the early 80s. The songs remind me a lot of good memories from my high school and college days.

Younan Xia is in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis, and works on developing novel nanomaterials with controlled properties and applying them to various biomedical applications.

Posted by Alison Stoddart at 06:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

A high school teacher is really what got me interested in chemistry.

2. If you weren't a chemist and could do any other job, what would it be - and why?

Professional baseball player – yes, I had aspirations in my youth to play big-time ball.

3. How can chemists best contribute to the world at large?

A good one – chemists do contribute already to the well being of the world at large, but more can and will be done to perform chemistry in an environmentally friendlier fashion.

4. Which historical figure would you most like to have dinner with – and why?

I've always thought Thomas Jefferson might make a good dinner guest.

5. When was the last time you did an experiment in the lab - and what was it?

About a year ago – did a large-scale prep of a compound we use in the lab (500g or so), and the reaction worked well. Mostly my students don't like to see me in the lab – don't know why...

6. If exiled on a desert island, what one book and one CD would you take with you?

Book: Just one would be tough – love the classics – Catcher in the Rye would be a good one...

On a desert island? Seems like a good place for Bob Marley's Legend album – a classic.

Steve Nolan is in the Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia (ICIQ) in Tarragona, Spain and works on organometallic chemistry and homogeneous catalysis.

Posted by Stuart Cantrill at 11:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

When I was in fourth grade in elementary school, I got a silver medal in the regional science contest. From that time, I became interested in science. After taking both physics and chemistry classes in high school, I found myself fitting better into chemistry.

2. If you weren’t a chemist and could do any other job, what would it be - and why?

A scientist in another disciple, such as physics or biology, because I liked science a lot during my middle and high school days.

3. How can chemists best contribute to the world at large?

By solving energy problems, in particular, developing highly effective solar cells and visible light activated photocatalysts for hydrogen production.

4. Which historical figure would you most like to have dinner with - and why?

Daniel in the Old Testament of the Bible because I would like to know how he endured so much trouble and had so much wisdom.

5. When was the last time you did an experiment in the lab - and what was it?

In 1999 when I was an assistant professor, synthesizing nanoporous carbon materials using mesoporous silica as templates.

6. If exiled on a desert island, what one book and one CD would you take with you?

The Bible because there are so many things I can learn. And, a classical music CD with a collection of recordings by Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields and Sir Neville Marriner.

Taeghwan Hyeon is in the School of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Seoul National University, Korea, and works on the synthesis of uniform-sized nanoparticles and their biomedical applications.

Posted by Alison Stoddart at 06:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

I had two inspirational and very different teachers at my local comprehensive school in Stockport, UK. One teacher was a total extrovert - always demonstrating exciting chemistry experiments - getting the class excited about the power of practical chemistry. The other teacher was a real scholar - he enrolled me in the Royal Society of Chemistry and gave me a copy of Linus Pauling's book, 'The Nature of the Chemical Bond'. In combination, these two teachers made me realise what I could achieve with chemistry, convincing me that it would make a satisfying career, and I would have the chance to address problems of real importance.

2. If you weren't a chemist and could do any other job, what would it be - and why?

I would love to be a chef in my own restaurant. Synthetic chemistry is so related to cooking, and menu design is similar to molecular design. I love to cook, and love to eat good food - I especially love to create good food for others. The feeling I get from cooking a meal for friends is similar to the feeling I have when we have finished the synthesis of a new molecule which has unique properties and interesting behaviour.

3. How can chemists best contribute to the world at large?

I think that chemists have perhaps sometimes been a little scared of approaching big problems, and have preferred to work on smaller achievable targets. This means chemists have often undersold their potential, and chemistry therefore rarely appears in the popular media. However, the ability of chemists to synthesise new things is unparalleled in any other science. This creative, even imaginative, side to our subject is one of its great strengths. Furthermore, our innate grasp of the molecular world places us in a unique position to understand the world which surrounds us. By uniting synthesis and molecular-scale understanding, chemists have the potential to involve themselves in solving big problems of widespread interest - the evolution of life from complex chemical mixtures, molecular approaches to nanomedicine, and potential solutions to the energy crisis all spring to mind.

4. Which historical figure would you most like to have dinner with - and why?

It would have to be Charles Darwin. His is the only theory that has remained controversial for so long because of the science/religion divide. If possible, I would like to get Galileo along for similar reasons. I would love to know how they felt taking on orthodox belief. I would also be interested in their response to the fact that we now live in a world where many people have more belief in science than religion, largely as a result of their efforts.

5. When was the last time you did an experiment in the lab - and what was it?

I am often tinkering around in the lab - usually to develop experiments suitable to demonstrate to undergraduates, school students or the general public. If I'm having a bad day, that's what I like to go and do best - play with an experiment and chat with my research team while I do it. I think the last real experiment I did was investigating a colourful sensor array to develop a practical exercise for some school students, in which they would make a chemical version of the human tongue, which was able to detect specific analytes by pattern recognition.

6. If exiled on a desert island, what one book and one CD would you take with you?

The CD would have to be Marbles, by Marillion. Yes, they did release that Kayleigh song back in the 80s! Marbles, however, is an amazing double album released in 2004 that takes me on the best musical journey - it's an album about losing your marbles, losing yourself and perhaps eventually, but only eventually, finding love. Choosing a book is really tough, but I think I would have to go for Haruki Murakami's Kafka on the Shore. This book is simply magical and to be honest, pretty much defies description. You get lost in the plot and wound up with the vivid characters as their fates twist together - an ideal distraction for exile on a desert island.

David K Smith is in the Department of Chemistry at the University of York, UK, and works on nanochemistry. He is interested in making nanoscale molecules capable of self-assembling into structured materials or interacting with specific biological targets. His research has applications in the development of smart materials (gels) and in nanomedicine (gene therapy and targeted anticancer drugs).

Posted by Alison Stoddart at 06:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

Actually, the first thing I remember wanting to be was an astronomer. However, as I grew older I got to thinking that there were very limited employment opportunities for astronomers. Fortunately, the father of my best friend in high school was a chemistry professor (Prof. Wolfgang Walter, at the Universität Hamburg), and he supplied us with glassware, chemicals, and some initial demonstrations. Pretty soon I was hooked on 'making things'. Those were the days when a kid could go to the drug store and buy some serious chemicals. My favorite chemical memory is the preparation and distillation of elemental bromine on a rather large scale in our kitchen. To this day I love chemical synthesis.

2. If you weren't a chemist and could do any other job, what would it be - and why?

I would want to be a glassblower or work with glass in some capacity. Glass is an absolutely fabulous material with incredible chemical and physical properties. The transformation of molten glass into intricate solid structures has always fascinated me, and I love the feel and look of glass objects. The fragility only adds to the allure.

3. How can chemists best contribute to the world at large?

That depends on what kind of chemist you are. As a professor, I think my contribution to the world are the people I train. In a more general sense, the most important problems humans are facing involve chemistry. Renewable energy, environmental protection, and pharmaceuticals are some of the obvious challenges that will keep chemists busy.

4. Which historical figure would you most like to have dinner with – and why?

Jesus Christ – the real historical person, that is. My father (a psychotherapist by profession) spent much of his life trying to understand this man, and the subsequent development of Christianity. He had some interesting conjectures about Jesus' life, and I would like to ask him about those.

5. When was the last time you did an experiment in the lab - and what was it?

About three months ago. I helped a graduate student measure the amount of gas given off in a reaction, using a Toepler pump. We don't use this apparatus very often, and I always seem to be the only one in the lab who remembers how to operate it.

6. If exiled on a desert island, what one book and one CD would you take with you?

Hmmm – a desert island with amenities like CD players? I love the music of Charlie Parker – so a compilation of his best songs would be my choice. If I had to be there for a really long time, an alto sax would be nice, to practice playing along. As for the book, I would take Darwin's 'The Origin of Species'. I firmly believe in evolution, but I have never taken the time to read his book. Besides, I gather it has some tips about survival on an island.

Klaus Theopold is currently Chair of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Delaware and works on the synthesis and characterization of transition metal compounds with interesting structure and reactivity.

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1. What made you want to be a chemist?

It's a bit sad really, as I more or less followed my nose and ended up being a chemist - that being said I certainly do not regret it! I was in the maths/physics/chemistry line of things at school, so a BSc at university was the obvious route. A