Maitland Jones, Jr, teaches in the Department of Chemistry at New York University.

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

When I was 12 or 13, I met William Doering. I had asked/demanded (remember I was all of 12) of my parents to be allowed to play the 12-year old tennis circuit that summer. My parents properly replied, "Time to get a job, kid." They met Doering at a party and coerced, or bribed, him into giving their kid what would today be called an internship at Hickrill, a privately funded basic research lab that happened to be near where we lived. There I not only met Doering, for whom I would work for the next ten years or so, but several other wonderful organic chemists, including Larry Knox, for whom I directly worked at Hickrill, washing dishes and being a general gopher. I knew nothing, of course, but the atmosphere was electric, the work intense, and the passion palpable. No one with the slightest interest in science could emerge from that place unchanged.

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

All my life I have loved jazz, and I have spent an enormous number of hours in dingy clubs over the last five or six decades. I know a lot about the music and run a jazz series in Princeton, New Jersey. I probably - certainly - could not be a musician, but I could run a club, or maybe be a critic. I still might do that.

3. What are you working on now, and where do you hope it will lead?

Well, I closed the research lab when I moved from Princeton to NYU, so I can only answer that in retrospect. My group worked on the chemistry of reactive intermediates, carbenes, benzynes, and the like. We also expanded into the chemistry of boron cage compounds, and the interactions of reactive intermediates with those three-dimensionally aromatic compounds. We hoped only that it would lead to a better understanding of how molecules react - and of how "electrons talk to each other."

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

Thelonious Monk. I saw and heard Monk when I was a kid. Indeed, I was at the Five Spot for a few of the times Monk played with John Coltrane. I didn't have a good enough understanding of the music then, and I'd like to talk to Monk about his music, or, better, to see him play again, nowI have a deeper appreciation of it.

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

A long long ago, probably in the 1970's - or even 1960's. Peter Gaspar was visiting Princeton for a semester, and we happened on a result of Bill (Florida) Jones's that had, we thought, important implications for the chemistry of phenylcarbenes. So I ran the experiments, evaporating p-tolyl diazomethane through a hot pyrolysis tube and collecting the products, styrene and benzocyclobutene, as Peter and I expected/hoped. Write it out - it is a remarkable transformation. Then work out a mechanism. It's wonderful chemistry. It turns out that a student of Harold Shechter's had run similar experiment but for some reason Harold never published them at the time and they languished in Dissertation Abstracts.

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

It has to be a book I've read because one can't take chances on a desert island, so I might pick Thomas Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow, for sheer flat-out virtuosity. Even if one doesn't get all the references - or even if one doesn't get the point at all - one can read it page by page, sentence by sentence, just for the brilliancy of the writing. And it's long. If I am allowed another, I'd take David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest - for much the same reasons. Or maybe Vikram Seth's A Suitable Boy. Or....

Music is easy: Charlie Parker, the Collected Dials and Savoys.

7. Which chemist would you like to see interviewed on Reactions – and why?

There are only a small number of the great physical organic chemists left - Doering and Roberts, I guess. Few know them now, I'm afraid, as the discipline has fallen so far out of favor. It would be nice to let them have a chance to make the case again.

Posted by Neil Withers at 06:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

David Andrews is in the Department of Chemistry at The University of East Anglia, and works on the quantum theory of light-matter interactions.

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

I had a keen interest in science from early childhood, fired up by a memorable first visit to London’s Science Museum. Like many young lads I had a chemistry set, and I remember my Dad taking me to a supplier to supplement my basic stock of chemicals with more exotic compounds and reagents. In the sixth-form at school we were taught by a wild-haired Welshman with cracked spectacles, whose enthusiasm for chemistry was hugely infectious. I know at least three of our fifteen-strong class went on to do first and then higher degrees in chemistry; our schoolteacher was truly inspirational.

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

I would gladly go into graphic design. It is a subject that fascinates me; I can spend hours playing with the fantastic software now available. Decent graphics can play a very important role in scientific publishing; good artwork should be visually pleasing and informative. Inspired by the concept of dendrimer symmetry, my daughter recently produced a tailor-made cover image for one of my books, and I have contributed to the choice and production of several others.

3. What are you working on now, and where do you hope it will lead?

Most of my research group’s efforts at present concern what has been termed ‘optical binding’ – the astonishing discovery that light itself can produce and modify intermolecular and inter-particle forces. In a nutshell, this means that it is now possible to manipulate micro- and nano-particles into stable, non-contact assemblies, held together by light – rather like a scaled-up version of the atomic bonding in molecules. If it lives up to its current promise, this could progress into major advances in the field of nanofabrication.

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

What a question! One of many in my A-list would be Michael Faraday who, despite significantly disadvantaged origins, rose to become world-renowned for his pioneering experiments and penetrating insights into chemistry, optics and electromagnetism. Lacking the pomposity that too often comes with fame, he would be fascinating and congenial company, I think.

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

Last year I visited St Andrews University with a colleague, and we were allowed hands-on experience of some highly sophisticated optical micromanipulation kit. That is the closest I have come to doing an experiment since undergraduate days. As a student I got on well in the labs, but although I enjoyed the physical chemistry, the organic experiments in particular I found quite scary. After electing for a third-year project in theory, there was no more practical to do. Letting me into a lab these days is probably quite risky.

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

For the book, almost anything by Thomas Hardy – but for choice, A Pair of Blue Eyes – and for the music album, the exquisite The Mask and the Mirror by Loreena McKennitt. She has the voice of an angel, and her songs are heartachingly beautiful.

7. Which chemist would you like to see interviewed on Reactions – and why?

I will choose Greg Scholes at Toronto; he is someone whose science I have the very highest regard for – and who is a very unassuming, modest individual. His views should be well worth hearing.

Posted by Neil Withers at 06:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Jonathan Sweedler is the James R. Eiszner Family Chair in Chemistry and has appointments in Physiology and Neuroscience at the University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign; his research area involves analytical neurochemistry and he studies novel neurochemistry related to learning, behaviour and neuronal network formation.

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

I have always loved science and knew I wanted a career in science research. My original exposure to chemistry was home chemistry sets and learning how to make reactions that go boom – while perhaps not too acceptable in our society today, this was more accepted in the 1970s. Given this interest, I guess it is not too surprising that my first vhemistry-related job was working at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory for three summers while I was an undergraduate student.

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

Since receiving my PhD in chemistry, I have moved my research toward my other science fascination — neuroscience and understanding the functioning of the brain. About one third of my group now includes students from the physiology and neuroscience departments and the rest are from the chemistry department. If I wasn’t a chemist, I would still be at a university but likely housed in a neuroscience department. I enjoy university research too much to do anything else!

3. What are you working on now, and where do you hope it will lead?

My group has two major interests — one is creating new analytical tools to probe nanoliter and smaller samples for their chemical constituents (sometimes such measurements are called metabolomics and proteomics), and the other applies these techniques to well defined neuronal networks to understand cell to cell signalling in the brain. We characterize novel neurochemical pathways related to neuropeptides, serotonin, chiral amino acids and nitric oxide, as well as try to determine the physiological function of the new compounds we uncover.

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

What a question. Perhaps Antony van Leeuwenhoek; he created some of the first effective microscopes and made some of the most important discoveries in biology, such as discovering bacteria, microscopic protists, sperm cells, blood cells, and rotifers. Of course, he only spoke Dutch and I do not, and so perhaps this would not be the best dinner conversation.

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

I still go to marine stations to collect selected marine invertebrates as they make wonderful models to study learning and memory in a well defined neuronal network. I can collect animals, study their brains and probe their unique neurochemistry. Yes, spending time (and diving for animals) in the Caribbean or the Pacific Northwest really is part of my “job.”

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

So I am allowed a CD player and power with only one CD, but not my i-pod full of all my favourite music, games, and texts? How about if I use the power supply for the CD to power a nice two-way radio? OK, as far as the book, either the complete works of William Shakespeare (I have not read many of his plays), or one of the “How to Survive on a Desert Island” survival guides I see listed on Google.

7. Which chemist would you like to see interviewed on Reactions – and why?

Richard Zare at Stanford University: He is a very creative person; I am sure his answers would be more interesting than mine.

Posted by Neil Withers at 06:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Jason Chin is in the Division of Protein and Nucleic Acid Chemistry of the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, and works on engineering the chemistry and biology of life

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

Curiosity about the mechanisms by which invisible rules control change in the visible world made me want to be a scientist.

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

A writer. I read continuously, often several books at once. Most recently I read Olive Kitteridge, A Fraction of the Whole, Sea of Poppies and Netherland. Writing is just so versatile.

3. What are you working on now, and where do you hope it will lead?

Reprogramming the genetic code. We hope to accelerate our mechanistic understanding of post-translational modifications by genetically encoding the modifications and looking at their effects. We also hope to turn the cell into a general polymer synthesis device.

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

T. E. Lawrence. I imagine he could tell an interesting story or two.

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

A year or so ago. I helped with a method to measure the fidelity of a ribosome a student had evolved, by looking at 35S cysteine mis incorporation into a gene with no cysteine codons.

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

I would need a subscription to The New Yorker. In general it is beautifully written and brings together lots of interesting articles and fiction. I read The New Yorker in Cambridge, so I know how it feels to read it far from the source already

7. Which chemist would you like to see interviewed on Reactions – and why?

John Sutherland at Manchester University, UK. Because he is using chemistry to ask the right questions about the origins of biology and provide elegant and important pre-biotic syntheses - arguably the most important syntheses.

Posted by Neil Withers at 06:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Joost Reek is in the Van 't Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences at the University of Amsterdam, and works on the development of supramolecular approaches in transition metal catalysis.

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

I was interested in physics, chemistry and some other technical subjects, but chemistry seemed to be the most attractive among these as it also contained some of the other aspects. Of course, good teachers at high school play an important role in this choice. Once at the university doing my master research project I was tremendously fascinated by fundamental research in chemistry.

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

If it is not supposed to be related to science at all, then maybe a designer, or maybe something that involves sports (professional trainer/coach would be interesting)

3. What are you working on now, and where do you hope it will lead?

I am currently exploring chemistry on the border between transition metal catalysis and supramolecular chemistry. It brings about new solutions to standing problems, it provides new tools for catalyst recycling, combinatorial catalysis and we have recently developed a photocatalyst for the light-induced formation of molecular hydrogen (formed by assembly). By using tools that are also frequently used by Nature, such as site isolation by catalyst encapsulation, dinuclear and bifunctional catalysis, we can create catalysts that show unprecedented selectivity. Some of our approaches are impressively successful, and we have started two companies to explore the commercial potential. (cat-fix, InCatT). This is of course the ultimate test for the academic ideas!

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

Barack Obama! No doubt.

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

When I started in Amsterdam in 1998, I still was doing experiments making porphyrin assemblies for transition metal catalysis and dendritic catalysts. Once I realized that it was no longer efficient to do the experiments myself, I reduced greatly the experimental work. I still do demonstration experiments, and the last time was in an old lecture hall of the tropen museum in Amsterdam, to celebrate the faculty’s birthday. It was great!

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

Only one music album is very old fashioned: we are the iPod generation! But it would be Californication from the Red Hot Chili Peppers. As a book I will bring From So Simple a Beginning: Darwin's Four Great Books, introduced by E. O. Wilson.

7. Which chemist would you like to see interviewed on Reactions – and why?

Whitesides, Lehn or Rebek would be great as they have done great science, but it would be also great to see some younger scientists as Otto, Glorius, Wenemers, Rowan, White, Ritter, Schenning, Sommerdijk, etc

Posted by Neil Withers at 06:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Laura Croft is a Technical Editor for Nature Chemistry and Nature Chemical Biology and passed her PhD viva exam last week.

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

I think it was my first copper sulfate crystallizing experiment at primary school and then a series of great teachers. Chemistry for me was the perfect mixture of creativity and problem solving. I was lucky to have two wonderful A-level teachers who recognized that this appealed to me and encouraged me to do extra chemistry lessons, then to apply to study chemistry at Oxford.

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

I would choose to do another creative job — I’d love to be an artist, architect or designer. I'm glad I kept art as a past-time but I'm still jealous every time I see one of the beautiful Nature Chemistry covers that our Art Editor designs. The other thing I love to do is cooking (it’s organic chemistry where you can eat your product!) so the dream scenario would be to design and run a restaurant!

3. What are you working on now, and where do you hope it will lead?

I work for Nature Publishing Group as a Technical Editor, which involves adding extra features to research articles on our website. We are incorporating extra compound information pages, which are linked from bold compound numbers in the HTML and PDF of our articles, as well as highlighting chemical names in the text and linking these to free chemical databases. I hope that the use of these sorts of facilities continues to grow and that we can make improvements to the way that scientists access information, particularly spectroscopic data and experimental methods.

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

It would be interesting to have dinner with William Perkin who discovered and commercialized the dye mauveine. He was a chemist at a time when so much was still unknown about organic chemistry, but when it was so important for industry. Maybe I'd invite William Fox-Talbot and Johannes Vermeer too — I always wish I'd been around when knowledge of the chemistry of pigments and photographic techniques was so important for artistic and commercial ventures.

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

I vividly remember my last experiment in the lab as it was the last experiment of my PhD and it was only last December! I was trying to purify 1 mg of the final product of my total synthesis. After a nervous 15 minutes with a pipette column and a further few staring at the NMR machine I discovered I'd made the right compound — a very happy (and nerve-wracking) day.

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

That's a tricky one. I think I would have to make up some kind of "mix-tape" compilation album to suit all my moods, but you can be sure there would be some Stevie Wonder or Marvin Gaye in there. I'd probably take some historical fiction like a Tracy Chevalier novel with me or as a guilty pleasure the Harry Potter box set — that would waste a few hours.

7. Which chemist would you like to see interviewed on Reactions — and why?

Stuart Warren, as I — like many others who started there degrees in and after 2001 — learned much of the organic chemistry I know from the big green book!

Posted by Neil Withers at 06:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Lisa McElwee-White is in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Florida, and works on applications of organometallic chemistry to problems in materials science, catalysis and synthetic methodology.

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

My mother gave me science toys and took me to museum classes because she was frustrated that she couldn't become a scientist. I loved playing with a chemistry set (completely unsupervised!) in the basement of my parents' house. Once I got the chance to do undergraduate research at the beginning of my freshman year, I was hooked. I never considered majoring in anything else.

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

I'd love to play in a major symphony orchestra but my skill level as a musician isn't anywhere near that high. I'll just have to keep my day job as a chemistry professor.

3. What are you working on now, and where do you hope it will lead?

We are working on several things: green chemistry methods for carbonylation, electrocatalysts for direct oxidation of alcohols in fuel cells, and design and synthesis of organometallic precursors for the chemical vapour deposition of inorganic thin films. All of these are interesting and important problems but I think our most distinctive work at the moment is in mechanism based design of CVD precursors. I would like to see our approach spread through the materials community, so that people think more like chemists when looking at deposition chemistry.

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

Rosalind Franklin, because I'd like to hear the story from her side.

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

I think it was in about 1987. I prepared a batch of (CO)5W(THF) as starting material for a student. I learned rapidly that my time as a faculty member was so fragmented that it was not possible to synthesize sensitive organometallic compounds and get the workup done before the material decomposed. My current generation of students can't even conceive of me doing an experiment. They cringe when I touch things.

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

The book would be something by Terry Pratchett, probably Good Omens. The album would be a tougher choice. Half of me would want something baroque, maybe one of the Interpreti Veniziani recordings of Vivaldi. The other half of me couldn't give up my Springsteen albums so I might end up with my hands on Born to Run.

7. Which chemist would you like to see interviewed on Reactions – and why?

Paul Wender. I'm dying to find out if he can answer a question within the 100 word limit.

Posted by Neil Withers at 06:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Scott Mabury is in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Toronto, and primarily works on the environmental fate, distribution and persistence of fluorinated chemicals.

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

Growing up on a farm combined with a Mom who taught Junior High science, a great high school chemistry teacher in Potosi, Missouri (Bill Nelson) and topped off with a course called "environmental chemistry" at college probably capture most of the 'what'.

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

Either a brain researcher or a farmer though I actually do the latter one day a week now. Probably best to keep the farming job as the one I play at since the rewards are mostly psychic ones. I find the science of the human brain fascinating and extremely challenging.

3. What are you working on now, and where do you hope it will lead?

A number of interesting things, although exploring why humans are so contaminated with perfluorinated acids is particularly intriguing. Specifically, we synthesize various polyfluorinated phosphates, that are commonly used as food contact paper chemicals to impart water and oil repellency, to explore their reactive properties. We just published some work that showed we could measure ppb concentrations of these in human serum, thus we are specifically interested in their metabolic reactions and whether they are significant contributors to the body burden of PFOA and related perfluorinated acids. This involves live-animal metabolism studies along with more focused investigations of the reactive intermediates.

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

Winston Churchill since I've taken on an additional job in university administration and successful leadership is on my mind.

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

Probably not since my early years as an assistant professor though I love designing experiments. I do note we are doing a largish field experiment now on the fate of food contact paper chemicals in an agroecosystem. This has me riding my John Deere tractor disking 600 tons of paper sludge on to 20 acres, on my farm, and then planting it into soybeans. I have an undergrad research student who follows along obtaining and ultimately analyzing the samples. My experimental contributions are not so scientific but they are necessary to the experiment.

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

Like publishing research, quality is more important than quantity but quantity still matters (especially on a desert island) so I would bring War and Peace. Harder pick for music so perhaps some Led Zeppelin would go well with Tolstoy.

7. Which chemist would you like to see interviewed on Reactions - and why?

Wow, this is harder than I would have thought as there are so many. Perhaps Mario Molina or Sherwood Rowland as they are scientific heroes of mine and I be interested seeing their personas fleshed out.

Posted by Neil Withers at 06:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

George Stanley is in the Department of Chemistry at Louisiana State University, and works on developing new homogeneous bimetallic catalysts and catalytic processes.

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

I became fascinated with science in the 4th grade (1962) when I read the Disney book Our Friend the Atom, followed by a large number of other science books in my small town's library. I got a chemistry set a year later and started playing around with standard "cook-book" reactions that progressed into preparing my own flash and smoke powder mixtures for fireworks. My school asked us every year what we wanted to be when we grew up and from 4th grade through 11th grade I said nuclear physicist. Taking calculus in my senior year in high school made me realize that I did not have the math abilities to be a physicist, so I "dropped down" to chemistry, which I was enjoying more and more.

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

My first choice would be science teacher in a primary/secondary school setting. I am a gifted, enthusiastic teacher and have a broad love of science. I see a high fraction of students in primary and secondary schools here in the USA not getting good general science educations because their teachers do not have much appreciation or understanding of science. Unfortunately, there are very few hands-on science activities in most schools nor connections to everyday real life. If I had to get away from science or teaching, I would be interested in a business career. I have always been interested in business topics and have worked in a small-town pharmacy, a zinc refinery, and a steel mill. I have seen how poor management decisions have led to a company's decay and eventual closing (long before our current economic situation).

3. What are you working on now, and where do you hope it will lead?

Our newest project is developing transition-metal catalysts for alkene hydration, which is the reaction of alkenes with water to produce linear alcohols or other oxygen-containing products. There are no examples of this for unactivated alkenes and Dr. James Roth, discoverer of the Monsanto Acetic Acid process, has called alkene hydration catalysis one of the 10 unsolved problems of industrial catalysis. We submitted a "blue-sky" (i.e., no preliminary results) proposal to Sasol North America and they took a big chance and funded this exploratory project. Although we are still in the early stages of studying this, we believe that we have indeed catalyzed a reaction between water and simple 1-alkenes under mild conditions. But the situation, naturally, turns out to be complicated with alkene oligomerization taking over to give a completely unexpected primary product.

As to where we would like to see this lead? A practical and environmentally friendly industrial catalyst would be fantastic. It is very rare, however, for academically discovered catalysts to make the transition to industrial commodity chemicals, so we are very realistic about this.

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

Tough question! Ben Franklin would be my choice (without a lot of deep thinking). I grew up in eastern PA and visited the Franklin Institute, a wonderful science museum in Philadelphia, many times as a kid. Ben Franklin was a remarkable person: scientist, politician, businessman, diplomat, and bon vivant. As a scientist I would like his insight into the politics that went on for the Declaration of Independence and thoughts on the constitution and the compromises involved, especially with regards to the second amendment ("right to bear arms") as it relates to the USA today.

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

Last week! Although I don't do synthesis anymore, I do help out with our in situ catalyst spectroscopic studies (FT-IR & NMR) and when new autoclave runs are being done. I helped one graduate student condense and transfer butadiene to an autoclave for a hydroformylation run; another with setting up an ethylene hydroformylation experiment; and a senior student with a FT-IR study using a new silicon crystal attenuated total reflectance reaction cell. At US$660 per crystal, I usually mount and dismount the crystal in the cell for reaction studies and cleaning.

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

Book: either The Glory and the Dream: A Narrative History of America, 1932-1972 by William Manchester or the Boy Scout Manual. The Boy Scout Manual if survival looked difficult, otherwise the Glory and the Dream as a thick and engaging history of the USA during some remarkable times.

Music: Hmmm - batteries wouldn't last long (solar power?), Best of the Moody Blues ranks as one of my favourite groups and I don't get tired of listening to them.

7. Which chemist would you like to see interviewed on Reactions – and why?

Margaret Cavanaugh (National Science Foundation - National Science Board). Marge was my NSF program director a long time ago and had a very positive impact on my career. I haven't had a chance to talk to her much over the last 10 years as she has moved away from chemistry. Marge has been in both academics (chemistry professor) and involved in high level NSF activities. I'd like to keep her thinking about chemistry and Reactions might help.

Posted by Neil Withers at 06:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Ann Valentine is in the Department of Chemistry at Yale University, and works on how biology handles metal ions that are very sensitive to hydrolysis.

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

It was a "Goldilocks" decision...I loved basic science, but biology is too big (and also too complicated), and physics is too small (particle physics)... AND too big (astrophysics). Chemistry 'the molecular scale' was just right. Also, in my sophomore year of high school, my science club mentor, Ada Margaret Hutchison, let us have free rein in the lab for most of the year. I set a lot of things on fire. And I thought: sign me up for THIS!

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

I'd be a middle school science teacher. I love doing outreach programs with that age group - when kids aren't too cool to get unabashedly excited about science. High school kids, on the other hand, terrify me. There have been exceptions, but they're often too busy impressing each other to really get into science.

3. What are you working on now, and where do you hope it will lead?

In one of our projects I'm thinking about this afternoon, we're working out some fundamental interactions of Ti(IV) with biomolecules that I hope will lead one day to a wide appreciation for a role for this metal ion in biology. Right now we all think of titanium as being mostly inert, but I find it hard to accept that biology would never have found a productive use for this incredibly abundant element for which humans have found many applications.

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

I'd pick Ed Ricketts, a sort of renegade marine biologist who worked in Monterey, CA until the 1940s. He was a buddy of John Steinbeck and the inspiration for his character "Doc" in Cannery Row. Steinbeck wrote a tribute called About Ed Ricketts that's now published with The Log from the Sea of Cortez, a book which describes their great adventure together. Reading that tribute makes me want to have a meal - or maybe a beer - with Ricketts. I imagine it would be scientifically enlightening but mostly really, really entertaining.

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

My most recent lab notebook entry is June 22, 2007. I was trying to troubleshoot the purification of a ferritin protein by getting in there and doing it all myself. The final gel is missing because I got distracted by some other demand on my time and left the gel in destain for a week. More often now, rather than trying to do anything myself, l spend a few hours alongside a grad student "helping" them with an experiment or an instrument they're having trouble with - most often they figure it out themselves just to get me out of their way.

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

Wow, the urge is so strong to pick some highbrow thing that will make me sound smart and impressive. But I'll be honest - the one book I re-read every few years is A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving. And an album I'd listen to anytime would be by Marc Cohn - let's say his "Live 04-05" disc for a mix of older and newer.

7. Which chemist would you like to see interviewed on Reactions - and why?

Have you interviewed Harry Gray yet? He can always be counted on to be entertaining - I'll bet he'd have great answers to your questions.

Posted by Neil Withers at 06:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Zachary Aron is in the Department of Chemistry at Indiana University, Bloomington, and works on the development of molecular assembly lines as versatile tools for chemical synthesis.

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

I've always wanted to be a scientist -- the world around me fascinates me, and I've always wanted to look closer... But that doesn't really answer the question, does it? My first inkling that chemistry was the right science came in high school under the gifted tutelage of Frank Cardulla, who helped me to understand that chemistry was the only science where you could really grasp what you are doing with a truly satisfying level of detail. Biology, despite its awesome power and the amazing advances of the past decades, is still too much of a mystery. Physics is so understood that you need detailed equations between you and the science, making it too distant. Chemistry... ah, chemistry, now thats a science you can sink your teeth right into. We can almost picture the molecules in our heads. We can predict their flow and motion. We can finesse them together and we can make them flow -- how could it not have been chemistry?

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

That's an easy one. Anyone who knows me can probably guess -- when I walk into a party, I typically greet the dogs and cats before I notice the people. If I couldn't be a chemist, I would be a veterinarian. Making sick pets healthy and keeping them happy would make my day. Helping them move on to a place of less pain would hurt, but the help I could give would really balance it all out.

3. What are you working on now, and where do you hope it will lead?

At the moment, our laboratory is focused on the development of new synthetic methodologies with the long-term goal of applying them in complex molecule syntheses. One focus is the development of biomimetic catalysts that activate amines in a manner similar to that of pyridoxal-5'-phosphate (PLP). Our hope is to identify a simple and accessible class of organocatalysts capable of dramatically simplifying the way chemists work with amine-containing compounds; eliminating protecting groups and accelerating chemical synthesis. We hope that this work will simplify the industrial synthesis of amine-containing compounds and broaden access to unusual derivatives of biologically active natural products.

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

John Muir. I've spent a great deal of time exploring the landscape of the American wilderness and have always been struck by its beauty. John Muir was the powerful voice that pushed to protect so much of what we still have -- I'd love to thank him. I'd also like to hear a few of his stories, his experiences in the wild would be remarkable to the point of legend.

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

Gosh, not that long ago (can't be specific, my fiance might be reading this...). What was the experiment? The answer is a bit embarrassing... the last experiment I ran in the laboratory was a follow-up to a reaction that had gone south on me: when running a simple Schiff-base formation, I had gotten a quantitative yield of an unanticipated product (you'll see this paper soon enough); anyway, the last experiment was a follow-up that changed the pH of the system to successfully make the desired Schiff-base without any more shenanigans.

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

The music album: New Moon, by Charlie Ortman -- when exiled, the first thing I would miss would be my family, so an album by my uncle would at least be a soothing reminder of home.

The book: Hmmm... that's a hard one; I'm a voracious reader, and there are few books I can think of that would both interest me and last any period of time. Possibly 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez since its a book that one often becomes lost and confused when reading. However, much like the album, I'm gonna need comfort food when stranded on a desert island, so it would most likely be Dune by Frank Herbert -- an amazing book with strong links to my childhood.

7. Which chemist would you like to see interviewed on Reactions – and why?

Matthais Brewer at University of Vermont -- to be honest, he's a good friend and I'd be curious to see his answers to these questions! Plus his work with diazonium salts has long fascinated me, placing a renewed emphasis on an old but important field.

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Kalai Saravanamuttu is in the Department of Chemistry at McMaster University, and works on the fundamental properties and applications of nonlinear light propagation in photochemical media.

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

Chemistry first appealed to me in a great deal due to my high school teachers in Port Moresby. They threw open the doors to a molecular underworld that ruled the properties and transformations of matter. The decision to pursue chemistry as a career probably took form during my final undergraduate year at McGill University. For my senior thesis, I worked on optical chemical benches – biosensor waveguides with enhanced sensitivities based on surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy. First within the narrow scope of this project and then in a much broader context, I saw chemistry as a link between different disciplines - an interpreter between the natural sciences - that opened exciting, creative approaches to research.

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

I would work for an organisation that actively promoted the rights, health care and education of children. The roles and responsibilities of scientists in human rights have been demonstrated by initiatives such as the AAAS Science and Human Rights Program. My hope in working full time in this field would be to make a meaningful and sustained even if minute contribution to these critical issues. I feel that such work would also provide incredible opportunities to learn from the lives of a rich diversity of people.

3. What are you working on now, and where do you hope it will lead?

My research group looks at the way coherent and incoherent light behaves when it propagates through media that undergo photochemical reactions. We find that these systems elicit a range of nonlinear forms of light propagation such as self-trapped beams, optical lattices and spontaneous pattern formation. Such phenomena hold promise in the development of active photonics devices that provide precise control over the propagation of light signals.

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

I would like to dine with Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman. It would be wonderful to hear a personal account of the sequence of events that elucidated the subtle yet powerful Raman effect and to also get his perspective on the interesting times in the early twentieth century during which his experiments were carried out.

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

About three weeks ago just before the birth of my daughter and when everything seemed to be full of promise. I worked with my undergraduate student to see how multiple self-trapped laser beams behaved as they travelled through a polymerisable gel. We found that the beams merged together and separated periodically as they propagated through the photopolymer. We are now trying to find the mechanism underlying this behaviour.

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

Assuming that I was not to be rescued any time soon, I would probably take On the Genealogy of Morals by Nietzsche – because I am continually trying to read and understand this text. In terms of a music album (and assuming that i-pods were forbidden), it would be a coin toss between a Verdi collection and a mix of Tamil popular songs spanning the past six decades by composers Viswanathan, Ilaiyaraaja and Rahman.

7. Which chemist would you like to see interviewed on Reactions – and why?

I’d like to see Prof. David L. Andrews from the University of East Anglia. His group uses a powerful approach based on quantum electrodynamics to understand the interactions of molecules between themselves and with light.

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Aaron Wheeler is in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Toronto and works to develop miniaturized systems to solve problems in chemistry, biology, and medicine.

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

I see that many of the other interviewees had formative experiences with chemistry sets, but if I am honest, I have to admit that ended up in chemistry a bit by accident – I enjoyed the classes and labs and my interest was encouraged by supportive teachers along the way. If we played it over again a few times, I could see the results going a different direction. That said, now that I am here – I love it. Regardless of whether the questions you are interested in are in physics, biology, medicine, engineering, food, the environment, etc., chemistry is centrally important. It’s a great platform from which to dabble in almost anything.

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

Life is interesting, and there are too many options to consider. Staying within science... I think I would like to be a neuroscientist. The link between the chemistry and biology of the brain and thoughts, feelings, and memories is such a fascinating story, one that’s just beginning to be understood.

3. What are you working on now, and where do you hope it will lead?

My group and I are developing miniaturized “lab-on-a-chip” systems relying on microfluidics, and we’re applying them to a bevy of different applications, including the development of tools for analyzing proteomes, methods for growing, culturing, and assaying rare cell populations in multiplex, and low-invasive techniques for screening patients for risk of developing cancer. What I love about this field: we get to dabble in all kinds of interesting areas – collect clinical samples one day, don a bunny suit and fabricate devices in the clean-room the next, fix the $&%^!! mass spectrometer the day after that, and on and on. I get bored with routine, and this job is anything but that.

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

These are hard-hitting questions... I think for this one I might go with Charles Darwin. He was obviously a source of some wide-ranging, transformative ideas, but he was interested in problems big and small. Apparently, he had a great passion for earthworms (!), going as far as to evaluate their behaviour over several decades by sprinkling markers on the ground to measure worm-driven soil turnover rates. I imagine that with some coaxing, a conversation with Charles D. would cover almost any topic under the sun (or under the soil, as the case may be).

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

When starting the lab a few years ago, I did a bit of work, mostly with instrument installation and setup. Since then, I have been a desk-monkey – grants don’t write themselves, you know! I do love being involved in the experiments, though, and (to my students’ dismay, I fear) I try to participate in experiment planning, execution, and interpretation as much as possible. This is what makes the job so much fun! But it’s important to remember that the (science) work done in academia is 100% driven by students. I am not sure that this is recognized by people outside of the academy.

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

The Sceptical Chymist does not pull punches with these questions! For a book, I would likely choose one of Jared Diamond’s tomes on the evolution of peoples and societies -- I learn new and interesting ideas each time that I go back to them. For music? I guess I would stick to my Southern roots and would pick a Skynyrd album, but this question is outdated, right? Can’t I just bring my ipod which is loaded with ‘every song I have ever listened to’TM?

7. Which chemist would you like to see interviewed on Reactions – and why?

Chemists who would give interesting answers to these questions include Dick Zare at Stanford and Jonathan Sweedler at Illinois.

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John D. (Nick) Fisk is in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Colorado State University and works on developing new chemical tools for understanding and manipulating biological systems.

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

I was very lucky to grow up in an old farm house; my back yard was woods and a stream. I don’t think that a better toy will ever be invented for a 5-year old than a stream full of living things. I was in the water collecting animals or building dams and locks nearly every day. I think that environment and the observations that one can’t help but make about how it works, how it changes, and how it can be made to change set me on the path toward science. I remain interested in all of physical science and am working in an area between chemistry, biology, and engineering. Ultimately, I am interested in how the world works on a chemical level.

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

If I hadn't become a chemist (or some other flavor of scientist), I would be an architect or landscape architect. I have always been interested in design. My work deals with the design of molecules and nanostructures, but I would also enjoy assembling buildings or gardens.

3. What are you working on now, and where do you hope it will lead?

My lab is interested in using chemistry and biology together for the construction of materials and biotechnologies useful in medicine. Toward these ends, we are working to add new amino acids to the genetic code; we will use these non-natural amino acids, along with protein engineering, to improve the utility of virus particles as the building blocks of advanced materials. I hope that our work will contribute on a basic level to the ability to integrate new chemistries into biology and on a practical level to generate useful tools for research and medicine.

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

Issac Newton. I am interested in the history of science, and he is such a pivotal figure. I am not sure he would be a great dinner companion, as he was apparently a bit anti-social. Nonetheless, I would really like to see how a mind like his worked.

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

The last time I was in the lab doing experiments was about a year ago synthesizing some non-natural amino acids.

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

I’m going to cheat a little bit with this one and say that I would take along the Scientific American Library series. The whole series contains fewer than 70 books, so it is not an entire library. I really enjoy learning about other areas of science, and I imagine that I would have a lot of time to read before I got my "island lab" running.

7. Which chemist would you like to see interviewed on Reactions – and why?

Jason Chin. The work he is doing is quite exciting and may bring about a real paradigm shift in the area of templated polymer synthesis.

Posted by Neil Withers at 06:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Ian Fleming is an Emeritus Professor in the Department of Chemistry in the University of Cambridge, and worked on a range of topics in the general area of synthetic organic chemistry. He is best known as a pioneer in applying organosilicon chemistry to control the regio- and stereo-chemistry of a variety of organic reactions.

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

A short answer is: because it was transparently interesting. But it is much harder to identify why I found it so. When I was eleven or so, I had a chemistry set - an almost useless one - which I augmented with purchases from a chemist's shop over the road from my school, with a Bunsen burner, conical flasks, glass tubing, funnels etc., and with a few items my father brought home from his work as a metallurgist, like copper sulfate, and concentrated hydrochloric and sulfuric acid. The first few years of school chemistry seemed to me obvious. The chemistry master, Mr Timbrell, had written an excellent book with the School Certificate syllabus in it; I read it, understood it and remembered it. I repeated what I could of it at home, and at school sat at the back of the class playing chess while he droned on and on. The subject really came alive when we got to organic chemistry in the sixth form, taught by Stan Featherstone, who arranged for me to stay after school and carry out experiments from Mann and Saunders' textbook. I had made about 50 organic compounds by the time I left school, more than all the ones I made as an undergraduate, so I was an experienced practical chemist early on. My other subject was biology, which I fully expected to be a part of my career, but when I met biochemistry at Cambridge I soon realised that the only part I found interesting was metabolic pathways - the chemistry. At the same time, in my second year, we met organic reaction mechanisms, first from Peter Sykes and then more compellingly from Malcolm Clark, and molecular orbital theory from Christopher Longuet-Higgins. The subject began to have a satisfying intellectual structure, and I was hooked. From then on, and especially in the next four or five years, I was able to order all my organic chemical knowledge into a coherent framework, to which I've been adding all the time. So a second short answer is: Stan Featherstone, Malcolm Clark and Christopher Longuet-Higgins.

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

Realistically, of course, I would have been something close to a chemist: a biochemist or even maybe a doctor, but that is not interesting. Moving away from science, and choosing something from within my competence, I might have liked to be a photojournalist, because you get to see extraordinary things and people. I might equally have answered a film director, if I were allowed to interpret the words "could do" in the question to mean that I had magically been given the talent.

3. What are you working on now, and where do you hope it will lead?

I am rewriting my textbooks - I've finished and published the sixth edition of the Spectroscopic Methods book that Dudley Williams and I wrote, and am now putting the finishing touches to two versions of a book to replace my Frontier Orbitals book, which is now an astonishing 33 years old. I have a 300-page "student" edition at the same level as the Frontier Orbitals book, and a 550-page "library" version, with all the references and much more material, for those who want more. As before, it treats the subject without mathematics for the benefit of all those organic chemists like me who have little mathematical aptitude but want to understand the subject in a physical way. The new versions will be called Molecular Orbitals and Organic Chemical Reactions, with less emphasis on the Frontier Orbitals. My next task will probably be to look again at an even older book of mine: Selected Organic Syntheses.

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

Samuel Johnson was arguably the wisest man ever, and good company. But a great many other names come to mind: Queen Elizabeth I, Henry James, Virginia Woolf, Orson Welles, Shakespeare, Billy Wilder? What a dinner party.

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

Some of my later co-workers may remember my showing them how to get crystals - a lost art it seems, but I don't think that counts as an experiment. The last preparation I remember was the preliminary work for the indole syntheses that Mike Woolias developed, when I prepared the way for him, by establishing that the reaction worked. It involved an amino group displacing an aryl halide, long before Buchwald and Hartwig, and without any transition metals being necessary. I remember leaving a reflux going to open an epoxide with benzylamine in ethanol, while I went to the Oxford Synthesis Meeting in July 1973, and coming back to find that not only had the epoxide been opened but the intramolecular displacement of the ortho bromide had also taken place.

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

It's always difficult to restrict oneself to one. It would have to be big. War and Peace, perhaps, or is one allowed the whole of Shakespeare? For music, it would have to be the late Beethoven quartets.

7. Which chemist would you like to see interviewed on Reactions - and why?

David Evans of Harvard, because he is inspirationally thoughtful in teaching and research.

Posted by Neil Withers at 06:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Lei Zhu is in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry at Florida State University, and works on supramolecular chemistry and bioinorganic chemistry of zinc.

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

In high school, I enjoyed all subjects in science. The experimental part of (high school) chemistry was much more visual than those of others which swayed me to what I do now.

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

My career choice second to chemistry would be investigative journalism. It is not too different from science – one draws conclusions based on evidence.

3. What are you working on now, and where do you hope it will lead?

We develop fluorescent molecules that report zinc gradients in biological systems. Also, we are interested in photophysics and coordination chemistry embodied in the compounds that we design. In addition to advancing fundamental understanding of the chemical systems, I hope that our work will lead to better sensors and catalysts, and ultimately, lots of wonderful surprises.

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

That would be Charles Darwin on the Beagle. He was a wise man and may have had incredible dinner options over his voyages.

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

The last entry on my notebook is March 17 this year. I prepared a precursor of ligands that we study. It’s a reaction that we have done many times. It does not go wrong. I did it to escape from my office work. I do not have a project anymore because I’m unable to provide the continuity that’s required for a project to move forward in a timely manner. Most of my lab activities involve instrument maintenance.

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

I’d happily indulge in Chinese kung fu novels which occasionally do offer recipes for preparing marine delicacies. I’m not so much a music person. I’d trade music CDs for a couple of Dane Cook comedy show recordings.

7. Which chemist would you like to see interviewed on Reactions – and why?

Maitland Jones at NYU. He’s a person with ample life experience but a young and playful heart. Also, Frantz Andersen at SUNY New Paltz would be interesting. He’s a very good friend of mine from the days at UT Austin. Frantz always has shockingly amusing tales to tell.

Posted by Neil Withers at 06:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Richmond Sarpong is in the Department of Chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley, and works on the development of strategies and methods for the total synthesis of complex natural products.

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

It's a little bit of a clichéd story...I grew up in Ghana, West Africa, and my father, who is a medical doctor, worked closely with the World Health Organization. This was a time when a disease called 'river blindness' was really bad in West Africa. The company Merck came in with ivermectin and basically took care of the problem for free. I, like many, was very impressed. I cracked open my father's copy of the Merck index and my eyes opened to chemicals and all the positive things they could do for all of us....medically of course.

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

I would have loved to be a professional tennis player. I love the combination of mental and physical command it requires...you have to compete in a controlled way. Alas, my limited mental and physical talent curtailed any opportunities for this.

3. What are you working on now, and where do you hope it will lead?

In my group, we are becoming very good at making complex molecules. The ability to make molecules brings with it so much. It especially puts us in a position to make use of the things that we can make to answer chemical questions in biology. So we are currently looking to build molecules with important function to address some specific problems in cancer and asthma.

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

There are many I would like to have dinner with. Out of professional selfishness, I would say R. B. Woodward, who was amazing at designing strategies to attack complex molecule synthesis. I would really like to ask his opinion on several matters which are at the heart of a number of controversies in our field right now.

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

About a year ago, I ran a chemical reaction known as a Wittig reaction. I didn't budget for the amount of time necessary for a work-up and passed it on to a very talented incoming graduate student. She has gone on to turn this half-done reaction into a series of publications.... I have come to realize that I am more useful to my laboratory by thinking critically about everyone else's problems and getting the funding we need to continue our work than working in lab.

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

Depends on how long I would be away....could I bring a Kindle with the opportunity to constantly download more stuff? Well, if restricted to one book, again, out of a selfish professional interest, it would have be Anslyn and Dougherty's Advanced Physical Organic chemistry book....then I can return someday and match wits with my students, who have all read it cover to cover. With regard to music, it will have to be Michael Jackson's HIStory collection. That man is a musical genius! He has a song appropriate for every mood...if double CDs are not allowed, then I will "burn" one with Pat Metheny's Still Life Talking, some Toto, Michael Franks and some Rick Astley...he is completely underrated!

7. Which chemist would you like to see interviewed on Reactions - and why?

Professor Brian Stoltz at Caltech. He was my postdoctoral advisor and always had fun, colorful stories to share. I think his stories will be quite inspirational for the audience of this blog.

Posted by Neil Withers at 06:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Aaron Wright is in the Fundamental & Computational Sciences Directorate at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and works on the development of chemical proteomics to facilitate myriad biological investigations.

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

When I was about 10 years old I received my first chemistry kit. I distinctly remember being fascinated by the changes elicited by mixing two or more chemicals together. Of course, I didn’t really understand what caused the changes, but it piqued my interest. Later, in high school, I had probably the best chemistry teacher of my life, who fostered my interest in the field, and helped direct me toward a future in chemistry.

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

A landscape designer/architect. I love working in the yard, whether it is mowing the lawn, weeding the garden, or completely renovating some part of the landscape.

3. What are you working on now, and where do you hope it will lead?

We are working in several diverse areas all incorporating chemical and activity-based proteomics. This includes utilizing the excellent mass spectrometry instrumentation and informatics available at PNNL to perform chemical proteomics in novel ways. Currently, our work is spread across research into subcellular fractionation, tuberculosis, microbial communities, and a smidge in biofuels.

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

Martin Luther King, Jr. There are only a few individuals in history who have so resolutely stood upon their convictions and faith to bring about change for so many while their life was in constant danger. I imagine I could learn a lot over a dinner with him.

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

I performed a microscale vacuum distillation to purify a product from a reaction yesterday.

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

If exiled on an island I’d want my Bible; I wouldn’t feel so deserted with it along. As for a music album, probably the best of Johnny Cash.

7. Which chemist would you like to see interviewed on Reactions?

Lei Zhu at Florida State University.

Posted by Neil Withers at 06:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Carolyn Bertozzi is in the Department of Chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley, and works on the development of chemical tools for probing biomolecules in living systems, as well as specific projects in the areas of glycobiology, mycobacterial metabolism, and nanotechnology.

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

I started out majoring in biology in college, which included the obligatory year of organic chemistry. I fell in love with the subject during that year, thanks in large part to excellent professors, and then switched my major to chemistry - one of my life's best decisions.

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

If I had the talent then it is a no-brainer: professional rock musician, preferably electric bass (I bought one in a mid-life crisis moment but I still don't know how to play it). Otherwise, I would work on the staff of a professional sports team, either as an analyst or scout. Football ideally, but baseball would be fine too.

3. What are you working on now, and where do you hope it will lead?

We are heavily invested in strategies for imaging glycans in living systems. We worked this out in models of zebrafish development and would like to push the techniques into diagnostic imaging for human disease. We also developed an approach to proteomic analysis of glycosylation that has the potential to reveal disease biomarkers from highly complex bodily fluids. On the nanoscience front, we are working hard on a method for imaging tissues at the nanometer scale using mass spectrometry methods. And a whole lot more...

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

My paternal grandmother - she is not "historical" in the global sense, but she is to me because I did not know her well but she was a legend in our household. She passed on when I was in elementary school and did not speak English well enough for me to communicate with her when I was a kid. Her brief story is this: Grandma fled from Italy to the US during Mussolini's fascist regime of the 1920s. She was very active in the Italian socialist party and helped build one of the first day care centers in the country to facilitate women's entry into the work force. Her political alliance put her life at risk, however, so at the age of 19 she posed as an illiterate peasant and escaped on a boat to the US. After landing in Boston, she met her husband, had five children during the depression era (there is a liquor bootlegging story embedded in there somewhere), sent them all to college and post-graduate degree programs on full scholarship (including the girls), and lived to see her youngest, my father, become a professor of physics at MIT. What an experience it would be now to hear her tell her story in person over a big Italian meal.

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

Circa 1996, I scaled up starting materials for my graduate students. A few distracted attempts at experimental work thereafter earned such criticism from my students that I have deferred to them ever since.

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

The music album: Beatles Revolver
The book: if exiled for a limited time, then War and Peace - otherwise I will never ever finish that tome. If exiled indefinitely, then something X rated would be warranted.

7. Which chemist would you like to see interviewed on Reactions – and why?

My colleague Richmond Sarpong, to see if he will admit in a public forum his secret career aspiration of dancing with the stars

Posted by Neil Withers at 06:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Erin Carlson is in the Department of Chemistry at Indiana University, and works on the development and application of advanced chemical biology and systems biology technologies to both define the mechanisms of bacterial development and pathogenesis and identify potential therapeutic agents.

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

My dad is a bioorganic chemist, so my interest in the field isn’t surprising. When I was in elementary school, we bought one of those crystal growing kits from the science museum and grew them in a beaker in his lab. I still have that beaker in my home office. I started work in his laboratory at 14 and have never looked back.

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

I would be a photographer for National Geographic. This job would encompass several of my favorite activities; travel, learning about other cultures and photography.

3. What are you working on now, and where do you hope it will lead?

Very broadly, we are working to define biochemical pathways associated with disease. Although it’s probably not practical to expect that we will be able to directly find the cure for a major disease, I hope that we will make fundamental contributions that will ultimately enable the development of new treatments.

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

Mahatma Gandhi. Although I have long been intrigued by Gandhi and his philosophies, a recent trip to India intensified my interest and has spurred a great deal of reading and learning about this incredible man.

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

I was in lab just over a week ago synthesizing a molecule for an assay that one of my students is performing.

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

The book I’ve been enjoying that most lately is At the Helm: A Laboratory Navigator by Kathy Barker. I have found it to be invaluable as I start my career as a new faculty member. But I suppose if I were on a deserted island, I wouldn’t really have the opportunity to be running a research lab so I might have to rethink this selection…

I can’t possibly decide on one album since music is such an integral part of my life. At the moment, I would select For Emma, Forever Ago by Bon Iver and The Flying Club Cup by Beirut.

Posted by Neil Withers at 06:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Eugenio Coronado is in the Institute for Molecular Science at the University of Valencia, and works on molecular magnetism, in the design, study and processing of new magnetic molecules and materials exhibiting multifunctional properties.

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

One initial reason was the central position of chemistry, in between physics and biology. Another more recent reason was related with the structure of matter, its beauty, and the unique possibility offered by chemistry for manipulating these structures to create new compounds exhibiting new properties.

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

A painter or a cartoonist, as these artistic activities also involve a significant amount of research and a lot of creativity.

3. What are you working on now, and where do you hope it will lead?

I am starting to work on molecular spintronics. The main hopes in this new area of nanomagnetism are to show that chemistry can provide new magnetic molecules and materials, which conveniently designed and nanostructured, should lead to useful spintronic heterostructures and to new opportunities in nanospintronics and quantum computing.

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

Leonardo da Vinci. For me this figure represents the perfect combination of scientist and artist.

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

My last chemical experiment was done at Georgetown University, USA, in July 1987 in the lab of Prof. Louis Baker. I was preparing a cobalt magnetic cluster encapsulated by a polyoxometalate. It resulted to be the first polyoxometalate molecule exhibiting ferromagnetic exchange interactions. In physics I performed more recent experiments at the ILL in 1991 to study the magnetic excitations in this kind of clusters.

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

Apart from a survival guide, I would take Homer's Odyssey. As music, I would take Vivaldi music (and a Spanish guitar).

7. Which chemist would you like to see interviewed on Reactions?

I would like to see interviewed relevant scientists (not chemists) having seminal contributions in chemistry (for example, Nobel prizes in chemistry coming from other fields). Aaron Klug (physicist interested in biochemistry) should be an excellent choice.

Posted by Neil Withers at 06:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Ross Kelly is in the Department of Chemistry at Boston College, and works on the synthesis of natural products and molecular devices (motors, brakes, etc.).

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

When I was growing up in the 1950s, chemistry sets still contained good stuff (like powdered magnesium) and even a twelve-year old could get the ingredients of gunpowder (sulfur, powdered charcoal and saltpeter) at the drug store no questions asked. Not surprisingly, rockets, bombs and homemade fireworks first hooked me on chemistry. While the inability to easily lay one's hands on "dangerous" chemicals may make childhood safer these days, I fear that without the allure of "bangs and stinks" to grab them when they are young, fewer people will go into chemistry in the future.

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

I like designing and making things and I have spent my career designing and making molecules. But I expect I would have enjoyed designing and making other things instead. Being a mechanical engineer or a mechanic or machinist or maybe even a furniture maker (I design and build furniture as a hobby) appeal to me.

3. What are you working on now, and where do you hope it will lead?

I answer this question at the risk of inflicting lame duck status on myself, since one is most commonly known by his research program. For the past five years or so I have been winding down my research effort. Fortunately, I did that when I had a choice, rather than now when the current funding crisis might have forced it on me. I will continue to teach organic chemistry to undergraduates, which I enjoy and seem to be good at.

A word to the (un?)wise: lecture demonstrations have fallen out of favor in organic chemistry, but the students really like them and they liven up the class. I do something nearly every class. "Demonstrations" don't have to be a lot of work: projecting the lists of ingredients from various foods, drug store products, etc., or passing around samples of familiar odiferous chemicals are easy ways to connect with the real world.

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

Leonardo da Vinci and Linus Pauling are two that come to mind. Not even taking into account his art, Leonardo was phenomenally creative, and I find his engineering ideas fascinating. Pauling was amazingly smart and figured out so many things. I would like to hear him explain how he missed the structure of the double helix - he got so many other things right.

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

Most of us who end up in academia do so because we were unusually good in lab as grad students and postdocs. One of the ironies is that most of us then have to forsake what we enjoyed and what got us here. It has been a long time since I have done anything in lab except to occasionally show a technique to a student.

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

I like to read, so I would prefer to bring a bookcase (or a Kindle) full of books, but if I could only bring one book, it might be Dostoyevsky's classic Crime and Punishment, but for a strange reason. Several times in my life I have started Crime and Punishment, but never gotten into it. If it were the only book on the island, I expect I would finally finish it.

I don't spend all that much time listening to music, so I would much prefer bringing a radio-controlled model airplane to fly. Many people won't understand, but I would find that more relaxing than listening to music.

7. Which chemist would you like to see interviewed on Reactions – and why?

That is a hard question. The ones that I would be most interested in (viz Emil Fischer) are dead, which makes for a tough interview.

Posted by Neil Withers at 06:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Kristopher McNeill is in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Minnesota, and works on the environmental chemistry of aquatic systems.

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

I had a crush on a girl in high school and she told me I looked good in a lab coat during a chemistry lab. I wish I were kidding. Prior to that, I had a strong, yet nebulous, interest in all things science-y, especially space travel.

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

It's a sad fact that I am not that good at anything else, but I do enjoy (listening to) music and (engaging in amateur) graphic design. Maybe I would be a music blogger with a swank website and live off ad revenue! I could interview musicians and post their interviews on my blog. Hmm, this is starting to sound a lot like your job.

3. What are you working on now, and where do you hope it will lead?

My research group is focussed on chemical reactions that occur in aquatic systems. Right now we have projects on the fate of wastewater-derived pharmaceuticals in surface waters (with Prof. Bill Arnold), how sunlight participates in the breakdown of natural organic compounds in estuaries (with Prof. Jim Cotner), remediation of groundwater polluted with chlorinated solvents using metal-based reactions, the environmental chemistry of carbon nanotubes (with Prof. Chris Cramer), and sunlight-mediated inactivation of pathogenic viruses and bacteria (with. Profs. Kara Nelson, Ali Boehm, and Tamar Kohn), among other things! As you can see, we like to collaborate with other research groups. I would argue that most problems in environmental science are just too big for any one research group or one research discipline to tackle -- you have to collaborate to make headway. Plus, we have a lot of fun interacting with folks with different expertise.

I'll tell you about one ongoing project that has captured my interest lately. It involves triclosan, the active ingredient in anti-bacterial handsoap. In the US and Canada, our use of anti-bacterial products results in something like three milligrams of triclosan per person per day being washed down the drain. So, at a wastewater treatment plant that serves a million people, about a metric ton (1000 kg) of triclosan comes to the plant every year. About 10% makes it through the plant as either the parent compound or chlorinated derivatives. Prof. Bill Arnold and I have had a few students over the years looking at what happens when triclosan and the chlorinated triclosan derivatives in the wastewater effluent are exposed to sunlight. Our focus has been on one particular set of troubling reaction products, which are chlorinated dioxins. What we have been working on lately is trying to determine the extent to which triclosan is a significant (or insignificant) source of chlorinated dioxins to the aquatic environment. The work is ongoing, so you will have to check back to see what we find!

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

Rachel Carson. She is arguably the single most important figure in launching the modern environmental movement and my field of study, environmental chemistry. Most people think of her interest in birds, which comes through so strongly in Silent Spring, but her real love was aquatic systems, which is mine as well. I understand that she was not much of a conversationalist, so dinner might be a bad venue. I think I would pack a lunch and arrange for a hike along the coast.

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

Last summer, with help from some graduate students, I attempted to measure differences in the steady-state concentration of singlet oxygen in filtered and unfiltered Lake Superior water by following the disappearance of furfuryl alcohol. I didn't see any differences. The more interesting part of the story is that the experiment was conducted on the top deck of the R/V Blue Heron on a beautiful sunny day in the middle of Lake Superior. Field work is one of the few opportunities that I take advantage of to get my hands dirty doing science. The last molecule that I made by myself from setup to cleanup was probably bis-(trimethylphosphine)zirconocene back when I was a graduate student.

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

Radiohead's OK Computer comes to mind as an album that I could stand listening to again and again and again. It is good for intent listening, casual listening, waking, sleeping, running, and setting the mood for my island cocktail parties. Borges' Labyrinths is the book I would take. It is a collection of his short works that is so dense and so endlessly interesting, it might take being exiled on a desert island to ever really figure it out.

7. Which chemist would you like to see interviewed on Reactions?

Oliver Sacks always has something interesting to say. He is not a practicing chemist, but he definitely is has a chemist's soul. I have always enjoyed talking with Carolyn Bertozzi, but realize now that I do not know her music and literature tastes!

Posted by Neil Withers at 05:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Alán Aspuru-Guzik is an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Harvard University, and works at the interface of theoretical physical chemistry and quantum information.

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

My junior high school teacher in Mexico was an inspiration. He was a biochemist with a passion for the inner workings of proteins and enzymes. I later had the opportunity of representing Mexico at the International Chemistry Olympiad held in Oslo, Norway, in 1994. By then, I had a a tough choice between studying computer science or chemistry. The inclination for computer science, however, never faded away. For my Ph.D., I carried out large-scale computing using quantum Monte Carlo. During my postdoc years, I began working at the interface between quantum computation and chemistry, and this is still one of my current research topics as an independent faculty.

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

If I were not a scientist, I can imagine many other possible alter egos. On dreamy days, I see myself as a film maker, doing independent film, or as a (very) progressive politician.

3. What are you working on now, and where do you hope it will lead?

I have a few projects going on in my lab at Harvard right now. At a first glance, they seem diverse, but all are at the interface between theoretical chemistry, quantum information, and renewable energies. We are interested in charge and excitation transport in photosynthetic systems and organic photovoltaic materials. For example, we are working together with IBM on the Clean Energy Project/World Community Grid: This is a distributed computing project using spare computer time from donors around the world to search for molecular crystals that transport excitations and charge as efficiently as possible. We hope that one day, our theoretical studies will lead to better organic solar cells and organic electronics applications.

In the field of quantum computing, we recently carried out the first quantum chemistry calculation of the hydrogen molecule using a prototype optical quantum computer together with the group of Andrew White (Queensland).

We also work in other places where quantum information and chemistry come together: the electronic structure of complex systems, such as molecules attached to plasmonic nanoparticles could be benefited by our work on density functional theory for open quantum systems.

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

I would have liked to meet with Isaac Newton. He was quite a character and a revolutionary scientist in his time. I recommend reading his great historical biography, Never at rest by Richard Westfall.

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

I am a theoretician, so you would expect it was quite a while ago! But you would be wrong. Two months ago, Ted Betley, one of my inorganic chemistry colleagues in my department, and myself conducted chemical experiments for a group of childen. Ted made sure that I, as a theoretician, was not working unsupervised!

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

I would probably take a complex recursive book, such as The Saragossa Manuscript by Jan Potocki or Don Quijote de la Mancha by Cervantes. As a music album, without a second of thinking about it, it would be Clandestino by Manu Chao. Clandestino is an album in which songs are linked together into one hour-long song that takes immigrants as its central theme and the tough life one may have if one is forced to live a clandestine existence. The songs are in many languages, and if you have not heard Manu Chao, you can get a taste by watching videos of him on YouTube.

7. Which chemist would you like to see interviewed on Reactions?

I would like to see what Professor Takuzo Aida, from the University of Tokyo has to say. I just heard him talk at a light-harvesting conference in Bayreuth, Germany, and I became a fan of his work.

Posted by Neil Withers at 06:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

I enrolled in university thinking I would end up in business, finance, or law, but once I got there, I found that science - chemistry in particular - was the subject I found most interesting. I found it concrete and logical, and the way that simple theories and laws explained complex phenomena really fascinated me. What really hooked me, though, was research. Once I got into a lab and started running my own experiments, I became captivated with the process of discovery and learning new things about molecular systems through experimentation.

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

I can't imagine a job better than the one I have now - it's so multifacted and there's always a new challenge. If I had to choose something else, I think it would be related to medicine. I find physiology fascinating, and I could see a career as a surgeon as leveraging some of the the same skills that I liked using in the lab, so maybe that's where I would end up.

3. What are you working on now, and where do you hope it will lead?

We are working in a number of areas, but one of our current focuses is on a biomolecular detection platform that we are pushing very hard to make practical and relevant for use as a clinical diagnostic. I'd very much like to see the work my lab does have an impact outside of academic science and make its way into clinical medicine, so this is an area we're investing quite a bit of effort in.

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

Elizabeth I. She was a woman with so much power and responsibility at a time when women had so little. I'd be fascinated to hear about what it was like to walk in her shoes.

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

Quite a while ago.....don't want to get into the details, but it was a fiasco involving radioactivity and the cleanup of a pretty big mess because I was too distracted with all the demands of being an assistant professor to focus properly on an experiment. I realized then that it was time to get out of the lab and devote my attention to overseeing others' research efforts. My group at the time wholeheartedly agreed and I think my current coworkers continue to prefer that I limit my lab activities to looking over their shoulders rather than making a mess in the lab!

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

That's a tough one. One of my favorite books because of its chemistry link is The Periodic Table by Primo Levi, so it would be a front runner. My music tastes are pretty eclectic, so what I would take would depend heavily on my mood when I got shipped off for exile, but perhaps a nice long Mozart opera would end up making the trip with me.

7. Which chemist would you like to see interviewed on Reactions – and why?

I'd like to hear from some of my chemist colleagues in Toronto - always interesting to hear more about what's behind the science that people nearby are doing.

Shana Kelley is in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Toronto, and works on nanomaterials-based biosensors and drug delivery systems.

Posted by Neil Withers at 06:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist – or scientist/engineer in your case?

From an early age I loved applied physics – particularly the opportunity to solve a diverse range of application-oriented problems using a strikingly compact set of mathematical tools and physical ideas. And I grew up in town where III-V compound semiconductor quantum optoelectronics (quantum well lasers etc) was hot and exciting.

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

A dog walker. Fun to get outdoors and hang out with the dogs.

3. What are you working on now, and where do you hope it will lead?

(1) We are trying to break the solar energy compromise: today, solar cells are either efficient, or low-cost, but not both. We are working towards breaking the compromise by harvesting the sun’s full spectrum, including the infrared rays, using spectrally-tunable solution-processed colloidal quantum dots incorporated into photovoltaic devices.
(2) Working with chemist Prof. Shana Kelley, we are endeavouring to build chips that can detect a panel of nucleic acid biomarkers that are the harbingers of disease. We use a diverse range of nanostructures to display the molecular bait sequences; the Kelley team’s electrocatalytic reporter system to gain up the signal; and a merger of top-down lithography and bottom-up materials chemistry to integrate the nanostructures on chip. Together we are building low-cost, high-sensitivity, wide-dynamic range molecular detection systems.

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

George Washington. The more I read about him, the more it becomes clear that he united practical brilliance with a lack of pretention. And I loved the fact that he clearly worried a lot – even despaired – yet triumphed. He was confident in himself without taking success for granted.

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

Back when I was a grad student. Some of my last experiments involved lowish-temperature (30–250 K) measurements of lateral current injection laser current-voltage-light characteristics. Temperature turned out to be a power experimental degree of freedom that helped us elucidate the inner workings of this new class of devices.

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

Book: New York Times: The Complete Front Pages: 1851-2008
Music Album: Glenn Gould - Bach - The Partitas, Preludes, Fugues & Fughettas

7. Which chemist would you like to see interviewed on Reactions – and why?

Harry Atwater and David Ginger – both astonishingly capable and versatile interdisciplinary fusions of {materials scientist – applied physicist – chemist – engineer}. In both cases I’d love to know how on earth they honed and fused so many remarkable talents and so much knowledge.

Ted Sargent is in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Toronto, and works on colloidal quantum dot photodetectors and photovoltaics, as well as multiplexed nucleic acids biosensors.

Posted by Neil Withers at 06:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

As a teenager I developed a fascination with the way that complicated things grow when simple rules collide – in science, in music, in language… I originally planned to be a molecular biologist, and switched to chemistry once I met organic mechanisms in the first year of university. The way that mechanistic explanations apply equally in flasks and in cells intrigued me. I found the freedom of the constructive nature of chemistry – the way you can write a structure on paper and then plan how to make the molecule in the lab – very appealing too. I spend a lot of my time now trying to bend those same mechanistic rules to see when they break.

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

I’d grow things and cook them: the life of an Edwardian gentleman farmer – maybe circa 1910, perhaps in Norfolk – appeals: a modest estate with distant views of the sea, large greenhouses and well-stocked vegetable gardens...

3. What are you working on now, and where do you hope it will lead?

The fastest moving area in my group right now is finding ways of controlling molecular shape over long distances – we think this could lead us into making a new class of artificial receptors and allow us to develop signalling systems for use on the nanometre scale. We also working with compounds of lithium and carbon – in certain solvents these do really counterintuitive things, which allow us to make drug-like molecules unexpectedly easily.

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

The 7th and 8th century Saxon period of English history is remarkable for what it now underpins. Bede – the 8th century scientist, musician, private investigator, historian, controversial theologian, traveller and writer who chronicled the development of society at that time – would be a fascinating dinner guest.

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

The Ritter reaction of acetonitrile is a great way of making hindered amines. It has to be tended at <5 °C or it exotherms alarmingly. All was going well until the phone rang. I came back to find my students trying to contain a fumehood filling up with black, sticky polymeric foam. Sadly running a research group is more or less incompatible with competent bench chemistry.

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

The World According to Garp by John Irving. There’s so much of life, in all its generous messiness, shoehorned into it. Mahler’s 2nd symphony likewise, but I’d couple it with the shattered beauty of Berg’s Violin Concerto.

7. Which chemist would you like to see interviewed on Reactions?

Ian Fleming

Jonathan Clayden is in the School of Chemistry at The University of Manchester, and works on new methods for building molecules, particularly those allowing control of shape and flexibility.

Posted by Neil Withers at 06:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

I always enjoyed chemistry at school and it came quite naturally to me. I really enjoyed the practical side of the subject and this is really what drew me in further and enabled me to see and express the creativity and problem-solving side of research.

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

While I'd love to have been a professional footballer (if not just for the money) my talents were never really directed there. I think that a career as a marine biologist, studying the behaviour of fish and the delicate balance of coral reefs would have been perfect, especialy somewhere hot and exciting like Hawaii!

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

I think that chemists have and do contribute a lot to the world from things like plastics to drugs. As the world around us changes, the challenges that it presents also change and we need to be flexible enough to change our targets to solving (or at least helping to solve) global chalenges such developing new technologies to help abate global warming, and generate clean electricity. We must also be wise enough to teach and enthuse the next generation of chemists to keep solving problems as well as continue to develop a fundamental understanding of chemsitry.

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

Shakespeare. So little is actualy known about his life or his inspiration for his many works that it would be fascinating to find out. I'm sure he would be fascinated to see how the subjects for his work are so relevant in todays society as they were in his.

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

About 2 months ago I showed a new student in my lab how to make an aluminium methyl complex. I still make sure I clear time to help new students get up to speed but it has been about a year since I last did any sustained work on a separate project myself.

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

I'm sure that Ray Mears must have done an extreme survival book that would come in handy! For something a bit more enjoyable I would probably go for 1984 by George Orwell. As for music perhaps Radiohead - The Bends or The Killers - Sam's Town.

Andrew Dove is in the Department of Chemistry at The University of Warwick and works on the development functional degradable biomaterials, polymerisation catalysis and polymers from sustainable resources.

Posted by Neil Withers at 06:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

[To celebrate the first issue, this week our very own Chief Editor answers the questions]

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

Probably the fact that I found physics too boring and maths too easy — neither of which remains the case today. My first stint at university lasted a little less than 2 weeks; I went to do a Physics & Astrophysics degree at Birmingham and when I got there I discovered that I had made a terrible mistake. After a much-needed 'year out', during which there was actually very little 'finding myself' or indeed soul searching of any kind, I just plumped for one of the other two subjects I had studied at A-level... and the one I found most challenging was chemistry, and so that was that. I was hooked after the first day of class, when a certain (not-then-Sir) Fraser Stoddart ripped up the syllabus and instead of teaching us the basics of stereochemistry, told us all about Olympiadane and other interlocked molecules...

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

Maybe a chef — because that's essentially chemistry, but you can eat the results. That being said, I'm far too fussy an eater so it probably wouldn't go well. Obviously in an ideal world I would be a centre-forward playing for Manchester United, but there are many reasons why that never came to pass — mostly because I'm not all that good at football and I have dodgy knees... If I'm being realistic, let's say an author — I'd quite like to write a book or two.

3. What are you working on now, and where do you hope it will lead?

The next issue of Nature Chemistry, and to fame and fortune!

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

This is a tough one — and generally the answer I enjoy reading the most in other Reactions pieces. So, I'm going to cheat, as a few have, and host a dinner party with more than one guest. The first two guests I would invite are Queen Elizabeth I and Queen Elizabeth II — monarchs of England (and other associated lands at various stages). I'd just sit back and let these two remarkable women, who have ruled over this country in times that are roughly four centuries apart, compare notes on their experiences. Oh, and just because I probably won't get to answer this question again, I'd have to invite along Douglas Adams — a fantastic author with an imagination that is out of this world and a sense of humour beyond compare.

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

Probably at Caltech in early 2003, and I bet it was a ring-closing metathesis reaction, but I can't be 100% sure... it was also likely done in an NMR tube and led to an Angewandte paper if it's the one I think it was.

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

Well, assuming I have the standard texts that one is allowed in situations like this, including the first print issue of Nature Chemistry, I'm afraid I'm going to have to cheat again on the book front. I first read Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings aged 10, and I couldn't not take my dog-eared copy with me. But, one of the best books I've read in recent times — and one I'm still getting my head around — is The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. For reasons I won't go into, I finished it while sitting in a deck chair outside a beach hut in Mexico as I watched the sun rise — and it just seemed like a wholly appropriate setting.

In terms of an album... hmm... ask me on a different day and I'm sure you'd get a different answer. So, I'm going to sort of cheat again... if I'm allowed one CD, I'm going to burn 18 different tracks on it... and it would likely contain some of the following: U2, R.E.M., James, New Order, Depeche Mode, The Cure, Manic Street Preachers, Snow Patrol, Nine Inch Nails — and, for those more thoughtful moments, a little bit of Beethoven, Tchaikovsky and Mozart.

7. Which chemist would you like to see interviewed on Reactions?

Robert Burns Woodward, but since he's no longer with us, it might be difficult. Living chemists... how about: Barry Sharpless, George Whitesides and E J Corey.

Stuart Cantrill is the Chief Editor for Nature Chemistry.

Posted by Neil Withers at 05:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

I am not "really" a chemist, since I both read for my first degree and carried out my PhD in the Cavendish, the University of Cambridge's physics department, where I was later on the faculty. And what made me want to be a physicist was an inspiring high-school teacher. But the beauty of modern scientific research is that traditional areas overlap and have merged fruitfully; so that despite my physics background, I work in a department of materials research in a chemistry faculty at the Weizmann Institute, and was for many years the Dr. Lee's Professor of Chemistry at Oxford University, as well as being head of Oxford's Physical Chemistry Department.

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

I very much enjoy explaining to young people and making them aware of the physical world - which I had opportunity to do through my own children in their schools. I would be a teacher.

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

Many of the world's really large problems - clean energy shortages, global warming (related of course), prolonging and improving people's health, and others, are already being addressed by chemists in the broader sense.

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

If the sky is the limit (as it were): Jesus of Nazareth. I would like to discuss directly with him what his views were, in the light of later interpretations...

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

In the mid-1990's, many years after being promoted full professor and heading a relatively large research group, I was still doing my own all-night (surface-forces) experiments with a student or a postdoc for company (night is the best time as ambient vibrations are at a minimum). More recently I go into the lab frequently to look at the experiments, twiddle the knobs (mandatory!), and look through the eyepiece at moving optical fringes...

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

Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. I read it page by page to each of my children in turn when they were young, and a few times on my own account, and the world it creates is still vibrant. For music - Vivaldi's Four Seasons, especially useful for a desert island.

Jacob Klein is in the Department of Materials and Interfaces at the Weizmann Institute, and a Professorial Research Fellow at Oxford University. He researches the properties soft matter, in recent years especially the behaviour of highly confined complex fluids and the molecular basis of biological lubrication.

Posted by Neil Withers at 06:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

I was really lucky to have an outstanding chemistry teacher during my high school years. Her name is Yueming Chen. High school time was pretty tough for because of my family background during the period of cultural revolution, Mrs. Chen was a very good chemistry teacher and also very caring. I just fell in love with chemistry. Even though I got my bachelor degree in physics, eventually I found my way back to chemistry.

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

I think I would become an mechnical engineer. I really love designing and building machines, and I feel I am pretty good at this. This ability and interest actually help me greatly in doing my own chemistry research.

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

I think chemistry is a very unique field that could make fundamental impacts on our everyday life. I believe that chemistry has also a unique position in solving our most urgent problems in the world, such as energy shortage and environmental problems because chemists have the tools and ability to understand these processes at the most fundamental levels as well as to create new materials that are often required in solving problems. However, we do need to avoid creating more long term problems in solving the most urgent problems.

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

I would really love to meet Deng Xiaoping. I think he is a great man that has changed many people's life including mine in a fundamental way. I would want to thank him personally for what he has done for China and its people.

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

I really don't like to answer this question because this question reminds that I have not done a whole experiment for a long time. I think the last time I did a whole experiment was about 9 years ago. The experiment was water photodissociation. But to be fair, my best time at work even now is with those students who are doing experiments.

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

I would like to bring a big book of papers with nothing on it so I can make drawings or write something everyday for a long time. A CD of Erhu (Chinese violin) music by the famous blind musician Ah Bing, Reflections of the Moon on the Water of Erquan. A beautiful sad and peaceful music. You will never be really tired of this music when you are alone.

Xueming Yang is in the State Key Laboratory of Molecular Reaction Dynamics at the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics and works on spectroscpopy and chemical dyanmics in the gas phase as well as on surfaces.

Posted by Neil Withers at 06:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

Nothing that exciting! I was good at it at school and my chemistry teacher - Mr Colvin - was a truly inspirational (and ever so slightly mad) person. He instilled in me the beauty of the subject.

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

My dream job (apart from what I do now) would be running a bike shop / coffee shop. Two of my passions in life.

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

We can contribute so many levels, but energy, new functional materials and healthcare are the three areas that chemists have made, and will continue to make, major contributions that fundamentally change peoples' lives. Being a chemist is very exciting. Enthusing the next generation of scientists to the joy of discovery and knowledge.

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

Neil Armstrong. Talking to the first man to walk on the moon would be inspirational.

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

It has been a long time since I did anything really serious (2002), but I did get a paper out of it. I am in and out of the lab almost hourly sometimes and I still get a massive kick out of my (very talented) co-workers "nailing" that important new structure or isolating a very sensitive complex.

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

Book: I am going to cheat: I would take Lord of the Rings, but smuggle in between the pages Dawkin's Blind Watchmaker. Both books had a profound impact on me: the first just blew me away with its scale and vision; the second simply changed forever the way I viewed the world.
CD: Difficult. From Elvis in Memphis - he was the king and this is him at his best, or the best of Johnny Cash. I would cheat (again) and burn a CD with both of these on.

Andrew Weller is in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Oxford, and works on the synthesis, characterisation and reactivity of low coordinate late transition metal organometallics. This work has impact of catalysis, structure and bonding and new energy vectors.

Posted by Neil Withers at 06:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

After realizing at an early age the problems I'd have becoming pope, pilot or ambassador (that is the chronological order in which I remember my aspirations), I must, around the age of 8–9, have become hooked on science (I distinctly remember trying to keep cutting my piece of cheese to get to an "atom" of cheese and this was before I started classical Greek...). In my first year of chemistry (10th grade) at a small provincial school I had a great teacher, Niels Wiedenhof, and out of the 8–10 science-oriented pupils that were taught by Wiedenhof that year, two became chemistry professors (the other is Theo van de Ven at McGill). Wiedenhof went on to work for Philips in public relations and then did the first ever Dutch Ph.D. on public understanding of science.

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

Geology and/or climatology, but I hope I would not work as hard as I do now so as to have plenty of time for my great second love, history, something I always was fascinated with (and it apparently runs in the family as my brother became a historian and nowadays directs the Jewish Historical Museum in Amsterdam).

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

I can only reply looking through my alternative sustainable energy spectacles: Chemistry is at the centre of humankind's largest ever challenge, securing a sustainable future for the world with humans, humans that can have a lifestyle that allows them to keep their great achievements in health, mobility and communication, that the past centuries have brought. Apart from what chemists do in the lab, they should teach and explain, to help educate as large a part of the population in terms of basic scientific concepts, to minimize the fear of science and optimize realism of expectations, leaving Doctor Who-like escapades to sci-fi.

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

Baruch de Spinoza. From what I have read (by others, like my nephew who wrote a Ph.D. dissertation on him) I very much identify with his view of the world and god, but whenever I try to read the original, I get stuck. I want to ask him to explain his philosophy in his words, where I can stop him every time I get lost.

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

I pass thorugh the lab on my way to the office but, probably to the relief of students rarely intervene (interfere?) hands-on. Still, in 2003/4 when in Princeton working with my colleague Antoine Kahn, I prepared our samples for electron spectroscopy, to understand the electron energetic effects of molecular modifications of GaAs and, even if I say so myself, did pretty well. On a much smaller scale, a month or so ago, just passing through the lab, I figured out with a simple experiment why our low temperature electronic transport set-up was not functioning.

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

This is clearly an outdated formulation of the question. For the second part I assume that I will have a solar panel or small windmill to power my electronic device. Also, CD is out and it will be an MP3 player. Now, having an MP3 player, I can put books on it, can't I?
Book: Mr. Mani, of A. B. Yehoshua; it has a strong historical aspect AND, much of it is written as half of a dialogue, which leaves the reader to make up the other half, something that can be done time and again, and never has to (and will be) the same.
CD; Orpheus and Euridice of Gluck, not only because it is divine music, but also because Gluck gave it a happy, rather than the mythological tragic, ending and I love happy endings (my family and students may claim, though, that it must be one of Tom Lehrer's (remember his periodic table..)).

David Cahen is in the Department of Materials & Interfaces in the Faculty of Chemistry at the Weizmann Institute, and does research on understanding how molecules can control electronic transport, figure out basic limitations of this control, and search where are the possibilities for fundamentally novel science here, All this is done with special emphasis on the relevance for alternative, sustainable energy and, especially for new (and old) solar cells.

Posted by Neil Withers at 06:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

Probably a number of reasons: (i) wanting to learn about colour — understanding of how it arises and how it can be harnessed and utilised; (ii) wanting to make compounds — especially if they were smelly, exploded or changed properties; (iii) and having a truly inspirational schoolteacher — Mr. Ken Jones.

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

An architect. I love the shapes and topology of (inorganic) compounds and often find myself doodling boxes, and 3D shapes. Add some numbers and angles, along with imagination, and it would be fun to design amazing structures.

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

Firstly by education — training and inspiring the next generation of scientists, but also by teaching the general public that chemistry is such a central and indispensable science with many, many facets. Secondly, by harnessing these talented chemists to tackle the major problems and issues that the world faces — climate change, sustainable energy/resources, medical/biological diagnosis and treatment.

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

Linus Pauling – anyone who wins two (unshared) Nobel prizes (one for Chemistry and the other Peace) must have some interesting views and dinner conversation would not be dull.

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

It’s been a long time since I was able to get stuck into some serious synthetic chemistry — these days I am mainly limited to helping my research students purify compounds via various crystallisation techniques — there is such a thrill when you see a set of beautiful crystals at the bottom of a Schlenk tube after an overnight re-crystallisation.

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

The book would be Papillon by Henri Charriere – a great, mainly true autobiographical story about the adventures of a French convict and fugitive, and one of the few books I have read twice. One CD is tricky and would depend on my mood. If classical – Rachmaninov; If jazz – Chet Baker; but for rock/blues, a Van Morrison compilation would probably capture the ups and downs of being on a desert island, along with some great tunes and a bit of a singalong.

Nick Long is in the Department of Chemistry at Imperial College London and works on applied synthetic chemistry, particularly aimed at ligand design/catalysis and the synthesis of biomedical (PET, MRI and optical) imaging probes.

Posted by Neil Withers at 06:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

I’m still a chemist wanna-be! I’m a chemical engineer by training and I work closely with several chemistry collaborators. The precision of chemistry amazes me. I am always in awe how my collaborators can derivatize and functionalize organic compounds as prescribed with such ease.

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

I would like to be a science show/documentary host with PBS or the equivalent. I was always told that I connect with my audience. I think I would really enjoy engaging the public with what we do.

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

Given the interdisciplinary nature of research today, I believe that we have to reach to work with scientists and engineers in other disciplines to really contribute to the world at large. Underlying the energy challenge today, for example, is the need for the development of new materials as renewable energy sources. Chemists are uniquely equipped to tackle this task. But to really contribute towards solving the world’s energy challenge, we will have to engage researchers in other disciplines, be it to scale up production, or to incorporate these new materials into functional devices.

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

He’s by no means a historical figure but, if granted the opportunity, I would love to have dinner with Bill Nye, the science guy. His love and curiosity for science is infectious! And he inspired me as a child.

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

Yesterday! I was running some near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy experiments at a soft X-ray beamline at the National Synchrotron Light Source at Brookhaven National Labs. Long hours – but I really enjoy being involved in the experiments.

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

Book – Maria Shriver’s Ten Things I Wish I’d Known Before I Went into the Real World. This book grounds me and provides perspective whenever I am stressed out. I think I would be quite stressed out stranded on an island!

CD – Carla Bruni’s Quelqu'un m'a dit

Lynn Loo is in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Princeton University, and works on the development of plastic transistors and organic solar cells

Posted by Neil Withers at 06:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

I was always interested in science even at primary school and developed a real passion for chemistry at about 14. It was also the only thing I was better than my older sister at! Then at university I did Natural Sciences and realised just how interesting and exciting chemistry was. I really enjoy the creative aspect of synthesis and this is really want started my love of chemistry.

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

I would be a geologist as I have always had an interest in paleontology and earth tectonics. I think there is so much still to learn about the earth and its history so it would be an exciting and challenging career and also a great chance to see the world.

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

I hope we can contribute by helping solve some of the technological and environmental problems we currently face. Hopefully we can also engage with the public to encourage curiosity and the development of scientific knowledge.

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

I would like to have dinner with Vincent van Gogh I love his work and would be fascinated to hear his views on modern art and how the world of art has changed since his lifetime.

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

It was just before Christmas I helped a student with the column chromatography of a radical initiator and it went wrong - they have not asked for my help again!

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

Difficult question as I love to read but I think I would have to take a book by one of my favourite authors John Fowles - probably The Magus. As for a CD I guess The Killers Hot Fuss would keep my spirits up - but I would prefer to take my iPod if possible

Rachel O'Reilly is in the Department of Chemistry at Cambridge University, and works on the design and synthesis of functional polymer micelles and nanoparticles for applications as delivery vehicles.

Posted by Neil Withers at 06:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

I became interested in chemistry when I was in high school. I remember that I was quite good at identifying metal species in a solution based on solution colour change and/or precipitation when known chemicals were added, a subject I knew later as qualitative analysis. The most important event that made me want to be a chemist was that in the national examination for entering university I got a very good mark for chemistry, 97 out of 100, which qualified me to study chemistry in Xiamen University, an institution well-known for its chemistry.

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

I would like to work as a garden designer. I think gardening needs a nice combination of science and art, and is full of challenges. The major reason for this is that I have been very much impressed by Chinese traditional gardens like those in Suzhou, and by Chinese calligraphy. Personally, I like and enjoy Chinese calligraphy very much.

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

The best way is to help understand what happens in many processes involving chemistry in order to guide a suitable handling of those chemicals, and to produce environmentally friendly chemicals.

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

I would like to have a dinner with Mr. Lan-Fang Mei, the most famous contemporary Peking Opera master. He was known at playing the role of and singing as a woman and later promoting the international reputation of Peking Opera. What really impressed me were his perfect performances and amazing voice on the stage, which, in my opinion, shaped Peking Opera very much.

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

I still conducted experiments when I was just promoted to full professor in 1996, when we started to develop chemical sensing based on intramolecular charge transfer dual fluorescence in micelles, for which I did syntheses of the fluorophores and fluorescence titrations. Even up to now I still like to show to young students skills, such as recrystallizations, and do organic syntheses in my non-organic laboratory.

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

I would bring a book on cooking as I like to cook, it's a kind of chemistry-related art, and it would be good to help someone in a desert island to survive. A CD of Chinese folk music would be my favourite in that situation.

Yun-Bao Jiang is in the Department of Chemistry at Xiamen University, and works on electron/proton transfer photophysics and supramolecular photochemistry for molecular recognition.

Posted by Neil Withers at 06:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

Three things, really. Firstly I have a love of symmetry and structural - some structures of chemical molecules are really visually stunning. Secondly people kept giving me money and jobs related to chemistry. OK, so thats only two things and that's probably another reason why I am a chemist and not a mathematician.

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

If I don't think about this too hard I think I would have been an archaeologist. Maybe working on a dig discovering a new tomb in Egypt or a new civilisation in the Amazon jungle. Possibly in the 1950's, maybe I would need a whip to get out of trouble...

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

I think we as chemists are already doing a fantastic job at contributing science to the world. From materials science through to environmental monitoring a chemist is in the mix somewhere!

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

I first thought of Jesus Christ because I would want to ask him straight out if he was really the son of God. However, the way that guy talked in riddles I am not sure I would get a straight answer out of him. So I think a less intense evening with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle might be in order. Some fine dining then perhaps a story or two by a large fire in a Scottish castle with some good wine.

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

About mid-way through last year. I was having trouble getting a strong diffraction pattern on one of our helicate systems, so I thought I would add a heavier anion to it as I thought it might improve the scattering. What I got for my troubles was a structurally characterised encapsulated bromide triple helicate which I liked so much that I promptly made a movie of the molecule twirling around - it's probably not going to be a motion picture anytime soon though...

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

I think I would take the Bible. It is the sort of book that you can read time and time again and find new meanings and encouragement and there are some great stories in there too. I am sure I would have the time on a desert island to fully digest it! As for a CD I think I would go for some of my favourite trance tracks, something like Dave Pearce Trance Anthems 2008 - a bit of a cheat as its actually a three cd set. Nothing like a good trance track blaring out when you have to build a shelter!

Paul Plieger is in the Institute of Fundamental Science at Massey University and works on projects utilising supramolecular and coordination chemistry.

Posted by Neil Withers at 06:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

Like Kipling’s Elephant’s Child it would have to be "satiable curtiosity". I started doing experiments from age six or so and became frustrated at the low level of challenge in the available chemistry sets. This led me away from chemistry and to matters less experimental: languages and philosophy; but when I entered university I returned to the first love of science, initially planning to do Honours in physics but then changing to physical chemistry.

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

A writer of childrens stories. My children and I shared the excitement of the Adventures of Wilberforce Wombat when they were very young, but the stories have never been written down and illustrated. If I gave up science, perhaps I would have the time to bring them all to life.

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

By speaking out and engaging in issues that are of importance. This is not just global issues but informed debate is needed even for local matters. There is far too much opinion without expertise that gains attention, and we need to be able to engage, persuade and direct peoples’ energies to move beyond mysticism and pseudo-science.

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

If the meal could be had in the time of the historical figure, then it would have to be Rome in the time of the emperor Claudius I. I would have a chance to experience what Rome was really like and engage with a figure so misunderstood and misrepresented because of disability but most probably wise and a visionary.

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

My last episode in a labcoat was this week (in my role as an expert witness for the courts) in order to prepare a material for forensic analysis; more a dissection than an experiment! My last real experiment was a couple of months ago with a post-doc preparing some nano-titania/dye constructs.

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

It would have to be a book that challenges and stimulates activity: probably The music of the primes by Marcus du Sautoy, since it ends with a challenge. For music: any of my favourite operas. If I could, I would take Wagner’s complete Ring Cycle (hyper-compressed on to one CD!).

Graeme George is Professor of Polymer Science in the School of Physical & Chemical Sciences at Queensland University of Technology, and works on polymers for extreme environments (including the human body).

Posted by Neil Withers at 06:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

From an early age I was always really interested in my surroundings, what made things work they way they do, why was the sky blue, that sort of thing, so it was no surprise to me or my parents that I really took to studying the sciences at school — especially after having to have my bedroom carpet replaced after getting burning hot solder on the surface whilst attempting to make a very crude electronic organ! I knew I would end up doing something that revolved around science, but it wasn't until I was doing my PhD that I actually thought that I would be good enough to be an academic. I actually had a tough time deciding whether to study physics and chemistry at university (as I really enjoyed them both) but as it turns out, even though I opted for chemistry with research crossing many boundaries, these days I actually dabble a fair bit in both physics and biology, which really suits me.

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

I think I would like to do something that engages the more artistic side of my personality. I am a very visual person and creative art can be very powerful, emotive and engaging, so a photographic career has always appealed to me. On the days I really let my imagination run wild I would have loved to try my hand at sculpture. A long time ago I started writing a non-scientific novel but never got the time to see it to completion so I will never know if a literary career was for me!

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

I think there are many ways — one of my main roles I believe is as an educator to instill the drive for knowledge and learning in the next generation of students and show them how to think creatively and importantly how to research. Obviously, of equal importance is the research we do, which is crucial and can have a tremendous impact on current issues — for example the production of medicines for the diseases that blight our society, finding new materials that will offer alternative solutions to the energy crisis.

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

I suppose I should be expected to suggest a scientist but actually the person I would like to meet most is Auguste Rodin. His sculptures are truly amazing they convey so much emotion in the human form. I often find with art that the more you know about the person that created the work the more you truly understand and appreciate as so much of themselves is embodied in the created object. That statement is probably also true of most scientists.

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

I try and go into the laboratory most days as this is the part of the job I most enjoy, seeing the experiments in action, discussing the results with the students. However, I haven't done my own experiment (from start to finish) for a few years now, but I am no stranger to getting my hands dirty and the students will often find me fixing a piece of equipment or helping them out with an experiment. I always tell them doing a PhD is one of the best times of your scientific career as you get to focus on one thing with no distractions

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

I think the book I would take is Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy — I remember first reading this when I was in my early twenties and never got past the "Inferno" as they were so many messages within messages that it took me ages to work out all the hidden meanings and symbolism, so I was left with Dante and Virgil waiting to enter purgatory. On a desert island with the time allowed hopefully I would be able to pass through purgatory to paradise to finally meet Dante's Beatrice. The CD is a bit trickier as I have a really wide musical tastes, so I could take a number, but Moby's Play might keep my spirits uplifted.

Julie Macpherson is in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Warwick, and works on the development and application of new imaging techniques and carbon-based materials for sensing applications.

Posted by Neil Withers at 06:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

I was always a very curious child and I liked science in general. I guess my first choice would not have been chemistry but biology or medicine and indeed I studied biology for one year before realizing that chemistry was my preferred discipline.

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

I like many very different things. Perhaps a medical doctor, a neurologist, or a musician or perhaps a film director.

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

Chemists make our world! Everything we eat, drink, any clothes we wear, anything we touch is chemistry! The challenge now is surely to solve the energy crisis, the water problem and to improve early diagnosis of illness.

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

I would love to have dinner with Albert Einstein. I had since I was very young a special admiration for him as a scientist but in some respect also for his turbulent life.

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

I must confess that I am often in the lab, even just to look at my student showing me something... The last time I did manually something myself was about 3 years ago showing one of my student how to separate an iridium complex using an alumina column.

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

This is a very difficult question... perhaps the book would be One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez. The CD I alternate jazz and classical music but I also love pop music. I guess would probably be Bill Evans or Keith Jarrett the Köln concert.

Luisa De Cola is Professor in Physics and Chemistry at the Universities of Münster (Germany) and Twente (The Netherlands). Her main interest is luminescent and electroluminescent molecules and nanomaterials.

Posted by Neil Withers at 06:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

For almost as long as I can remember, I’ve loved math and applying math to understanding the physical world. I grew up near Woods Hole, MA, which meant that there were high-quality local science fairs and “real scientists” as judges. My experiences of designing and performing independent science projects whet my appetite for science research. My interest in chemistry started in high school, where I had two very good chemistry teachers. However, I didn’t know many chemists, and I never really considered a career in chemistry.

As an undergraduate at Harvard, I gravitated towards the chemistry major, somewhat through a process of elimination. In my Junior year, I worked in the labs of Prof. George Whitesides, and was amazed at the breadth of interesting projects going on in his lab, and the range of activities in which he was involved. This was my first real exposure to university research chemistry, and I was hooked! The idea of being able to solve difficult and interesting real-world problems using a scientific discipline — chemistry — appealed to me very much. It also appealed to me to “spend the rest of my life in school” and to have opportunities to travel widely, and to make friends and pursue scientific collaborations around the world. And, even as a college student, it seemed great to be able to pursue problems of one’s choosing, and to have very little oversight in the form of a boss. I had so much fun doing chemistry research in college that it became clear to me that I should continue. I applied to chemistry graduate school and found a great mentor in Prof. Harry Gray at Caltech, who inspired me to pursue a career in chemistry.

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

I would love to try many different careers, but one of my first loves was baseball. I think it would be fun to be a Major League baseball pitcher. I played Little League as a kid, and always particularly looked forward to game days when I was pitching. The pitcher has the opportunity to control the outcome of the game, and time slows down when you’re on the mound. I love the feeling of needing to make every pitch count, and all of the mental challenges of trying to compete and win. In the off-season, baseball players also have the opportunity to do a lot of good in their communities.

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

That’s a great question. One of the things I love most about a career in chemistry is how many different doors it opens. Indeed, chemistry is great training for many undertakings. The general public forgets, I think, that science can be a wealth- and health-creating enterprise. Chemists have improved the lives of millions of people by developing new drugs, and chemists have created many thriving companies. Chemists are also great educators--of students in the classroom and citizens at large. Many university presidents are chemists, perhaps due to the administrative aspects of running a lab. Collectively, chemists can do a lot of good by designing new drugs, new materials, and new processes that will make the world a cleaner, healthier, and more sustainable place, and in the process employ millions of people. But, the world also desperately needs chemistry representatives to go into politics, and fill positions at the highest levels of government. The planet is facing major challenges in energy and healthcare, and chemists must take the lead in addressing these problems, both individually and collectively.

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

I love studying history, particularly the history of science. I think it would be wonderful to have dinner with Albert Einstein, and get some insight into how he observed the world and solved problems. It also seems like he had a great sense of humor, and I suspect the dinner would be very entertaining.

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

I occasionally perform experiments using my lab’s confocal microscope. For example, I’ve done some experiments recently that involve developing a fluorescent probe to study how anesthetics work. Research is great fun, but I find that it can be frustrating when I don’t have much time to devote to it. I generally have more fun these days watching my graduate students and postdocs conduct experiments in lab. When things go well, I get to see lots of good data!

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

Assuming I didn’t need to learn a new language or unusual skills to survive, I would probably take a copy of Shakespeare’s complete works, as there would be a play for every occasion — sad, funny, historical, or strange. It’s unlikely that I would bring a CD. When I’m alone, I usually enjoy the peace and quiet. If I were in exile, it’s likely I would try to keep doing whatever it was that had led to my exile!

Ivan Dmochowski is in the Department of Chemistry at The University of Pennsylvania and works on developing chemical tools for addressing long-standing problems in biology and materials science.

Posted by Neil Withers at 06:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

I liked to set things on fire and make pretty colours. It was also the thing that I was best at at school so it seemed sensible to continue with it.

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

That’s easy – run a coffee and cake shop. I could quite happily spend all day baking and would love to have the time to experiment with new flavour combinations and textures. I also love to meet new people and chat.

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

Chemists should continue to strive to make things that will help people, be it health, energy or environmentally related. However, I think the main thing is the people should do chemistry (and science in general) because they want to know why things happen. Essentially that is how science began and why new ideas form.

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

This is quite tricky, probably someone like Michael Faraday, Richard Feynman, Niels Bohr, Werner Heisenberg. I would also like to meet my Grandad; he died before I was born and sounds like a good bloke. His wife lived until she was 89 and was still running for buses!!

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

Around February/March 2004. I was looking at the collisional depolarisation of rotational angular momentum in OH radicals.

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

I would probably take the Bible. I am not religious but was sent to church when I was wee so have read bits. It would be nice to read the whole lot. It is very long and given the number of people who get solace from it it might help keep me sane. The CD is quite tricky. If I had to pick one it would be If You’re Feeling Sinister by Belle and Sebastian.

Hilary Crichton is an Associate Editor for Nature Materials

Posted by Neil Withers at 06:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

A fascination for discovering new things. I remember watching, at an early age, an old movie about Marie Curie, and I was hooked by her passion for research. I had a very good chemistry teacher in secondary school and I really enjoyed learning about the structure of the atom and MO theory. As an undergraduate, I enjoyed the inorganic and coordination chemistry labs and my supervisors further inspired me to do research.

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

I’d probably had done a maths degree, which was the other subject I loved in secondary school. With a maths degree, I think I would still have pursued an academic career.

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

Energy and the environment are our two very challenging issues at the moment. Chemistry and chemists are central to both.

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

Given my answer to question 1, it’ll have to be Marie Curie. She was a truly remarkable woman at a time when women weren’t even allowed to vote: two Nobel prizes (Physics, shared with husband Pierre and H. Becquerel, in 1903; and Chemistry in 1911) for her research on radiation and the discovery of elements such as radium and polonium; first female professor at the Sorbonne. The Curies believed in sharing scientific knowledge freely and never patented anything; and they warned about the danger of radioactive substances in the wrong hands. Marie relentlessly promoted the use of x-rays in medicine, but overlooked the dangers of radioactivity to health. I would like to know if she had done anything different, given what we know today.

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

I haven’t done a full experiment from beginning to end for three or four years, but I do get into the lab and ‘help’ my students with their work now and then. The last time: a couple of weeks ago, helping a new PhD student to set up a reaction with nBuLi.

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

I think I’ll take the Spanish classic El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha (or Don Quijote for short), by Cervantes. It has tragedy, comedy and adventure in equal quantities; and I haven’t actually read it properly (only in ‘bits’ in secondary school). A desert island will be a good place to cross it from the ‘to read’ books. Besides, it’s set in my native region of La Mancha, so it’ll remind me of home. As for a CD, I may take Unplugged by Eric Clapton. I don’t seem to get tired of listening to the songs.

Cristina Lagunas is in the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at Queen’s University Belfast, and works on luminescent metal complexes, in particular gold, and on molecular sensors. She is also involved in multidisciplinary research in electrochemistry and catalysis in ionic liquids.

Posted by Neil Withers at 06:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

Organic chemistry, ironically enough. I was studying biology and had taken general chemistry, which I did not find terribly exciting. It was organic chemistry that really put the idea forward that chemists can make molecules, and the idea of making molecules, particularly ones never seen before, has been driving me ever since.

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

If I were not a chemist, something else I'd like to be. If I were not a chemist, a window cleaner, me! With a rub-a-dub-dub…In all seriousness, that is a tough call. It's funny because my job is a professor, but when I meet people and they ask what I do, I instinctively answer chemist, so it'd be hard to that up give up. I think I'd have to go to culinary school and become a chef. That seems like another profession that combines creativity and the making of new things. As a plus, it would be easier to explain to people what I do.

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

Chemistry has already made tremendous contributions, but it is no time for the science to rest on its laurels. Currently, energy is an area where chemistry can make a major contribution — one that is desperately needed. From more efficient processes and green syntheses to new technologies for better harnessing the sun's energy to carbon dioxide remediation, these are all chemical problems. That's not to say that chemistry would not make a large impact on many other areas, but energy crises are and will be sufficiently pressing to demand precedence. Ultimately, most of these energy problems are fundamentally about making and breaking chemical bonds or building new molecules.

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

I'm not a big fan of this going to dinner with historical figures. It seems like a formula for disappointment. However, it would be fun to talk coordination chemistry with Alfred Werner. More than that, it would be wild to share with him some of what we have learned since that time and get his reaction.

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

This morning, I finished brominating an arene and then I protected an amine to build some new ligands, but that is all known chemistry. Not too long ago, I made a new nickel complex that we're hoping will be a good bond-forming catalyst. It turns out that I can make the nickel complexes, but I don't know about the catalysis yet.

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

The CD would be an easy choice — Duran Duran's Greatest. The book is a little more difficult. Given the amount of time "exiled" implies, I'd go with Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Nietzsche. It'd be a good foil for the Duran Duran. I wonder what I did to get exiled...maybe reading James Marshall’s George and Martha: The Complete Stories of Two Best Friends will help me be readmitted to society….

Rory Waterman is in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Vermont, where he uses organometallic chemistry to address problems in synthesis, materials, and energy.

Posted by Neil Withers at 06:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

When I was a kid, I wasn't particularly good at baseball or any other sports, so I would hang out in my basement with a chemistry set and play with it. I had a truly outstanding chemistry teacher in high school (Frank Cardulla, who received the 2000 American Chemical Society Conant Award for High School Chemistry Teaching) and in college I had the privilege of taking courses from and doing research with Dudley Herschbach, the 1986 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry.

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

I thought seriously about going into medicine, but decided I did not have the appropriate bedside manner. I think most of my friends and colleagues would agree with me.

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

Many of the world's major problems such as climate change and the need for renewable energy sources will be solved by chemists. These problems require a fundamental understanding of matter at the molecular level. Chemists have this.

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

I find Josef Stalin to be the one of the most fascinating historical figures over the last 100 years, but I'm not sure I would want to have dinner with him. Then again, an evening of borscht and vodka might not be so bad.

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

I was pretty involved in experiments on transition state spectroscopy in my research group when I started at Berkeley in 1986. Once I got multiple projects going and realized the students could run the instruments better than I could, I began distancing myself more from the day-to-day operations. But I still visit my labs on a daily basis and (much to the horror of my students) will turn knobs on occasion.

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

War and Peace. I've always wanted to read it but never had the time. And Beethoven's 9th on CD.

Daniel Neumark is in the Department of Chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley, and works on chemical dynamics, spectroscopy, and cluster science, with particular emphasis on using negative ion photodetachment to probe transition states and other transient species.

Posted by Neil Withers at 06:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

As a child I was intrigued with building (my father was in the building trade) so I guess in some respects I took his lead but down to the nanometric dimension. I love the definitive nature of chemistry and the way you can create new things or new processes or provide an understanding of the world around us. I was also lucky to have some great science teachers at school. Mrs. Steenholdt, Mr. Djoneff and Dr. Commons were extremely enthusiastic teachers across the science discipline when I was at high school and really spike my interest. I studied a biochemistry/chemistry major at university and enjoyed the chemistry of biology more than the molecular biological aspects of biochemistry. However, my chemistry teaching is often framed from a biological viewpoint.

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

It was a toss-up between chemistry and landscape gardening when I left school. The latter is an extremely creative profession and combines outdoor work with intellectual inventiveness and manual dexterity. There are some similarities to chemistry here!

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

Chemistry is all pervasive throughout the world within which we live and the society we live in. From medical diagnosis and drug discovery, through the development of novel materials, to addressing the concerns surrounding environmental issues (to name only a few…). Scratch the surface and you’ll find a chemist.

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

Captain James Cook. His voyages of discovery throughout the ‘new world’ were truly amazing, the stuff of legend. His skill as a navigator, explorer and cartographer know no equal. He’d have a few travel stories to tell. If he weren’t available then I could settle for Salvador Dali, Pablo Picasso or Vincent van Gogh.

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

A true irony of being an academic is that you are able to spend less time in the lab. However, when time permits I do set up a few crystallisations and solvothermal experiments. I also try to do some crystallography here and there, along with structure interpretation with my students.

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

The book would have to be ‘Blood and Water’, a collection of stories by Tim Winton. I have forgotten how many times I have read this collection. These stories still captivate me; Winton has a truly laconic writing style and his characters transcend their often miserable lives with an undying spirit of hope. However, I doubt that any author can better an opening chapter than the one that begins ‘Fantastic Mr. Fox’ by Roald Dahl. I can still remember the day I first read this as a 6 year old and am taken back to my childhood every time I read it…to my kids. Happy days!

As for the CD… anything by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, and as I am limited to a choice of one then it would have to be their best-of compilation album. Nick Cave is a masterful lyricist.

Paul Kruger is in the Department of Chemistry at The University of Canterbury, New Zealand, and works upon all aspects of supramolecular chemistry ranging from organic synthesis and coordination chemistry, through materials and structural chemistry, to host-guest and sensor chemistry.

Posted by Neil Withers at 06:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

I was a reasonable tuba player and had auditions to go to music college – these didn’t go too well and it was pointed out that I was quite good at maths and physical sciences. I thought again and decided that I enjoyed chemistry and was interested in research (whatever that was) so put chemistry down on my university application forms (as well as civil engineering, although I don’t really remember why now). I stumbled into the summer of my second year and found myself in Dave Leigh’s lab (then at UMIST) for a vacation placement and suddenly awoke to the enormous possibilities for making and playing with molecules. I guess that’s when I started to understand what it was I wanted to do.

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

It varies; when the national football team are not doing so well, I want the manager's job because I haven’t quite grown out of the habit of thinking I know what the best line-up and formation is. On other occasions, I’d quite like to act in West End Musicals as these are the most fantastic live entertainment and encompass acting singing and dancing. Some days, I’d like to be a house husband and stay home with my 1 year old daughter – time spent with her is more rewarding than anything else I do!

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

Develop the theories, synthetic methodologies and new chemists that permit society to continue to evolve. The scientific aspects cover: preparation/ degradation of recyclable materials, methods for energy collection and storage, purification of the atmosphere/ water and new challenges in healthcare such as an ageing population. I struggle with this one as there are so many fun reasons to do chemistry which we should endeavour to convey to those around us, but some of these issues are pretty big problems – for me it is not really a case of how chemists should contribute, more of what chemists must do or things could get quite sticky!

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

This is not something I think about too often – and now I have, the list gets quite long quickly, not to mention that it’s made me start thinking if I’d prefer to have dinner with someone famous who’s alive. In any event, Leonardo Da Vinci would be quite good – my family were on holiday in Tuscany this summer on a vineyard close to the town where he was born. I was amazed at the diversity of activities he was involved in, particularly some of his engineering work which centuries later seems (to an untrained eye) to be largely unchanged. Tuscany was also very good for food and wine!

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

Today, I ran a couple of TLC’s, an NMR and an IR on a sample so that I had characterization for an undergraduate experiment I have to mark! More seriously, I was still doing a little synthesis last month for a paper that needs finishing off – I should stay away and let my group get on with laboratory work, but even though I don’t have time and I don’t think my group like it too much, I can’t resist the temptation to see if something will work for long.

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

Book: Lord of the Rings because it is good and because it is long, which will be helpful as I’m likely to have plenty of time. CD: Assuming the ready availability of a solar powered CD player; Symphony No. 2 Resurrection by Mahler, but Definitely Maybe by Oasis comes close. Can’t I have a whole i-pod?

Andy Wilson is in the School of Chemistry at the University of Leeds, and works on inhibition of protein-protein interactions, self-assembly and molecular recognition.

Posted by Neil Withers at 06:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

When I was an undergraduate, I spent much of my leisure time in a chemistry lab because of my great interest in various fantastic chemical reactions. In my Ph.D. studies, I began research work on molecular sieves due to my supervisor’s suggestion. At that time, I was attracted by the magical porous materials which made me go further along this way.

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

I like the kind of work where I can invent and create with my head and hand, and enjoy the whole process from raising ideas, to drawing papers, and to making the final objects. Indeed, if I wasn't a chemist, I have a dream to do detective work like a policeman, because investigating and solving a law case is similar to scientific research. I like to ask myself questions and understand why.

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

Generally, there are two points: vision and ability. A chemist must stand higher to have a panoramic view of the world and make some judgments and predictions. At the same time, he should have certain abilities to realize those ideas.

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

It must be Edison, my idol, the most outstanding inventor in the world. I wish we could share some ideas and opinions with each other, especially the unsuccessful experiences in our careers. I wonder if I am similar to him...

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

In 2007, I made some attepmts to scale up the production of FDU-15 by myself. After so many years of experience of small-scale laboratory syntheses, I am now paying more attention to the production of new materials on a large scale, which is the prerequisite to their real applications.

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

The book, Advanced Inorganic Chemistry, by F. A. Cotton and G. Wilkinson should be with me all time, which would take me far from loneliness and sadness, and bring the happiest time with me. The symphonies of Beethoven, the greatest German composer, would always encourage me to face and overcome the difficulties encountered.

Dongyuan Zhao is in the Department of Chemistry at Fudan University, and works on the development of novel synthesis/assembly methods for microporous molecular sieves and mesoporous materials, and the exploration of their properties and applications.

Posted by Neil Withers at 05:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

I entered college wanting to be a biology major and took two years of introductory chemistry to satisfy the biology degree requirements. I then had a fantastic summer undergraduate research experience and learned how to study a biological system with nuclear magnetic resonance. That project solidified my interest in biology and showed me that if you really want to get to the bottom of a biological process, then you had to understand the chemical factors at play. Majoring in chemistry was a logical next step.

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

I have a cousin who works for the Alaska department of fish and game. He spends many of his days outdoors and on the water, conducting surveys of fish and shellfish populations. For a person with my eating habits, this job would be the equivalent of a kid working in a candy store-except that it involves SCUBA diving, so you get to stay in shape and see beautiful sights!

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

This is a no-brainer-we need to figure out how to power the planet with processes that don't use fossil fuels. As this problem won't be solved overnight, chemical educators need to realize that it's the kids sitting in the lecture hall who will solve this problem, not us. We need to inspire them to join the effort.

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

The Oregon distance runner Steve Prefontaine. Why? He was all about hard work, dedication to the cause, mental and physical toughness, teamwork, and friendship. His talent electrified the nation and helped inspire the running boom of the 1970's. The evening would start off with 400 repeats on Hayward Field and be followed with a nice meal and quite a few beers. I've been searching for a good reason to get back in shape, and this would probably do it.

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

Just this past week, I spent some time working with a student on the NMR spectrometer. In a collaboration with Scott Miller's group at Yale, we are trying to determine the solution conformation of a peptide with interesting catalytic activities. One of the reasons why I decided to teach and do research at a primarily undergraduate college is that I enjoy being in the lab and work closely with students.

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

I'd want to start my exile with some laughs and memories from a prior life, so the book would be Richard Russo's Straight Man. The CD would be recordings of the collected speeches of John F. Kennedy. I figure that getting out of exile would quickly rise to the top of my 'to do' list, so I would not want to sit around listening to music. Kennedy's speeches get my adrenaline flowing and I would need bursts of energy to live my new life in a Bear Gryllsian manner. If my attempts to get off the island fail, then I would sit on a rock and repeat, from memory, Kennedy's "Radio and Television Report to the American People on the Soviet Arms Buildup in Cuba." There's a lot of good scolding in that speech, and something tells me that I would be in a scolding mood if I couldn't get off the island!

Daniel O’Leary is in the Department of Chemistry at Bowdoin College and uses NMR spectroscopy and synthetic organic chemistry to study hydrogen bonding and aspects of peptide conformation.

Posted by Neil Withers at 06:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

I started out as a neuroscience major at Laurentian University in Ontario, Canada. In the summer after my second year I started doing experiments in the chemistry laboratory on reactions that I thought were interesting. The most rewarding aspect of chemistry is that you can think of a new idea in the morning and often know if it works by the end of the day. In neuroscience, experiments usually took weeks or months before knowing the outcome. I also didn't like killing rats.

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

Before switching to chemistry I was on my way to becoming a neurosurgeon. I still think neuroscience is interesting because it directly pertains to the phenomenon of consciousness.

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

The short answer is by sharing more data more quickly. I understand that in many situations this is not possible because of IP or collaboration concerns. However, there are other situations where data that could be shared is not because of inertia. My approach to this is to make the laboratory notebook of my group public at all times. When I talk about sharing data I'm also including the details of how an experiment was carried out and observed. We can learn a lot by observing how people fail as well as succeed.

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

It would be fascinating to hear Wilder Penfield recount his pioneering work on neural stimulation and mapping.

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

September 3, 2008. While I was in Southampton I spent the day with Cameron Neylon and we measured the solubility of a few compounds in organic solvents. The experiment is available here. We used this as an example of how people can perform simple experiments and report measurements publicly that are difficult to find, even in expensive databases. We aim to collect a completely public dataset of solubilities of common compounds in organic solvents and create a predictive model via a collaboration with Rajarshi Guha at Indiana University. More information can be found here (Sigma–Aldrich is currently sponsor - new sponsors and participants welcome)

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

I would bring an autobiography of somebody interesting - if I had to pick a specific one, William Shatner's Up Til Now probably has a few giggles left in a second reading. Pink Floyd's The Final Cut album never gets old.

Jean-Claude Bradley is in the Department of Chemistry at Drexel University, and works on the synthesis of new anti-malarial compounds using Open Notebook Science.

Posted by Neil Withers at 06:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

I actually spent a lot of time trying to get away from chemistry as an undergraduate. My undergraduate major is actually biochemistry and the only reason I carried chemistry through to third year was I hated microbiology even more. I then did a PhD in a chemistry department, a postdoc, in a chemistry department, and ended up with a Lectureship at Southampton Chemistry, before moving to the STFC ISIS Neutron Scattering Facility, which has a strong history in physical chemistry. So it took me a while to appreciate the importance of chemistry to what I was trying to do and the things I was interested in.

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

I nearly did music rather than science at university and I still definitely miss the fact that I don’t have the time to dedicate to being much better than I am at the music I am involved with. Really I’d just like to be able to devote more time to learning more about the things that I find interesting or fun but are not right at the core of what I need to be doing right now. Given a completely free choice, and unlimited funds, I’d probably go back to being a student!

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

By doing what they’re best at – chemistry, and helping to frame the big issues facing science and the world in chemical terms. Chemistry remains central to almost everything we do, and an awful lot of what we need to do in terms of climate, the environment, energy, and health. But at the same time there is a lot of complacency in the community and a lack of interest in engaging with the way the development of science and technology are changing. Chemistry has a great future, but I worry about how much of that future is going to be in chemistry departments. Chemists need to stake a claim to being at the heart of solving important problems or there is the risk of just turning into a service department.

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

Far too hard! There are quite enough people I’d like to meet who are still alive. I think it would be fascinating to talk to Haldane about science and society or any of the 19th century scientists who were the last generation to have a good grasp of what was happening in the full range of science fields.

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

You can tell exactly when I was last in the lab and what I was doing by looking at my lab book online. The most recent thing at the time of writing was a deceptively simple-looking experiment where I was seeing whether a simple approach to measuring the solubility of compounds in organic solvents would work well or not. This was done with Jean-Claude Bradley from Drexel University as part of the setup for an Open Notebook Science challenge where we are trying to crowdsource the collection of solubility data. The idea is that students anywhere in the world can contribute by developing or improving methods for determining solubility and placing the data and methods online as they are developed so that the data are freely accessible. I still manage to get into the lab reasonably regularly. Whether it does any good or not you’d have to ask my research group…

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

If I was exiled on a desert island I would go mad. One book and one CD would be unlikely to help all that much so I guess I would go for the longest thing I could find. The full OED perhaps, you can still get that compact edition I think with nine pages condensed onto one. CD would probably be one I’ve had for ages, with the Berlin Philharmonic playing Pictures at an Exhibition and the Rite of Spring. That or Sky’s second album – but I don’t think that was ever released on CD…

Cameron Neylon has joint appointments at the Science and Technology Facilities Council Rutherford Appleton Laboratory and the School of Chemistry at Southampton University, and works on too many different things ranging from analysis of high throughput DNA sequencing approaches, through methodology development for biophysics and structural biology, to the design and development of web based systems for recording what happens in experimental laboratories.

Posted by Neil Withers at 06:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

I was always interested in maths, physics, chemistry and biology at school – however I find that there is more room for creativity in chemistry. Also, an enthusiastic chemistry teacher the year I had to make a choice definitely had an influence on me.

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

A teacher! I grew up in a family of teachers and always thought I would become one (while constantly changing my mind about the subject I was going to teach). I think education is of particular importance and I wouldn’t mind being a part of it. If I really could be anything I would also love to be a painter – but it was clear from an early age that my drawing abilities weren’t up to it.

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

In various ways, chemists are already looking for answers to current problems in an incredibly broad range of areas – from environmental to health issues. There is also a communication problem between scientists and the general public, with most people not being really sure of what researchers actually do… Making chemistry better understood to the public, through education, would be extremely valuable.

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

He’s already been chosen a couple of times but if he’s allowed one more dinner I’d like to meet Nelson Mandela, whose fight for freedom and equality undeniably changed the world.

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

When I was finishing my PhD, two years ago. I was investigating a copper-based metal-organic framework formed with two types of ligands, wistfully looking for outstanding gas storage properties. I particularly liked that framework for its structure, but also (or did I mean mostly?) the fact that it grew in the form of beautiful green crystals.

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

This is an incredibly hard choice. Sadly, I would have to give JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings a miss, purely because I’ve read it (and now also seen the films) so many times. I’d love to take with me La Saga Malaussène, by Daniel Pennac, a series of books relating with much style and wit the ever-entertaining adventures of the Malaussène family living in Belleville, Paris. Oh is ‘a series of books’ cheating? Then I’d bring Shantaram, by Gregory David Roberts – I’ve just started reading it and it seems really compelling. As for the CD I would go with Bob Marley’s Legend.

Anne Pichon is an Associate Editor for Nature Chemistry and Nature Asia-Pacific.

Posted by Neil Withers at 04:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

I remember when about 15 years old being excited about a project on growing crystals and also going to the Royal Institution (London) to hear an inspiring lecture on photochemistry given by the late Professor George (Lord) Porter. Until then I hadn’t realised that you could do chemistry as a full-time job.

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

Dream job: footballer (soccer player) down the left-wing. Other job: get more involved in politics (also on the left). Sadly the distribution of wealth/power in the world is still very unequal. Most positive democratic change in the 19th and 20th centuries would not have happened without people getting involved in progressive struggle.

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

(a) Probably most/all chemists already contribute by advancing knowledge. Chemistry underpins so much of current science. Some obvious wider contributions to be made are: sustainable energy, solutions to disease (e.g. HIV, malaria, cancer), clean water and reducing pollution. In my field, fundamental materials chemistry is key to future breakthroughs in clean energy conversion and storage.
(b) Engage with the public (and popular media), promoting the importance of evidence/reason over superstition. To some, the word ‘chemical’ has become synonymous with poison. But Joe (and Josephine) Public should know that all matter, animal, vegetable or mineral, is made up of chemicals. They should imagine what it would be like without chemicals: no food or medicines; no TV or computers; no plastics or sex hormones. The list is endless. Indeed, without chemicals there would be no life!

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

Charles Darwin - to find out how he got his big, powerful idea (of evolution by natural selection), and how he dealt with religious challengers. Outside science, Mahatma Gandhi – a remarkable man in the successful struggle against British imperial rule. Around the second world war, he was asked by a journalist what he thought of western civilisation. He replied: “I think it would be a good idea”.

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

Not sure if this counts, but since my research is largely computational chemistry, I still dabble in some simulations. I wasn’t very good at practical organic chemistry during my undergrad days at UCL (in the early 80’s). Last experiment in the lab: solid-state synthesis of spinel oxides (NiMn₂O₄) during my PhD.

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

Fiction: the rich, dazzling “One Hundred Years of Solitude” by Gabriel Garcia Marques. And a collection of 20th century poetry (W.B. Yeats, W.H. Auden, P. Neruda etc).
Non-fiction: “Unweaving the Rainbow” by Richard Dawkins; essential reading for conveying the beauty, wonder and excitement of science.
CD: The Smiths “The Queen is Dead” with the Morrissey/Marr classic track “There is a Light that Never Goes Out”. I can play it really loud and not disturb the neighbours! To make me laugh, I would also like the CD of Monty Python’s “Life of Brian”, which ends appropriately with the song “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life”.

Saiful Islam is in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Bath, and works on aspects of solid-state materials chemistry with emphasis on atomic-scale modelling of new materials for fuel cells and lithium ion batteries.

Posted by Neil Withers at 05:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

It was the combination of scientific rigor and the creativity involved in chemistry that really appealed to me. We get to make new things and understand what they are and how they work which I really enjoy. Plus it turns out I’m not particularly good at maths which was the other area I was considering as I entered university.

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

If I had the talent and ideas, I’d have liked to have been a novelist.

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

By being good chemists and developing the science and looking at what it can be applied to and how we can engage with other disciplines.

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

It’d be interesting to talk with someone at the discovery edge when perceptions of the world were changing. Sir Joseph Banks comes to mind as he was faced with cataloguing such vastly different flora and fauna to what was hitherto know.

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

I still run samples on the single crystal diffractometer whenever called to. This is usually for project students and on group trips to synchrotron facilities. I try to keep away from doing any synthetic experiments which I’m sure everyone else in the lab appreciates.

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

The one book would probably be Mark Danielewski’s House of Leaves which is a sort of academic horror tale. If nothing else it would take me a stint on a desert island to fully absorb all the jokes in the footnotes. Music-wise it’d have to be a best-of Pixies compilation.

Michaele Hardie is in the School of Chemistry at the University of Leeds and works on metallo-supramolecular chemistry.

Posted by Neil Withers at 05:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

I was always interested in history, languages, and philosophy, as well as natural science, especially biology, so it was a difficult decision. However, both my parents were chemists, and as a child I often accompanied them to work, and this got me interested in chemistry. In the end my parents put some pressure on me to choose something 'more useful' and more lucrative (they hoped) and so I ended up doing chemistry.

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

I have always been intrigued by Roman history, and would happily immerse myself in archaeological/historical studies. I am interested in finding out why such a sophisticated civilization eventually collapsed.

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

In the past humanist tradition, equal importance was attached to the education and exploration of arts and science in the education of a cultivated person. Since then, the famous 'Two Cultures' emerged, to the extent where science has started to be seen as something unnatural, placing human beings outside nature. Particularly in the context of the current energy and climate crisis, scientists need to contribute to bringing human beings back to their place in nature, with science (and chemistry) moving back in the direction of cooperating with nature further than just dealing with 'natural laws'.

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

Julius Caesar, to discover what such a reputably highly intelligent man was like (but not on the Ides of March, please).

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

1992, when I tried to synthesize a titanium catalyst precursor and failed.

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

The book would be Shakespeare's collected works - Shakespeare seemed to know just about everything about human nature, and presented it with wit and wisdom. Another choice would be Goethe's Faust or Thomas Mann's Magic Mountain (if German books are acceptable). If I were allowed, I would take the box of CDs of complete Mozart's piano concertos (or sonatas) - I'd have to think about the pianist, though (probably Alfred Brendel or Michiko Uchida).

Jun Okuda holds the Chair of Organometallic Chemistry in the Institute of Inorganic Chemistry at RWTH Aachen University, and works on organometallic chemistry of Lewis acidic metals and homogeneous catalysis, in particular polymerization catalysis and biomass conversion.

Posted by Neil Withers at 05:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

An enthusiastic, old-fashioned chemistry teacher who didn’t care much about orbitals, but could get the class excited with vivid, thought-provoking experiments. Being intrigued, I tried some experiments on my own, which, surprisingly, worked. The love and dedication of the teacher to chemistry were inspirational.

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

A ship skipper. I love the sea, which can be both relaxing, very challenging, and unpredictable. Sometimes like chemistry.

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

By doing what they do best. Concentrate on issues that they believe can make a difference, rather than follow “low barrier” directions. Resist being influenced by fashions and buzzwords.

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

Haim Weizmann, the first president of Israel, who was also a visionary chemist. He represented a rare case in which mixing of science and politics (or statesmanship) was fruitful. His scientific contribution to the British WW1 effort paved the way to the Balfour Declaration in 1917 (“His Majesty's Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people”).

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

Not exactly in the lab, I tried to entertain at my sons’ birthdays by showing chemical curiosities. That was stopped about 10 years ago (my sons didn’t turn out to be chemists after all).

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

A boat-builder’s manual would be nice. On a more serious note, Richard Willstatter’s “From my Life”. This is a thoughtful, revealing book by the 1915 Nobel Prize laureate. Beethoven’s 9 symphonies is my CD of choice.

David Milstein is in the Department of Organic Chemistry at the Weizmann Institute of Science, and works on organometallic chemistry and homogeneous catalysis.

Posted by Neil Withers at 05:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

I think of myself more as a materials scientist who is intrigued by chemistry. My father inspired me to become a scientist; he was a biologist who clearly loved what he did and was full of enthusiasm about his work. It rubbed off on me.

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

I would be a journalist since I love to write, or a chocolate maker. Or better yet, a food critic who specializes in chocolate — then I could both sample great chocolate and write about it.

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

Human beings have four critical needs: health, food, shelter and entertainment. I think chemists can help with the first three, helping to develop affordable, effective drugs, more productive crops and sustainable housing. As to the last need, it is probably best left to others.

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

Having dinner with Oscar Wilde or Mark Twain would be wonderful because I am sure the evening would be filled with great stories and laughter.

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

This past year, my friend and collaborator Julia Yeomans wanted to try to create a scaled up version of microscopic swimmers. So we bought some plastic wind-up toys and put them in a tub of gelatinous fluid. Not a complete success — they didn’t move very far. But we forgot to clean the tub and the fluid grew some wonderful blue-green-purple specimens. So, an interesting experiment nonetheless.

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

I would take “David Copperfield” by Dickens since it is my favorite novel; I love the characters and they would be good company. As to the CD, I would take a compilation of the Beatles music.

Anna Balazs is in the Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh, and works on theoretical modeling of polymeric materials and complex fluids.

Posted by Neil Withers at 05:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

When I entered college, I thought I was going to be an engineer. But then I took my first real chemistry class (5.11 at MIT), and I was simply amazed at the world of molecules. Challenging and wonderful (thanks to Silvia Ceyer) physical chemistry courses followed, and I discovered the world of chemistry research as an undergraduate in Mario Molina's lab. Now here I am in the Chemistry Department at UC San Diego, with Mario Molina as my faculty colleague!

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

I'd write biographies of ordinary people from all over the world. This job would combine many of my non-chemistry interests, such as experiencing other cultures, writing, and traveling.

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

One of the most important responsibilities of a chemist, or any scientist, is to actively shape the laws that guide society. Many of the problems that we are trying to solve (energy crisis, pollution, etc) can be lessened by relatively simple changes in the rules that govern our civilized lives.

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

Ernest Shackleton was an Antarctic explorer who endured 800 miles of the most treacherous waters in a small lifeboat and crossed severe terrain to save his crew stranded near Antarctica. His extraordinary leadership, skill, and perseverance are inspirational - what was this man like?

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

As an assistant professor, I still work very closely with my students and go to the lab almost every day. Today I helped my undergraduate student obtain a resonance Raman spectrum of a carrot using our new microscope. It doesn't matter how many times I have seen these data (including publishing a paper on it), I still get excited seeing the molecular fingerprint of a vegetable!

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

This is an easy one - I would bring East of Eden by John Steinbeck with me. To offset this tragic and intense tale, I'd turn to one of my favorite textbooks from college, The Stars by H. A. Rey, to identify the beautiful shapes in the nighttime sky. Music? Top 80's hits (as defined by Richard Blade) are a must, as well as Johnny Cash and Mozart's Marriage of Figaro.

Judy Kim is in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at The University of California, San Diego, and works on spectroscopic studies of biological systems. Her research areas include membrane protein folding, peptide-membrane interactions, and biological radical intermediates involved in electron transfer reactions.

Posted by Neil Withers at 05:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

I always liked science and nature even from a young age (around 6). I was fortunate enough to have great chemistry teachers in 8th grade (age 13) and in high school (age 15). I also found high school chemistry labs far more interesting than biology (I killed things) and physics (boring).

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

I would have two part-time jobs: one working outside in a garden, and the other in a coffeeshop/bookstore, both of which would pay me over $100,000 per year (as long as I am describing the ideal situation). I like to be outside, drink coffee, and read a lot of books so this is the perfect combo.

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

Scientifically, by connecting the molecular scale we deal with to larger, more complicated systems like biology, medicine, the environment. Of course we also have the chance to get students excited and more knowledgeable about chemistry early at the university - many students have to take chemistry, not just chemistry majors. So education of future citizens, to look at the evidence of phenomenon and come up with a good explanation that passes multiple tests, is a general good that chemists and other scientists bring to the world.

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

Julia Child - she was a hoot, and plus would make us a great meal!

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

Sadly, years ago as an assistant professor, when I was purifying compounds and DNA by HPLC. I still visit the lab every other day or so, and do demos for my university chemistry class.

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

Dante's Comedy (Dorothy Sayers translation) and KD Lang's Hymns from the 49th Parallel.

Catherine Murphy is in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of South Carolina, and works on metal nanoparticle synthesis, optical properties and applications; she also has an interest in the nanoscale structure and dynamics of DNA.

Posted by Neil Withers at 06:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

A combination of natural curiosity, parents who are scientists (with enough patience to answer endless questions), good teachers throughout my school years - and finally luck, in the form of the admissions tutor at the Department of Chemistry at the University of Durham. The Natural Science course for which I'd applied was over-subscribed, and Mike Crampton wrote to ask if I'd like to change my application to chemistry. I did, and 12 years later, here I am on Nature Chemistry.

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

Working for Heston Blumenthal on his 'molecular gastronomy' would be pretty amazing, and certainly looks great fun on TV. But that's practically chemistry!

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

Engage with it. Chemistry can, and has, improved the world to a staggering degree, but people just don't seem to be aware of it. So if the general population can appreciate what chemistry has done for it, that engagement could remove some of the problems that chemistry is perceived to cause. For example, people might be so keen on polluting if they understood the potential damage more.

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

Bede and Linus Pauling. Defining what chemistry is, is always tricky, but for me it comes down to chemical bonds, and Pauling pretty much invented the way we see chemical bonds today. In addition to his chemistry Nobel Prize, he also won the peace Prize for campaigning against war and nuclear weapons, and he remains the only person to win two un-shared Nobel prizes. Bede was a monk in the kingdom of Northumbria in the 7th century AD (a system of reckoning time that he in fact invented). While he's remembered today as 'the father of English history', his knowledge and influence is far greater than that. It's incredible to think that, in a place often seen nowadays as so far from civilisation at the time, he 'had at his command all the learning of his time'.

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

Well, outside the lab, I made some Chelsea buns before I started on Nature Chemistry. I followed the 'lab script' carefully, weighed out my 'reagents' as accurately as I could and ended up with better looking 'products' than I ever made as an undergraduate! The pictures are on Facebook if anyone cares to look. Seriously, the last experiments I did in my PhD were conductivity measurements - but not before the seriously fiddly soldering of copper wires onto my precious samples (metal oxychalcogenide pellets), and hoping for an ohmic contact.

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

As lots of other people cheat on this one, so shall I! I would love to take the 20 books of Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey–Maturin cycle or all the Jeeves and Blandings books of PG Wodehouse. If you're going to be strict, I'll plump for a Ray Mears survival guide! The man's a legend anyway...

As for a CD, it's a close call between Johnny Cash at San Quentin and the Stone Roses' eponymous debut album. I think the Stone Roses win on points!

Neil Withers is an Associate Editor for Nature Chemistry.

Posted by Alison Stoddart at 05:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

The thrill of discovery and the beauty of molecules. I fell in love with molecules at the age of 10 when I saw a stick-and-ball drawing of two molecules (water and methane) in a text book I randomly came across in our school library. That started my fascination with molecular drawings and patterns, which later led me to develop reticular chemistry (stitching molecules together by strong bonds into networks).

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

A pianist or gardener. These professions (jobs) are solitary and some of the very few jobs where the fruit of labor and Nature can be beautifully revealed.

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

Chemists are unique because they are able to exchange an atom (or several) in a molecule and turn it from a poison to a medicine. Such tiny change and such great impact are a result of our knowledge of how atoms are connected and how to alter such connectivity for various uses. We must keep this goal in mind as chemists and thus continue to make vital contributions.

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

Galileo for his incredibly convincing yet simple defense (“…I wrote what my mind did not think”) that got him off.

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

The experiments I did when I was 25 years old as a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard involving the solid state synthesis of Re/Se clusters. Generally, I am terrified of beakers, flasks, tubes and all that they hold, which kept me away from my laboratory: it’s an irrational fear of these objects in particular and many others too numerous to list here.

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

The Oxford English Dictionary, and Turandot.

Omar M. Yaghi is a Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry at UCLA and works on the chemistry of linking molecular building blocks into useful crystals for clean energy applications.

Posted by Neil Withers at 06:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

Chemistry is both creative and incisive, so it gives us both medicines and biological mechanisms.

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

Perhaps a biologist, or if not a scientist then a judge.

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

Help solve the energy problem, probably with practical photovoltaic devices and batteries.

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

Thomas Jefferson, to convince him that Hamilton was right.

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

Perhaps 40 years ago, generating a cyclopentadienyl cation and getting its spectrum.

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

The recent biography of George Washington, and Bach's Goldberg Variations by Glenn Gould.

Ron Breslow is in the Department of Chemistry at Columbia University, and works on biomimetic chemistry, physical organic chemistry and molecular electronics.

Posted by Neil Withers at 05:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

It’s certainly not a career you just fall into to but there was certainly no point at school at which I thought “I want to be a chemist”. I enjoyed chemistry at school so I continued doing it at university. As the physical side of it got more complex I got more and more immersed in it and couldn’t get out!

The move to publishing came when I realized that I couldn’t see myself spending any more time in the lab. I enjoyed reading other people’s research more than I did doing my own. I also realized that I’d like to spend more time reading more diverse science than what I could when doing fairly specialist projects.

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

I think I’d always have ended up in publishing but if I was to choose what I could write about it would be sports. I love football (soccer) and cricket and being able to watch it and get paid for it would be great!

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

There are two things that I think are very important. The first one is for chemists to not only address the major problems that are facing civilization currently, such as energy and sustainability, but to continue to work on fundamental problems still not fully understood. The second thing is to teach and discuss science with enthusiasm. Interest from non-specialists and students is fostered through passionate teachers. So many chemists tell stories about great teachers inspiring them to work in science and this is a responsibility that shouldn’t be taken lightly.

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

I have a real answer and a “professional” answer. My real answer is Brian Clough. For those of you who were not big football (soccer) fans in the 70’s and 80’s he was a manager (coach) for several English teams. During his career he won everything (English and European competitions) basically through great man management. He trusted his team and they trusted him. He would ask them to do something and even though they might not have understood why (any grad students know that feeling?) they would do it anyway (any grad students know that one?).

My professional answer is Ed Lorenz. Sadly, he died very recently but his legacy will live forever. His discovery of deterministic chaos in weather systems sounds like it could be interesting to only a select group of meteorologists, but the intrinsic mathematics behind those systems are important to so many researchers, from biologists to economists, that it started a new way of looking at deterministic systems. He had one of those “eureka” moments and it would be great to hear him talk about it!

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

I really can’t remember the last actual lab experiment I did. I left the lab to carry out some computational work half way through my PhD and I forgot to go back! So if simulations count then the last batch I ran were related to a kind of spiral pattern that I’d previously observed in the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction. In the experiments it behaved in a way that had never been reported before that we couldn’t obviously explain. We couldn’t reproduce its behaviour in the simulations no matter what we tried!

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

My book choice is High Fidelity by Nick Hornby. It introduced me to the concept of “Top 5s”, the greatest pub game ever (if it needs explanation it’s basically just listing your top 5 songs, films, papers in Nature this year, 1970 cop shows, etc.). As for music, it would be Definitely Maybe by Oasis; a classic.

Gavin Armstrong is an Associate Editor for Nature Chemistry.

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

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

I have always been curious about how things work and liked solving puzzles. In fact, when I was very young, I conducted experiments on plants, systematically exposing them to different conditions such as sunlight and drops of water in order to determine the optimal conditions for growth. So when I was in junior high and learned about chemistry, I realized that this was the field that interested me. At the age of twelve, I decided to be a chemistry professor.

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

I would work in animal conservation. Protecting the diversity of the earth’s wildlife from loss of habitat and the effects of global warming is something I feel passionate about. Whether I would study genetics of endangered species at a place like the San Diego Wild Animal Park or would work in the field on an animal management team, I am not sure.

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

We already contribute greatly to the world: everything from making life-saving drugs to extra-absorbent diapers. I think chemists will continue to play a crucial role in society, making positive impacts in alternative energy, combating world disease, and purifying drinking water, to name a few.

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

Michelangelo. I once read a book about him that also discussed more generally the chemistry of frescos and paints. I would be really interested to talk with him about how frescoes are made and how he was able to carve the statue of David such that the proportions are correct to the distant viewer. I would like to know if he did indeed paint parts of the Sistine Chapel with both hands by memory rather than by drawings to save time. Besides, I suppose I would get to eat some good Italian food.

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

It was approximately two years ago — I made protein reactive initiators to polymerize styrene. Members of my group continued that work, synthesizing polystyrene that binds to free cysteines and aldehydes at one or both ends. We are currently preparing derivatives of these initiators to form protein-based nanocapsules for delivery of hydrophobic drugs.

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

The book is easy — I would take Norton’s Anthology of Poetry. I would never tire of reading it. For the CD, I would take some Hawaiian music as that would be definitely appropriate for a desert island.

Heather Maynard is in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of California, Los Angeles, and works on protein conjugation to polymers and surfaces for biomedical applications and nanotechnology.

Posted by Neil Withers at 05:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

The serious but predictable answer is a couple of really good science teachers, so thanks should go to the inspirational Andrew Munro and Jeremy Bushrod. The fun answer is John Nettles. I guess I should qualify that answer. It was my enthusiasm for a variety of TV cop shows – I use the term broadly to encompass a whole variety of mystery drama that initially made me consider forensic science as a career. Thankfully one or both of the above teachers encouraged me to keep my options open and study something broader – like chemistry. It’s a relief that at university I became more interested in organic chemistry, since I’ve saved myself from needing to be an expert in pathology, ballistics, analytical chemistry and all the other multi-talents exhibited by the average main character in these shows. Don’t get me wrong, I still watch these things, but the truth about the science gets heavily bent by the writer’s artistic licence.

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

I’m now too old to dream about becoming a professional sportsman of any sort, but whilst at the University of Sheffield, I took up playing snooker. I’m not good enough to do that professionally either, but I think I could make a decent stab at being a referee. I’d get to travel the world while doing something I love, and everyday would be different. The similarities to being a journal editor are quite frankly astonishing.

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

Aside from the obvious – solutions to disease, food shortage, energy, etc. – I think it would be great if we could dispel some of the myths about science. I’m forever disappointed that science is presented in schools as a long list of undeniable facts – the result of which is that many people who potentially could be great scientists are turned off at an early age and never return.

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

Francis Bacon, one of the fathers of modern science philosophy. In many ways this relates to my answer to question 3. I’d also like to be able to check and dispel the myth that he was Shakespeare.

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

In the midst of the sink of entropy that was my fume cupboard – ask any who have shared a lab with me – it was probably a diazo-thioketone coupling reaction that is the cornerstone of making some of the light driven molecular motors of the Feringa group. I was rather pleased as I achieved a >90% yield in a reaction that was often problematic, although I think the particular combination of reactants I was using was the telling factor.

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

Queens’s greatest hits – I’m not sure how this works, but I know from experience that with time all music kept in a car becomes a Queen CD. I thought perhaps taking this with me would mean I would have access to a whole selection of music. As for the book – March’s Organic chemistry! No, seriously I’d have to take a fairly hefty tome though, I rarely read a book twice and I’d need something to keep me going for a long while once I realised that the Queen CD was a bad idea. Perhaps a survival guide might be a good idea as well – particularly if it included instructions on how to build a raft out of coconut shells.

Stephen Davey is an Associate Editor for Nature Chemistry.

Posted by Alison Stoddart at 05:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

As a child I remember being given a chemistry set and spending many hours in the family greenhouse mixing different coloured liquids and causing things to heat and sometimes burn (much to the horror of my parents!). This fascination of exothermic reactions continued throughout school and then it was a hard decision between chemistry and physics. I ended up choosing chemistry as there were more girls on that course at the time.

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

I would definitely like to be a travel writer as I love to visit new places and experience different cultures, so to get paid to do this would be fantastic. However, if I am thinking about my carbon footprint, and about seeing my family, then I would most probably open up a tea shop, so I could sell the cakes that I love to bake (and eat).

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

In addition to the current push to reduce pollution and improve the environment, I think chemists play a key role in improving health, quality of life and every day well being. I see this as not only making more effective medicinal treatments that are available to all, but also small things like improved material properties and personal care products.

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

Well, the obvious one would be Dorothy Hodgkin as I think she managed to make such a contribution to science, inspire her students and raise her family at the same time and I would like to ask her how she did it! Although if I just had to choose one then it would be Leonardo da Vinci as he was such a great thinker and a pioneer in so many areas including science, anatomy and engineering. I think it would be so fascinating to find out what influenced and inspired him. I believe he was also the first to really take inspiration from nature to create highly functional materials & systems, which is something highly relevant to my research area today!

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

Ermm? I am ashamed to say that it was a while ago! I did some cryo-transmission electron microscopy with our collaborators in Helsinki, Finland about two years ago on a protein hydrogel. My student was with me though (and she also showed me what to do!) so I am not sure that counts. On the other hand I made some dough for a pizza last night, so you could say my last experiment was fermentation.

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

Unfortunately I don’t a great deal of spare time for reading at the moment between work & having two young children who believe they should only sleep when it gets dark (great for winter, not so good for long summer nights!)! If I had to choose one however, it would be the last Harry Potter book by J.K. Rowling. Choosing one CD is hard as I have quite eclectic tastes, but I should be true to my roots and choose the Scottish band Deacon Blue as they would instill passion for me to find a way back home!

Aline Miller is in the Manchester Interdisciplinary Biocentre at the University of Manchester, UK, and works on understanding how nature uses self-assembly to create functional nanomaterials and attempts to mimic and exploit this in synthetic systems.

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

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

I was good at science and maths, art and tennis but had to get a job, and science in the 60s was a much better bet that art - I also lost too often at tennis. The number of career avenues open to kids in those days was much less then. I also had very good chemistry and art teachers. Wilf Jary and Harry Heaney at (Bolton) School and Mr Higginson for art. Harry Heaney subsequently left school teaching and became a Professor of Chemistry at Loughborough University

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

Almost certainly some field of graphic art and design. I do a lot of this now. Also, probably animation and science documentary - see www.vega.org.uk and www.geoset.info. I did have an interview with the BBC in 1964 but I wanted to live abroad so I decided to do a postdoc in Canada. They suggested I see them if and when I came back.

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

Chemists have made some of the most humanitarian contributions to society. Liebig (of condenser fame) advised the City of London on the chemical treatment of sewage and before this the Thames was so bad you died if you fell in it - it was so polluted. Crawford Long and others developed anaesthetics - imagine having a leg amputated without anaesthetics - as happened routinely before the 19th century (Image browse on Google Rowlinson's drawings to get an idea).

Before 1942 when Florey, Heatley and Chain developed ways of making penicillin in large amounts (Fleming did not do any development on his discovery) blood poisoning routinely led to amputation and/or death. I am not sure but some estimates indicate that 70% of the world's food is produced using fertilisers made by the Haber-Bosch process. What would the modern world be without modern polymers or had we not learned how to grow large crystals of silicon to make the wafers for computer chips. Aspirin and platinum anti-cancer drugs have been great contributions too as has Taxol developed by my FSU colleague Bob Holton. There have been so many wonderful contributions one can be proud of being a chemist.

Unfortunately some chemists have made anti-humanitarian contributions. I was terribly disappointed when I learned that Louis Fieser - who had written the fantastic text book on Organic Chemistry (Fieser & Fieser) that I had bought when I was a kid at school and had read from cover to cover - had invented napalm. I try to encourage young students of science to distance themselves from this sort of application - I do not call it science - and focus on humanitarian contributions. Haber's reputation has also been tarnished by his development of nerve gas. I ask young people would they not rather be almost unknown heroes such as Norman Heatley who did all the key penicillin experiments and has saved millions of lives and limbs.

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

I have relocated to the US and learned a lot about the birth of the US and have developed a great admiration for the so-called founding fathers. I would like to discuss their concerns and how they formulated the US Bill of Rights and the US Constitution - fantastic creations. I would like to have dinner with three of them Thomas Paine who lived for a while in my home town Lewes and wrote the Rights of Man; Benjamin Franklin a scientist and really the first American - who lived in London for nearly 20 years and was terribly treated just before the Revolution and Thomas Jefferson who recognised that there can be no democracy if Church and State are not separate. This latter point is of great importance today.

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

I must admit that I have so many commitments that unfortunately my co-workers tend to do most of the hands-on experimental work now though I occasionally have been involved with electron microscope observations.

I have not had a lab for the last 3 years as I had to retire from my position at Sussex. I have just got a beautiful lab in a great new building at Florida State University. The last time I did an experiment all by myself with no help from anyone else!!! was in 1990 when I at last had a sample of C₆₀ in my hands. In our C₆₀ discovery paper in 1985 we had conjectured that C₆₀ might be a superlubricant. After all, we thought(!!!) that as flat graphite is a lubricant - round graphite should be even better. When I took the sample and pressed it with a spatula on a glass slide it behaved like grit - disappointingly. I could not understand this until I learned that graphite is not a lubricant unless air and water intercalate between the layers - for instance it cannot be used at high altitude or on the space shuttle. I discovered that the text books are incorrect on this - the interlayer forces are not weak and graphene layers do not slide over each other in vacuo.

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

I think I would take an introduction to Quantum Electrodynamics (maybe Feynman's) as I would want to go the next step on from Quantum Mechanics which I vaguely know a bit about already - at least enough to analyse molecular spectra and fool some people into thinking I understand QM.

If I could also take a guitar I think I would take a James Taylor LP so I could try to improve my ability - which is very limited to play the guitar. I guess it would have to take his (Live) album or Greatest hits album as I would want Carolina in my Mind as well as Sweet Baby James which are on his first two albums.

Sir Harry Kroto is in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Florida State University, and works on the mechanisms of self-assembly at nanoscale dimensions, the species which exist in carbon vapour - there are hundreds and at least 5 families, the stabilisation of small fullerenes and nanotube applications.

Posted by Alison Stoddart at 05:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

The ability to make things that (may not) have existed before was the original motivation, then the idea that you could actually make something useful led me to continue in chemistry. Modern medicines rely a lot on chemistry, and having had the experience of a 2 hr old child dependent on some brilliant doctors - who in turn relied on excellent medicines - made me realise that there will always be a need for great science, and if one can contribute in even a small way then this is the right choice.

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

Mountain guide - it would at least make me get fit... But it would also be a chance to spend work time doing something (else) that I very much enjoy. Few experiences in the world can compare to the Cuillin Ridge on Skye.

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

By continuing to strive for new discoveries and making new molecules and materials. People who have studied chemistry are also vital in helping others in the world to understand how the most fundamental processes in life operate, of how we can learn to use energy properly, and of the value of reason!

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

The obvious ones, Berzelius, Darwin, Turing, Crick etc would be interesting for science of course, but actually my great grandfather would have been fascinating to have spent time with. He was a religious man and lived in Scotland in a time when there weren't a lot of material comforts - life was probably cold, dull and dark most of the time, but he provided circumstances that enabled his son to be a doctor, and to instil ideals that have lasted. It would be intriguing to know what values we share even if our beliefs and lifestyles are probably very different. Hmm, can't pretend life today doesn't involve cold, dark and dullness some of the time....

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

About 2 years ago I carried out Atom Transfer Radical Polymerisations (ATRP) - and got one decent polymer and one addition to the expanding catalogue of 'My Failed Reactions'. And yes, the students had to tell me where everything in the lab was, remind me about safety procedures and clear up the mess afterwards...

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

I am not going to pretend that I read much other than work, the last fiction I read was in 1993 and was a short book by Alice Walker. Of course it would be great to read another book for fun/interest, and one of Alice Walker's other books would be a good start. Next year, when there is more time....

The CD has to be Wish You Were Here, and not just for the title. The Floyd are probably overrepresented amongst the science fraternity but you just can't beat the sound of British angst and misery. Supergrass and Radiohead do some top English ethereal yearning/misery/whimsy fusion too.

Cameron Alexander is in the School of Pharmacy at Nottingham University, UK, and works on polymers for transporting drug compounds, proteins and genes for biomedical applications.

Posted by Alison Stoddart at 05:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

Firstly, excellent teachers at school who were excited by their subject. I found GCSE (16+ Chemistry) boring, but one teacher promised me that it would get more exciting at the next level. She was right. Secondly, during my undergraduate project, I realised that the job was all problem solving, including a little plumbing, and from that moment I was hooked.

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

I'd work for Jim Henson's Creature Workshop. They make Muppets. I had a summer job there as a student, which I loved. It's a fantastic creative mixture of scientists and artists, all solving interesting problems, in the form of making animatronic eyeballs and fur and using really new technology to make them other-worldly. I know it's old fashioned compared to all the current CGI technologies, but these tactile monsters still have something very special about them.

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

Pollution is our biggest immediate problem, in my opinion. I'm certain that we can help by making things such as drugs and building materials more efficiently, and by cleverer recycling of our huge quantities of wastes such as plastics and carbon dioxide. But we need to focus on fundamental chemistry to make these crucial advances, not all sit on the same topic that we're persuaded to by current funding schemes in the UK, or we'll stifle the creativity so vital for the breakthroughs that can solve these really big problems.

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

Tank Guy. His name is not known, and he might still be alive, he can't be much older than me. He's the student who stood in front of the tank in Tiananmen Square in China at the height of the demonstrations against authoritarianism in China in 1989. I was impressed by his peaceful courage, and the way he melted away after the iconic photographs had been taken. In stark contrast with the celebrity that people in the west seek out, of course. I would like to know whether he thinks things are changing. Is he still a peaceful activist? Is he now a superb leader?

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

Just a few weeks ago: A friend in Durham gave me one of his interesting reagents after I visited to give a lecture. There was a slim chance that it would react with one of our uranium compounds, which would have made a really unusual new molecule. But the chance of the reaction working was so low, and my students were all really busy, so I did it myself. It didn't work, of course, but I have another idea for a different uranium compound that just might.

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

A friend of mine gave me a French-English dictionary of slang. I think a desert island would be the ideal place to try to improve my French in a non-evening class way. I'd take the Radiohead album OK Computer. It's beautifully haunting and complex, just what one needs to enjoy a bit of solitude; also I've never listened to it at a high enough volume.

Polly Arnold is in the School of Chemistry at the University of Edinburgh, UK, and works on the synthesis of compounds of the lanthanides and actinides that have unusual structures and reaction chemistry, with the aim of activating small molecules and finding new catalysts.

Posted by Alison Stoddart at 05:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

In reality I am a materials scientist, chemists are my 'cousins'. I chose to become a materials scientist because I could not decide between physics and chemistry, and materials science seemed a good compromise. I am still truly happy for that choice even though as my career has progressed I have drifted more and more towards chemistry.

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

Well, I chose science because I felt (and keep feeling) that it was a way to help people around me and develop knowledge that would eventually lead to improved living conditions for everybody. This dream keeps driving me everyday and I would not exchange it for anything else. So if I could not be a scientist I would probably like to be a politician, with the exact same spirit. On the other hand, an old dream of mine is that of being a photographer, one that tells the world with an artistic touch like Henry Cartier-Bresson.

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

Well, we can all use our talents to improve the way we live in this world, using less and less of its resources and we could all mitigate the toughness that illness and pain bring to life. A far dream is to use science to limit the divide between rich and poor countries. In a world in which technology is evenly distributed the difference due to uneven access to natural resources (like water) would be mitigated (I think...).

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

Hum, this is a tough one, do soccer players count? Just kidding...I would definitively like to have dinner with the ones that changed the world when others did not see the need for it. And they did it for the better, with love. So Saint Francis of Assisi and Gandhi would top my list. But if it is only one dinner (too short to exhaust all of my questions...) why not Cleopatra? Just kidding again...

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

A serious one? I don't recall...Very, very sad!!! I don't even remember what my last experiment as a post-doc was. I should, it would be equivalent to the last kiss to a loved one! I do many experiments because I teach a lab class, so the last one would be measuring the size of polymer coils in dilute solutions with DLS. Nothing like the thrill of a true research-oriented experiment.

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

The book would be something I have not fully read but always wanted to finish reading, so the Divina Commedia (Holy Comedy) by Dante Alighieri. The CD would be a Pink Floyd one, really tough to pick one though, I love them all.

Francesco Stellacci is in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at MIT and works on supramolecular materials science, in particular his interests are in the interactions that supramolecular assemblies of molecules have with the outside world when they have a specific nanostructure.

Posted by Alison Stoddart at 05:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

At first I was simply trying to impress Christina White, my organic teaching assistant when I was a freshmen in college. When I later realized the tremendous power of organic synthesis to promote the understanding and betterment of human health, I was hooked.

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

When I was a kid I dreamed of becoming a major league baseball player, but talent (or rather a lack thereof!) has a funny way of working these things out.

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

I always tell my students that when you learn how to make molecules you make yourself a very powerful person. It is truly staggering when you let your mind race about all of the important problems that ultimately represent challenges at the molecular level. I think the most impacting chemists tend to be those that identify an important molecular problem and then solve it. Interestingly, the problem identification may be the most critical part of this process.

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

It's tough to pick just one. I guess if I were forced to make a choice I would have to say Sir Isaac Newton – now that guy could pick a good problem!

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

I still try to work in lab as much as possible, but these days I usually just make starting materials for my students. This gives me the opportunity to stay involved without getting in the way of the students’ discovery process. This was one of the many very useful pieces of advice that I got from Scott Miller when I was preparing to launch my own group.

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

My favorite book is 100 Years of Solitude, and if I could only have one CD I would probably take the soundtrack from Garden State. But to be honest, if I were exiled on a desert island I would spend most of my time trying to get back!

Marty Burke is an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. His research focuses on the synthesis and study of small molecules with the capacity to perform higher-order, protein-like functions.

Posted by Alison Stoddart at 05:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

Science ran in my family – my father was a geology professor and my mother was a botanist. I used to visit my father at work and the geology department had display cases with beautiful crystalline minerals that used to fascinate me. The breakthrough came when I first encountered chemistry at school and found that I didn’t have to be limited to gazing at beautiful crystals in a glass case, I could make them myself!

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

I would be drawn to something that had a similar combination of being people-oriented, practically-oriented and involving lots of problem solving. After I was drawn into chemistry with its necessary hours of time spent in labs I became very interested in outdoor activities – not always a good mix. I have also always liked writing and reading and been interested in the publishing industry. How could I combine all of these? Maybe I should have been born 150 years ago and been one of those intrepid explorers that broke new scientific ground by travelling to exotic places and observing and documenting what they found there.

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

The solutions to the major problems facing the world at present – finding energy sources that can provide quality of life for the world’s population without further damage to the environment – will be chemical solutions. Particularly in the area of energy and sustainability it is chemists who are defining the problems and seeking the answers.

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

Alfred Stock. I teach and research in boron chemistry and it amazes me how Stock managed to achieve such a wealth of chemistry, preparing and handling toxic and air-sensitive compounds without the benefit of our present-day sophisticated equipment and analytical tools.

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

It depends on what counts – yesterday I helped an undergraduate student in the teaching lab crystallise her nickel complex. The last time I did a real experiment in the lab would have been in 1993 on sabbatical leave with Phil Power at UC Davis.

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

The book would be the Bible – good ripping yarns, narrative history, lots of pages with fine print so it would be a lengthy read, and maybe have some handy advice for coping with the spiritual and psychological side of being exiled on a desert island. The CD would be Handel’s Messiah – similar reasons, music that goes from the depths of despair to the heights of joy, plus I could sing along to the alto part.

Penny Brothers is in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, and works on porphyrin and corrole complexes containing two boron atoms, which show unusual structural and reactivity at both boron and the ligands.

Posted by Alison Stoddart at 05:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

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 (1) | 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 (1) | 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.

Posted by Stuart Cantrill at 06:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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. After my first year I realized that I wasn't a particularly gifted mathematician, and with an older brother and father both physicists the choice was clear - I had best become a chemist! I was really hooked by Michael Bruce's organometallic chemistry course in my third year, and from then on my course was set.

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

The "could" is a big part here - I would have happily been a 100-Test cricketer for Australia, although my talents on the cricket field have rarely seen me play much above fourth grade. A television commentator on the game would be a close run second!

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

I think the energy game has to be bit of a catch-all, with short term goals of CO₂ capture, storage and activation leading to carbon recycling being huge challenges. Longer term, in an increasingly unstable global political and environmental climate we'd all better start looking at managing our carbon reserves. After all, fossil fuels are also our sources of raw materials for the chemical industry and it seems a shame to be burning such a useful resource and polluting the planet in one fell swoop. Sadly, unless we go nuclear on a major scale I can see little prospect of an alternative energy economy to carbon until we can master solar energy conversion.

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

Not an easy one, but like a few others I think I have to come down to Leonardo da Vinci. I would insist on dinner being served on a table stocked with plenty of beer mats and pens...after all, the very best ideas originate from discussions whilst being illustrated on beer mats!

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

If you asked my students, they might say, "When was the last time you ruined an experiment." I've got a horrible habit of wanting to get my fingers wet in the lab, and my students have to be careful not to let me play too much when I see something exciting going on! My last genuinely new experiment was Friday afternoon - the synthesis of an acetylide complex from trans-RuCl₂(dppe)₂. Other than that, we were trying to rescue a batch of OsO₂, formed inadvertently from ethanol reduction of 50g of OsO₄ whilst trying to make the dodecacarbonyl. It's rarely dull in the lab!

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

The CD is easy - any compilation of middle of the road rock 'n' roll. The book is a much harder choice, and of course would depend on how long I was expecting to be there! That being said, it's time I did something about learning some French, so a decent language tuition book could be a good way to pass a few hours.

Paul Low is in the Department of Chemistry at Durham University, UK, and has interests in the synthesis of conjugated organic and organometallic compounds, and their electronic structures as a function of redox state.

Posted by Alison Stoddart at 06:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

I had some great teachers in the natural sciences at high school in The Netherlands, and they and we did some crazy experiments. Somehow I was, and still am, fascinated by the fact that we can make molecules without actually seeing individual ones. I was trained as a chemical engineer, but I always liked the chemistry part of it most.

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

I would be seriously tempted to become a biochemist to be part of the incredible revolution that is happening there in genomics and proteomics. The chemistry in there is truly intriguing. Or breeding quarter horses.

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

From an academic point of view I would like to say to train the next generation of responsible chemists who will make better and safer products and drugs, and find new ways to minimize our pressure on the environment. In my research I try, for example, to make better and more potent contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), so that patients are better diagnosed with less (toxic) materials.

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

Darwin. Why? It is quite amazing that he was so right in his theory on evolution.

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

If an experiment is helping one of my co-workers in the lab with a measurement counts the answer is, some weeks ago. A real experiment by myself was in the summer of 2005 when I worked for 2 months in Dr. M. Andrews’ lab at McGill, Montreal, Canada.

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

I cheat a bit, but I would take a series of 6 books about the Roman empire by McCullough and a CD by Gidon Kremer "Hommage to Piazzola".

Frank van Veggel is in the Department of Chemistry, University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada and works on luminescent nanoparticles for lasers, optical amplification and biolabels. Nanoparticles are also developed for MRI (magnetic resonance imaging).

Posted by Stuart Cantrill at 06:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

Although I always had some ability as a chemist, I only really became interested in pursuing chemistry as a career when I was doing my PhD. I particularly enjoy the moments when you make a molecule for the first time or discover something new, and this first struck home when I was doing it for myself during my PhD. Although I rarely go into the lab any more, I still get that buzz when my research group makes that step forward.

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

I’m afraid I would be a politician. I know this will surprise many people, but I have a strong sense that we should use our gifts for the benefit of other people and I have always felt that politicians have the potential to make more of a difference than most, even if what they do doesn’t always work! I have strong political views and have probably been interested in politics for longer than chemistry. I also think more scientists should become involved in politics, after all we have a lot to contribute.

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

As you can tell from my previous answer, I feel that it is extremely important that chemists use their abilities for the wider benefit. Chemists already make a huge contribution to the world-at-large through new drugs and many new technologies. Almost everything we come across in the modern world has been improved by chemists in some way. One area where chemists will make a huge difference over the coming years is in controlling the effects of climate change. If you think about it, chemists are the only people who understand the problems and also know how to overcome them.

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

Robert F. Kennedy. Although he isn’t as famous as his older brother, JFK, he was a remarkable man who had a real vision for reaching out to the less fortunate in our society. Politically he has been extremely influential and was the real thinking behind what is called the Third Way which people would recognize in Bill Clinton and Tony Blair. If he hadn’t been shot whilst campaigning for the democratic nomination in 1968, he may well have beaten Nixon to the presidency, pulled out of Vietnam and I am sure that the world would be a very different place today.

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

Apart from in the teaching labs it has been some years, I’m struggling to remember! I used to give demonstration lectures with bangs and flashes and that was probably more recent than any research oriented experiment.

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

It depends whether we have the Bible and Shakespeare? If I don’t have them I would have to take the Bible. If I already have that, then it would be far harder as I read a lot of different books. For fiction, I would probably take “Norwegian Wood” by Haruki Murakami, for non-fiction I would take “Make Gentle the Life of This World” which is a collection of speeches by Robert F. Kennedy. My CD would have to be “Blonde on Blonde” by Bob Dylan, even though it was made before I was born, it doesn’t get better than that.

Neil Champness is in the School of Chemistry at the University of Nottingham and works on all aspects of molecular organization, including nanoscale surface supramolecular assembly and organization in the solid-state via crystal engineering.

Posted by Stuart Cantrill at 05:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

A sense of being able to explore the beauty of nature at its most fundamental level. That and parents who had a day-to-day approach to exploration and a cracking teacher when I was in the sixth form.

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

(Modern) art collector/curator – it evokes similar excitement and the same sense of yet-to-be discovered wonder and awe.

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

I think by taking on big questions, fundamental questions that have the potential to be translated. There is often a false opposition created regarding ‘blue skies’ and applied research. I’m personally interested in new knowledge (the real definition of science) no matter how obscure. It’s hard to know beforehand what might or might not be technologically useful.

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

I shall cheat and invite two people. Firstly, William Blake – he was a remarkable man who seems to have had a connection with life and the joy of life that was more keenly felt than most. He created this magical world; he had this fantastic walled garden in London and wandered and roamed through the city as a source of inspiration. His ‘Songs of Innocence and Experience’ gives you a glimpse of what he saw – ‘Jerusalem’ is majestic and still makes me weep. Even the illustrations in ‘Songs’, which despite being in some cases technically unrefined and even occasionally clumsy are something that one could stare at for hours on end.

The second guest would be Emil Fischer – he had such vision and almost a supernatural instinct for the interactions of biomolecules decades ahead of his time. Genuine chemical genius.

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

On the sly I’ve been fiddling with something that I call ‘sugar PCR’. It’s either deeply naïve or could be freakily fun. It’s a biocatalytic cascade based on thermal switching that could allow general amplification of minute quantities of glycans up to measurable levels. I like to give the group odd projects and so it’s rare that we have one that I play with first. However, this one is pretty speculative even for us and so I’m creeping in late at night and giving it a pop.

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

Book is easy – Shakespeare’s collected works including sonnets. It’s a cliché, but it really is true that therein lie the best descriptions of the human condition. We often take his talent too much for granted, probably through familiarity, but every time you pick any of his stuff up it strikes such a resonant chord. He knew people.

If I had to take just a single novel though, it would be Jane Eyre.

CD is tough. I’m obsessive about music, cycle with it on and usually itching to listen to new stuff. This means that picking just one is a bit odd. At the moment, something I keep coming back to is “Because of the Times”, Kings of Leon – genuinely heartfelt in an unashamed way. Having said that, if it was something that I had to listen to forever, then I’d pick “Heart and Soul” Joy Division – an 81 track collection masterpiece that would allow me to practice my Curtis-style dancing. All sing: “To the centre of the city in the night…”.

Ben Davis is in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Oxford and works on the chemistry and chemical biology of sugars and proteins.

Posted by Stuart Cantrill at 06:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

I actually wanted to be a scientist from a young age, and had early flirtations with zoology and physics. However, my father was responsible for my conversion to chemistry; he bought me some books on chemistry and a big bag of sulfur, then turned a blind eye to the resulting noxious vapours that emerged from the tool shed.

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

I guess there are two other areas that interest me. I love reading, so owning a bookshop has always been an attractive idea. I've also found the ins and outs of running a small business fascinating (my father's influence again).

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

I'm sure chemistry's best contribution will come from an unexpected area, so diversity in research is essential. However, I think improving human health and lifespan will continue to be a primary concern for society. The rapid increase in our knowledge of cellular chemistry offers great opportunities for chemists in this area, and there will be a need to create new classes of highly specific drugs and biomaterials for an aging society. Finally, improving public understanding and perceptions of science is a great challenge for all scientists, including chemists.

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

I've become interested in the life of Ernest Rutherford since recently discovering that he used to live close by in south Manchester. I would like to know how he felt about his transition from resident of small town New Zealand to one of the great researchers of the modern age.

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

Unfortunately I don't have the opportunity to work in the lab very often; it is certainly something I miss. My last experiment was about 3 months ago, testing an experimental procedure that I'd suggested for a schools' liaison event. Pushing my diminishing experimental skills to the limit, I produced several grams of copper carbonate.

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

I'd take a nice thick history book, probably on Ancient Rome (a current passion), along with "Discofreakout", a compilation of 70s' disco hits. After finishing the book, I would burn it to attract passing ships.

Simon Webb is in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Manchester, UK, and uses chemistry to mimic aspects of biological systems, particularly the structure and function of biological membranes.

Posted by Alison Stoddart at 05:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

It’s not really a 'what', more a 'who'. My high school teacher, Mr Corkhill, who was so passionate about chemistry, he'd snarl and growl at us if we got a question wrong. His passion rubbed off on a few of us, and hence an unremarkable high school in the north of England seems to have generated quite a few graduate chemists.

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

If I'm allowed to lapse into fantasy, I'd like to play American football for the New York Giants - I've followed them passionately for the last twenty years after watching them one night when I was thirteen. A complete lack of ability in that direction means a more realistic answer would be a primary school teacher, something I've always wanted to do. I just enjoy teaching, especially the little ones. I tried working in science policy but it’s not for me - wearing a suit and tie (what’s the point of a tie?), going to meetings for the sake of it, clocking in, clocking out, fifteen minutes breaks, etc. I felt like I was being left behind and realised I needed to get back to a bench. I lasted five months then I got my lectureship.

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

Wow - not sure I can answer that - everything we touch and use is driven by innovative chemistry - new materials, new drugs, new technology. Each chemist thinks their own area is the key one - or they wouldn't be doing it.

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

My first thought was Edgar Allan Poe. Anyone that dark, moody and brooding must be fascinating company. Then I realised he'd just sit there being dark, moody and brooding, so I actually think Lawrence Taylor, ex-linebacker of the New York Giants. I always wanted to call my first child 'Taylor', which my wife thought was a nice name, until she realised that Taylor was a 6'4" 17 stone ex-drug addict who got paid to beat people up, so I have to rethink that.

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

According to my lab book, a month ago, which is quite a while ago - I'm usually in the lab once a week. I was phase-transferring some quantum dots from toluene to water for a biologist.

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

My bad music taste is legendary (Level 42, Enya, UB40, etc…), but I'm sticking to my guns, and my favourite album is Roachford's first self entitled album. As for books, I have a stack of comfort books by my bed, ones I can pick up and read anytime - and they're quite varied (Henry V, Wuthering Heights, His Dark Materials, Critical Mass by Philip Ball, Emergence by Steven Johnson) any of which would do, but at the moment, I'm fascinated with Freakonomics, a real eye opener.

Mark Green is in the Department of Physics at King's College London, UK, and works on the synthesis of new nanomaterials, especially for biological applications.

Posted by Alison Stoddart at 05:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

At first I was interested in process engineering, more in particular in ways how to increase efficiency, to make industrial processes cleaner and decrease pollution. After a while I got fascinated by all the chemistry behind this and decided to continue in that direction. During my major with Roeland Nolte, I 'sold my soul' when I for the first time felt the enormous excitement upon designing and synthesizing a new compound to find it had unique — and unexpected — properties.

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

Probably a musician. Besides science, and my family now, music has always been a big passion for me. It is also a profession that needs the right combination of skills and creativity in order to be successful.

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

I think there are several themes of global concern to which chemists can contribute. Sustainability, of course, is very topical. New resources and catalytic processes are typical areas heavily connected to chemistry. But also the molecular understanding of processes in biology, more and more require the cross-disciplinary involvement of chemists. For example, the question ‘How does the brain work?’, without doubt needs the input of chemists to get closer to an answer.

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

Leonardo da Vinci, likely the first multi-disciplinary scientist and artist. If someone who was born over 550 years ago still manages to inspire so many people, they must be truly an exceptional person.

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

Occasionally, I help out others with certain measurements. The last time I really have set up and performed an experiment, it was the purification of some virus capsid protein materials about 18 months ago.

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

That is a difficult question, I can not recall ever having read the same book twice. So it will have to be a book I have not read yet and there are so many... At this moment Muse – Absolution, is in my CD player, so I might take that one, but if I am in a different mood later it could also be Mozart or Metallica. Anyway, I am not the most patient person, I am a pretty good swimmer and one of my advisors once told me that you have to be willing to go for the impossible...

Jeroen Cornelissen is in the Institute for Molecules and Materials at the Radboud University Nijmegen in The Netherlands and works on hybrid materials of biopolymers and synthetic macromolecules, and on virus capsids as new reactors.

Posted by Stuart Cantrill at 05:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

From the first moment I studied chemistry at school, I was hooked. I think it was the order and logic of the subject that appealed to me – the way that even at an early level you could take a few simple “knowns” or principles and extrapolate them to new reactions or phenomena. I certainly had no grand plan at that age to make a career from it – there are no scientists in the family – I just kept enjoying studying the subject from one level to the next. I feel fortunate to have a career doing something I enjoy and feel passionate about.

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

Any arena where you get paid to indulge your hobby or interest qualifies as a dream job. As a boy, it would have been right wing for Manchester United, then as a teenager probably guitarist in a rock band. Given that a lack of innate talent coupled with advancing years seem to have kyboshed both of those, I’ll go for winemaker. I’m in awe of the skills of the growers and blenders, and naturally fascinated by the underlying chemical processes. I’m quite keen on the end product too.

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

This has been touched upon in the earlier posts, but I’d say that our biggest challenge is a social one, not a technological one. We seem to be in an age where many of the world’s ills (from global warming to scares over vaccinations) are being blamed on scientific/technological advance – largely fuelled by a popular media which is either scientifically illiterate or wilfully misrepresenting the facts in many cases. The scientific community has to contribute to the winning back of public confidence by better explaining publicly what we do, why we do it, and what the potential benefits (and risks) are. If we don’t, we endanger both future funding and the development of the next generation of science students.

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

Richard Feynman. A truly remarkable intellect who lived through most of the defining moments of the 20th Century (scientific and otherwise), he was also a polymath and entertainer. If I could pick a living person, Keith Richards – he ought to have a few interesting stories to tell, provided he could remember them. I suspect the dinner would be more liquid than solid.

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

Five years ago, trying to finish a short synthesis prior to a conference presentation after the postdoc on the project had to leave to take up a job. When the NMR spectrum of the product came back, the rest of the group circled ominously, sensing an opportunity to have some fun at my expense if the reaction had failed or the sample was dirty. As luck would have it, the spectrum was clean as a whistle, so I retired to my office with pride intact. I haven’t tempted fate by going back since!

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

I’m a bit of a vinyl/CD junkie, so just one CD is a tricky call. I take it iPods aren’t fair game? If not, then I’ll go for “Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea” by PJ Harvey – an eclectic enough album to keep me going for a few months at least. For my book I would take the first volume of Clive James’ autobiography, Unreliable Memoirs – a beautifully written description of a young boy growing up after his father’s death in the war that elicits tears of laughter and sympathy in equal measure.

Steve Marsden is in the School of Chemistry at the University of Leeds, UK, and works on the development of new synthetic methods and their application to the construction of complex bioactive molecules.

Posted by Alison Stoddart at 09:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

My inspiration was the man who taught me for four years at Trinity School, Carlisle – Mike Fossey. He showed me the beauty, breadth and logic that underpins chemistry and made me realise what an exciting subject it is. It was a real thrill some years later to send him a paper published with another of his ex-pupils who carried out an undergraduate project with me in Sheffield.

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

Ancient history always fascinated me - an academic career in that direction would be a possible alternative.

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

This list is long, as chemistry has a unique ability to permeate so many aspects of our lives. However, perhaps the biggest challenges that the world faces at present relate to energy. We need new and renewable sources, we need to use it more efficiently, and we need to find viable ways to store it and also to store newer fuel sources such as hydrogen. Chemists are central to these issues and their creativity can make a real impact.

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

Nelson Mandela. To endure the imprisonment and then to come out and lead with such wisdom, taking such a major place on the world stage and in the hearts of so many people, means for me that there would be so much to learn from him. And from what I have seen through the media, he would be terrifically good company.

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

I am in the lab quite often working with members of my group on the identification of liquid crystal phases by optical microscopy. However, in terms of 'rolling up my sleeves' and doing a reaction, the answer is 'rather recently'. Listened to a visiting seminar speaker and went to the lab the same afternoon to make something prompted by one of his slides. Simple reaction – acidify to dissolve the base in water and then co-precipitate. Now all we need to do is get it pure, find out what it does and get a crystal structure…

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

I tend to read contemporary authors such as Ian McEwan, Sebastian Faulks, Louis de Bernières and Peter Carey. However while it is something that I have read only recently, I would take Suite Française by Irène Némirovsky. So much has been written about this book, yet its sheer humanity and observation of the human condition would bear reading over and over again. Music is much more difficult. My tastes are diverse from baroque through romantics and Shostakovich to 60s/70s rock and the present day. However, for its ability to move and stir emotion, Beethoven's 9th Symphony would probably be my choice with his Violin Concerto (which reminds me of the English Lake District) a close second. However, any CD would have to be homemade, as I'd need Debussy's Deux Arabesques No. 1 played by Pascal Rogé and Stairway to Heaven, too.

Duncan Bruce is in the Department of Chemistry at the University of York and works on various aspects of materials chemistry, with a strong emphasis on liquid crystals.

Posted by Stuart Cantrill at 09:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

I think I get my scientific leaning from my father, presumably a mix of genetics and his infuriating tendency, when I was young, to answer any question either with a 'what do you think?' or a demand for a numerical estimate. That I ended up in chemistry rather than another science, probably reflects the great mix of real world problems with opportunities for creativity.

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

I'm occasionally tempted to continue a family tradition of giving up science/engineering in favour of art; however, my early teen plan to become an architect would be a more grounded choice, and one that might provide me more satisfaction - though, I would probably try to squeeze in as many textures, shadows, and angles, as possible, using dynamic effects that change with time or conditions.

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

Clearly there are many problems facing society that require technical solutions, particularly relating to sustainability and energy; the alternative is effectively a return to the dark ages or worse. Chemists have a pivotal role in developing the enabling molecules/materials and understanding. At the same time, it is important to recognize that directing research too tightly may not be the best strategy; pure, open-ended research is needed to create dramatic breakthroughs.

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

Aristotle, the father of natural philosophy, an eloquent speaker, an enquiring mind, not to mention a rich source of political and cultural perspective on our own world. I'm not sure about his cooking, however – perhaps Auguste Escoffier would be a better choice.

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

About a month ago, looking at electrochemical impedance spectroscopy of what we call 'structural supercapacitors' - an invention based on multifunctional materials that simultaneously store energy and provide mechanical strength and rigidity.

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

If I'm allowed to transfer two battered tapes of live performances of my uncle, John Bell, to CD, his songs would cheer me up immensely during any lonely moments. For my book I might take Heller's Catch 22 - a favourite that improves with rereading - but I'd probably settle for a good 'Learn Mandarin' textbook. It would certainly keep me busy, and I love learning new things; the kanji would provide aesthetic pleasure, and Chinese might even be the world language by the time I get off the island.

Milo Shaffer is in the Department of Chemistry at Imperial College and works on the synthesis, modification, and application of nanotubes and nanorods.

Posted by Stuart Cantrill at 05:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

You have to blame my high school chemistry teachers. Chemistry and biology were the only two topics in high school that came naturally. Math, languages, etc., were always way too much work for me. Combine this with fun hands-on experiments and unexpected explosions during chemistry classes... what kid can ask for more?

I have to admit that my first 2-3 years as an undergrad in Germany nearly 'eliminated' any love towards chemistry. My professors were stuck 50 years in the past (science and age wise) and the lectures they gave were somewhere between boring to non-existent (one just has to love the German university system). I was very close to switching majors and decided that I would leave chemistry when I failed my first course. Only after the 'vordiplom' did things get interesting and I have to credit my first advisor, Helmut Ringsdorf, for bringing back my love for science.

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

No question, I would be a music conductor. I love classical music, the one great passion (but for my family and friends) besides chemistry. The only times I can 'let go' of chemistry and not think of it is during an opera or symphony performance.

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

I do not want to repeat what all the other scientists below pointed out. Clearly, chemists have to make major (or the key) contributions to very important scientific problems and challenges in our society ranging from the environment to health. All of us work on scientific problems related to these challenges.

One issue we as scientists are not addressing (or at least not doing a good job at) is educating the general public about science. The lack of understanding of the basic principles of science of the general public including our societal 'leaders' (politicians, etc.) results directly into some very dangerous and problematic decisions (or the lack of decisions to address problems), i.e., we as scientists knew 20-30 years ago that carbon dioxide emissions are not good for the environment. However, we were not able to relate the importance of this to the general public and to our governments.

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

That's a tough one. If it’s just me and one person, I would go for Mozart. This will be for sure an entertaining dinner.

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

To be honest, my last time doing an experiment in lab is some time ago, I guess approx. 6 years (my second year as an assistant professor). I still help group members out now and then, but do not have my 'own' project or run my own reactions. Most likely my group would kick me out (or leave the room) if I went back into the lab.

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

These are always the toughest questions. I think I would bring the 'Ring der Nibelungen' (can I take all 14 CDs instead of just one since they count as 'one opera cycle'?) from Richard Wagner (The poor animals on the island. They have to endure Wagner all the time. They might send me back to civilization). The book is tougher. I think I would either go with Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings or Gogol's Dead Souls.

Marcus Weck is in the Department of Chemistry at New York University and works on organic materials with emphases in supramolecular polymers, biomaterials, optical materials and catalysis.

Posted by Stuart Cantrill at 04:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

During my undergraduate years, while studying biotechnology, I became fascinated with the design concepts nature has devised for highly adaptive, functional structures. If these systems could be simplified and effectively incorporated into man-made systems, the possibilities for design of useful functional materials and devices appeared to be endless. Chemistry holds the key to all of this.

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

I would most likely be an architect. The idea of building aesthetically pleasing and useful structures according to a pre-defined design appeals to me. In my laboratory we try to do the same thing, but on a much smaller scale.

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

This is a cliché, but the most urgent contributions are required in sustainable, renewable energy sources. It may one day be possible to make molecular devices that efficiently convert solar energy into fuels or electricity. However, I would anticipate that the major breakthroughs will be less obvious solutions that perhaps have not been thought of yet. Emergence of these ideas is, in my opinion, only limited by levels of available funding for basic and blue sky research in this area.

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

If it were possible it would be Charles Darwin and Francis Crick, both at the same time, as I imagine them to be inspiring individuals. I would ask them for their thoughts on the limitations in complexity that evolutionary processes can ultimately achieve if pushed to the limit. Then sit back, listen and be inspired.

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

I have never been the keenest experimentalist and therefore gladly leave experimentation to my talented postdocs and graduate students. However, in the past four years I did conduct one experiment, which as about 4 months ago. This proof-of-concept experiment involved testing the use of aromatic short peptide derivatives to disperse carbon nanomaterials.

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

I would take the four volumes of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" by Douglas Adams because it has been recommended to me by a number of people as a must-read. A colleague suggested that I have now been in the UK long enough to enjoy the more subtle humour in it! My taste in music is quite changeable so I would probably end up taking what-ever is in my car's CD player at the time.

Rein Ulijn is in the School of Materials and Manchester Interdisciplinary Biocentre (MIB) at the University of Manchester and works on the design of peptide based nanomaterials for biomedical and technological applications.

Posted by Stuart Cantrill at 05:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

It’s a genetically inherited condition – my father was one. When I was very young he would show me test tubes of different coloured solutions and I’d watch them change as he mixed them up. Then he would make bright pink solutions ‘disappear’ by adding colourless liquids. Who knew that acid-base chemistry could be so much fun! All this gave me a great interest – if not a great ability - in chemistry. After a degree from Nottingham, I ended up in Tuscaloosa, Alabama working in Jerry Atwood’s group. It was an outstanding training ground for supramolecular chemists and where I really felt the excitement of chemical research and discovery for the first time.

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

Fiction writer - though I doubt my family would appreciate trying to live off the proceeds. I have just started my second science book and enjoy the process enormously - but it would be a lot easier if I didn’t have to make complex molecules look good in two dimensions or hunt for appropriate papers to reference.

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

Clearly by doing what they do best – making discoveries at the molecular level which eventually make a positive impact upon everyone.

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

An alchemist - particularly one working in Rudolf II’s court in Prague. I’m fascinated by the split that occurred during the European Renaissance when analytical science emerged from alchemy/metallurgy and left the philosophical and mystical aspects behind. Paracelsus, however, would not be welcome at the table. Anyone who believes that “the true use of chemistry is to make medicines, not gold” has entirely missed the point of third stream funding in the modern university. Maybe, if I listened carefully enough, I could learn how to transmute base metals into gold and never have to write another grant proposal to fund my research. Actually, for those who are interested, the appendix to the 1709 edition of Wilson’s Chemistry contains a dozen ways to accomplish this feat.

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

I have some interesting, but unfunded, collaborations with colleagues who want samples of compounds, so a couple of days ago I cooked up a batch of oxacalix[3]arene from scratch and filtered it off yesterday. There is great satisfaction in knowing that I can still get things to work in the lab myself.

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

I ought to take Joyce’s Ulysses to read as I’m half way through right now but I doubt I’d enjoy rereading it too often. Perhaps C. P. Snow’s The New Men? No. Thomas Wharton’s Salamander – at its core is the creation of an ‘infinite book’ so it will keep me going for a while.

I’d listen to something live by the Grateful Dead (yes, that’s my tie dye T-shirt on the cover of January’s Dalton Transactions) but, as they played for hours without a break, it would be impossible to fit much on to a single CD. Instead I would load up my mp3 player with their complete four night run at the Fillmore West in 1969 and maybe some jazzier material from 1973. To fill up space I’d add some John Coltrane (the different takes of ‘India’ and ‘Spiritual’ from the Village Vanguard recordings) and a good version of J S Bach’s B minor mass played on appropriately ‘authentic’ instruments.

Peter Cragg is at the School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences at the University of Brighton and works on artificial transmembrane ion channels as part of a wider interest in the application of supramolecular chemistry to problems in the life sciences.

Posted by Stuart Cantrill at 05:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

In my high school chemistry class, my lab partner and I took a small scoop of every reagent from every lab experiment and placed it in a beaker, which we hid in our supply cupboard. (I don't know what came over us, and I am definitely NOT advocating this sort of behavior!) One day, the beaker began to exotherm and the lab began to fill with greenish brownish fumes. Rather than placing me in detention, my teacher required a thorough analysis of what reactions were most likely the cause of the fumes. This assignment captured my interest and made me want to become a chemist.

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

Why would I want to be anything other than a chemist? Honestly, I have no idea what I would be if I couldn't be a chemist. Probably, I'd try to do something that still allowed me to work with college students.

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

My PhD advisor, Dr. Howard Whitlock, once told me that he believes every one of us should find whatever it is that we are driven to do and pour our energy into succeeding in that area. I would add that, as chemists, we have a responsibility to focus our scientific endeavors toward problems of societal relevance. As educators, it is our responsibility to provide an encouraging learning environment and to try to combat the scientific illiteracy that is so prevalent in our culture.

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

I'd like to spend an evening with Dr Albert Schweitzer because I think I could learn a lot about how to be a better person from him. If I could meet with a fictional character, then I would probably pick Don Quixote. An evening with Quixote would surely teach me how to see the best in everyone and how to always stand up for what I believe is right (even when other people think that I am just fighting windmills!).

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

A few months ago, I added t-butyl lithium to a reaction for one of my students. This was a large-scale reaction, and the student was nervous. I have always felt that I should never ask a student to do something that I am not willing to do myself. However, I broke the syringe (never a good outcome with t-BuLi is involved!), and none of my students have asked for help since then. A few weeks ago, I purified a compound using size exclusion chromatography for a collaborator in the physics department. My students won't let me touch their compounds very often, but they still allow me to do occasional work for collaborators.

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

At first, I thought I'd bring along "How to Survive when Exiled on a Desert Island." However, I am sure that I won't be good at things like starting fires by scraping rocks together and hunting for my own food with handmade weapons. Since I'm not even sure the survival guide will be enough for me, I have decided that I will bring the bible. My best chance of survival, on a deserted island, will be through prayer.

Since no one else will be there, I'll be able to sing as loud and as off-key as I want. I'll bring along "One Fair Summer Evening" by Nanci Griffith, and I'll sing so loud the animals will figure out how to make sure someone rescues me right away.

Mary Cloninger is in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Montana State University and works on multivalent protein-carbohydrate interactions and other challenges in glycobiology and carbohydrate synthesis.

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1. What made you want to be a chemist?

When I was in high school in India, I wanted to be a physicist. Because, I thought, physics is logical. But, I did not score that well in physics in my high school finals. In the college that I was interested in attending, the faculty were more interested in admitting me in chemistry, because I scored very high in chemistry. I was okay with it, because of the possibility of doing physical chemistry. During the process, I had to take organic chemistry. I had a couple of great O-Chem teachers and I fell in love with the subject. I also recognized that this subject is likely to have a greater impact in people's lives than any other. Therefore, I decided to pursue research in organic chemistry as my career.

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

A business consultant. When I was interviewing for my jobs, a friend of mine at Caltech dragged me to a presentation by a business consulting company. This friend then convinced me to apply for an interview. I did not even know how stocks and bonds worked (I still don't!). When I went through the interview process, I thought the exercise was very interesting. However, I did not pursue this much, because I did not think that I would be happy with it in the long-run.

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

I think we owe it to the world to pick a problem that is of true societal interest. The current system leads us in to a mode of being a bit publication-crazy!! This is unfortunate!

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

President Abdul Kalam, the past President of India. When I visited India during his presidency, I realized that he was the most influential president that modern India had. He truly transcended all the barriers that humans seem to build around them. Here is a Muslim man, who is a scientist, in a Hindu-majority country just captured the hearts of everyone. Most of the country wanted him to continue as a president. He walked away from it without regrets mentioning that he would like to spend time teaching.

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

Five years ago! I did a simple alkylation experiment to build a dendrimer; did not purify the molecule myself. Handed it over to my postdoctoral associate who was working on the project.

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

ArdhaShastra - Indian classic - never read it so far, always wanted to!
mp3 CD with the maximum number of classical songs in my native language, Tamil.

S. Thayumanavan (Thai) is in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and works on the design and synthesis of macromolecules of interest at the interface of chemistry with materials science and biology.

Posted by Stuart Cantrill at 05:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

My undergraduate research experience. I grew up using computers, enjoyed the challenges of the sciences, and was raised in a creative (i.e., musical) environment. It all seemed to all come together when I started to perform research.

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

The head groundskeeper of Wrigley Field (the home and 'shrine' of the Chicago Cubs major league baseball team). A perfect mix of history, sports, escapism, and attention to detail.

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

Through teaching. Enthusiasm is contagious and we have an opportunity to instil an interest in such a central science for a lifetime.

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

To be honest, each grandfather in each generation of my family. I imagine I would get quite astounding insights. From a more 'historical' standpoint, Winston Churchill. A strong believer and an effective leader during relatively modern and very difficult times.

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

I only trust my graduate and undergraduate students to find themselves around in the synthetic lab. I continue to enjoy the thrill of determining the structure of a solid for the first time.

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

Book: Shoeless Joe by W. P. Kinsella (basis for the movie 'Field of Dreams'). Having lived in Iowa, my home is beginning to look like the house in the movie!

CD: 'Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes' by Jimmy Buffett (featuring 'Margaritaville').

Len MacGillivray is in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Iowa and works on research in the field of supramolecular chemistry, particularly as it relates to the organic solid state.

Posted by Stuart Cantrill at 05:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

I wish I could answer with some inspiring tale of conducting clandestine experiments as a child, but that really was not the case. The British educational system imposed some serious constraints on 16-year olds when I was deciding on A-level subjects, and chemistry was one of the three I chose. By university I was pretty convinced that it was interesting, and by the end of my undergraduate days, with some research experiences under my belt, I was hooked. I still think it's quite a privilege to be able to make a living designing and building new molecules. A few of my students appear to agree.

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

In the US, where I've lived and worked for the past eight years, politicians are, in the main, an even more annoying breed than in the UK. Nothing seems to happen in Washington without the heavy involvement of lobbyists and their, principally corporate, backers. If I could dream up a job that I think is important, and while I'm at it dream up a new political structure that could support its existence, I'd delight in getting politicians to talk to real scientists about real science, and then act sensibly on what they've learned. The disdain in which science is held by the majority of politicians in this country, at least as revealed by their public pronouncements, is incredibly depressing and damaging. Politics and politicians are here to stay so a viable role in opening their minds, even a fraction, would be immensely rewarding.

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

I'll be deeply unoriginal, and go with sustainability. There seems to me to be no more pressing issue for the current generation of chemists than finding ways to make the materials we need in a sustainable manner. I'll go a step further and throw energy in too. The R&D budgets in these areas need to be orders of magnitude higher than at present. Chemists will be at the center of the required efforts to develop benign technologies for synthesis, and energy management.

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

I grew up not far from Stonehenge and I remain, like many, fascinated by the place. So, while I don't have an actual name, can I say "whomever it was who came up with the idea of erecting Stonehenge". The place must have been someone's idea, and they were able to initiate this astonishing construction project. Whomever this was could surely teach our current leaders some fascinating lessons, and I'd keep the information flowing by serving up hunks of my mother's bread and butter pudding.

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

Today. Call me a geek. I'm trying to prepare a relatively simple, symmetrical, diester. Results pending.

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

I'll assume I'll be there for a while, so I'd need a challenge. The most beautifully written, yet torturously plotted, book I've ever read is The Quincunx by Charles Palliser. The final line of the book made it clear to me that I hadn't made complete sense of the preceding 800-odd pages, nor the relationships connecting the huge cast of characters. It's an astonishing book, and would keep me busy for years. While I build a CD player. Or can I assume I have one already? Assuming I do have the requisite player, I'll go with something quite new, but in many ways utterly timeless" "Rabbit Songs" by Hem. Never heard of it, have you?

Darren Hamilton is in the Department of Chemistry at Mount Holyoke College (Massachusetts, USA) and works on a variety of problems in the area of molecular recognition and supramolecular chemistry.

Posted by Stuart Cantrill at 04:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

I blame it on my parents: I was born when my father was in his 3rd year of college and my mom in her 2nd year. I am told I used chemistry books as a pillow, toys, maybe even food. It turned indigestible, though. Very frustrating, but I developed high frustration tolerance, something an organic chemist really needs.

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

I would be a sculptor. I would love to be one, actually, more and more. I don’t see a difference between a sculptor and an organic chemist sculpting from carbons, nitrogens, oxygens, etc. You just need an X-ray “diffractometer vision” to fully appreciate it. Otherwise, same thing.

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

This question almost implies that the most important impact a chemist has on the world is through his or her professional activities. I am, err, not sure that one makes the most impact by his work. To me that appears to be wishful thinking. Most chemists who are not blessed by inventing penicillin contribute best by being nice people, who are good examples for others, conscious of large problems (environment, global warming, energy situation) because they actually understand a little better these things than an average citizen. And, of course, for those of us who teach chemistry it is inspiring the future scientist, who will discover the new penicillin for sure! Why do I have the feeling I failed at this question?

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

That would be Carl Wilhelm Scheele, the discoverer of oxygen, nitrogen, manganese, molybdenum and tungsten and many other chemicals, including also chlorine (most likely before Sir Davy). The most surprising is, however, that he did all that without almost any professional training, as a small-town pharmacist! His talent and intuition must have been phenomenal - so the dinner would be a BLAST! I have one for you directly from the man himself:

“Oh, how happy I am! No care for eating or drinking or dwelling, no care for my pharmaceutical business, for this is mere play to me. But to watch new phenomena this is all my care, and how glad is the enquirer when discovery rewards his diligence; then his heart rejoices."

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

This summer. Synthesis of dichlorotetrazine from guanidine and hydrazine… That explains why I did it myself.

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

The most important book in the known universe, Winnie the Pooh! Duh! And as for a CD, that would be the Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd. And a CD player with solar power cells, please!

Pavel Anzenbacher is a faculty member in the Department of Chemistry at Bowling Green State University, OH, and works on the design and synthesis of photonic materials and investigates the photophysical processes as they relate to excited state energy migration and photonic energy processing. His group works on photonic materials focusing on optical sensing and organic electroluminescence (OLEDs).

Posted by Stuart Cantrill at 05:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

Pure curiosity – I have always wanted to be a scientist, but I kind of drifted to chemistry partly because biology seemed to be more about classification than science, and physics seemed unreal and only worked in special situations. Chemistry works, is messy, can be counted, and we can even help the physicists with some of our compounds which turn out to be quantum spin tubes now anyway as the result of some messy chemistry that’s being done in my laboratory…

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

I really could not conceive of doing anything else – being allowed to do science and getting paid for it is amazing. If I had to do something else I would probably like to have a go at being an artist specialising in modern art or a mathematician. Both are very different but creative professions and are only constrained by the limits of one’s imagination.

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

By doing fundamental science and following our curiosity. I think that the pressure to do relevant things is so high nowadays that we risk completely missing some truly amazing discoveries that could change the world. Having said that, it is also becoming increasingly true that chemistry and chemists can help address some of the biggest issues facing us today – access to clean water, energy, global warming – in fact solving the energy problem and global warming appear to me to be one and the same thing. Why not set out to design a material that fixes carbon dioxide with water and drive the process with photons and then, hey presto, you have access to hydrocarbons to burn without the carbon dioxide hangover. Of course, nature has already been doing this for us, but we need to speed up the kinetics to produce hydrocarbons in real time as it were. Actually, I would favour making methanol since we could burn it and use it in fuel cells.

Chemistry can also help examine some of the most interesting problems in science today relating to complexity, emergent systems and even asking where we came from in terms of the origin of life. This is a big question – I think it may be possible to go from a chemical soup to primitive chemical cells that could be considered to be alive in a matter of a few hundred hours rather than millions / billions of years. I am also looking forward for the chemist / materials scientist than can produce infinitely long carbon nanotubes so we can make a space elevator, then we can all get to become a space tourist without the need for a big rocket.

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

There are so many people I would like to have dinner with. Can I not just have a part in Bill and Ted’s excellent adventure and bring them all to my house for a dinner party using the phone box time machine? It would be interesting to see how Newton and Einstein would get on with each other.

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

A couple of weeks ago where I was trying to understand the self assembly of a nanoscale transition metal cluster using cryospray mass spectrometry – it was amazing since it worked. When I come into the lab normally my group dive for cover…

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

I would take Ben Okri’s The Famished Road – it’s an amazing book – I have read it many times and it is so rich I think I would never get bored of reading it. I am not sure what CD to take – maybe one that is reflective enough so I could signal to a passing vessel and get rescued from the island? If I had batteries or a solar panel for the CD player maybe I would take some Coldplay or some Philip Glass depending on my mood.

Lee Cronin is in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Glasgow and works on the design and assembly of complex functional molecules and materials and has interests in inorganic clusters, ligand design, complexity and emergence in chemistry.

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1. What made you want to be a chemist?

I had a terrific chemistry teacher in high school, who let me do an independent study project. Also, my Pchem Professor in College was very good. I loved math and chemistry, but thought of them as two separate areas. When my Professor showed me that the two come together in theoretical chemistry, I was hooked!

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

If I had the talent, rock star! But since I don't, I would have probably pursued statistics. That was my other consideration for graduate study. At the time, I was told that all statisticians could do was actuarial work, but there are so many new opportunities in informatics. I am happy to say I get to dabble a little now... in statistics, not as a rock star.

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

In my subfield, we work on teams with other scientists to develop new drug molecules. I think that is a very noble pursuit.

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

Maybe Howard Hughes. He was very gifted, and it is such a shame that treatments were not available to help him with his mental illness. For the same reason, maybe Abraham Lincoln. They had such great success while dealing with untreatable and, at times, debilitating illnesses.

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

A few months ago, I did some de novo structure-based design to improve a potential inhibitor of HIV-1 protease. A student has been using the design to run dynamics simulations. We are completing the paper now.

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

The CD would have to be U2’s “The Joshua Tree” or the Black Crowes "Shake Your Moneymaker". Classics! The book would have to be a photo album of my family. I would miss my husband and son very much.

Heather Carlson is in the College of Pharmacy at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and works on theoretical chemistry and computational modeling of protein-ligand interactions. She studies bioinformatics, the basic biophysics of molecular recognition, and applied drug discovery.

Posted by Stuart Cantrill at 05:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

I didn’t choose chemistry, chemistry chose me. I know it sounds a bit corny, but at high school chemistry was the only thing that came naturally.

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

I have no idea what I would do. One dimensional? Not me! Come to think of it I wouldn’t mind owning a whisky distillery, which of course would have to be Scottish.

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

Robert the Bruce. Why? I would love to hear him tell his story. Alternatively one person who would just be fun to hang out with (based on the stories) would be Rabbie (Robert) Burns, you have to remember I am Scottish, so that probably has a lot to do with these choices.

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

About six years ago. One of my colleagues Chris Weder and myself went into the lab to see if we could use diimide reduction to convert poly(p-phenylene ethynylene)s to poly(p-xylene). It was an easy reaction and it worked first time! We published the paper in Macromolecules soon after.

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

This is a difficult one as my choices change depending on my mood. At the moment I would pick a Radiohead CD, probably ‘the bends’. My book would be ‘Survive on a Desert Island’, this is probably not what you're asking but I would need all the help I can get if I was going to survive long enough to listen to ‘the bends’. If I wasn’t allowed to take that book I would probably take “The Selfish Gene” by Richard Dawkins and hope my genes were selfish enough to help me stay alive.

Stuart Rowan is in the Department of Macromolecular Science and Engineering at Case Western Reserve University and works on utilizing non-covalent interactions to access new responsive and dynamic supramolecular polymers and materials. Using this concept his group works in a diverse range of areas including biomaterials, metal-containing polymers for sensors and optical materials, surface organized nanoscaffolds and re-healable plastics.

Posted by Stuart Cantrill at 06:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

When I was 14 or 15, I was certain that I would become a journalist. By this age, I had already gained experience working at a local newspaper as a sports reporter. I was also beginning to research journalism programs at a number of colleges. My high school guidance councilor suggested that I take chemistry to “make my college applications more competitive” and the rest, as they say, is history. My high school chemistry teacher (Mr. Donohue, East Syracuse-Minoa High School) was superb and I knew almost immediately that chemistry was my calling. Another real turning point came in college when, as a chemistry major, I began doing research in Professor Petr Zumans’ laboratory. This experience opened up a whole new world for me, one which continues to excite me many, many years later.

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

Given my previous response, you'd probably think that my answer would be journalism. However, I think that archeology would be my number 2 choice. Over the years, I've acquired a great appreciation for history. The idea of pursuing clues that help to unravel ancient history is really quite appealing to me. Of course, three months of digging in a hot desert could very well change my mind.

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

I think the simple answer is to be excellent. Chemists are a fairly bright lot. We work on very challenging problems that impact many fields including medicine, materials, energy, etc. It is absolutely inconceivable that chemists will not play a large role in providing long-lasting solutions to the major problems that face us (i.e., diseases, limited fossil fuels, global warming and climate change, hunger, etc.). The best way for us to contribute is by being excellent at what we do. After all, we surely can't expect much from the physicists :)

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

John Adams, 2nd President of the US. David McCullough's biography of John Adams was a real eye-opener. It fascinated me to no end. I would love to spend an evening picking John Adams' brains, preferably at a time after his presidency had ended. He was a remarkable visionary with an amazing intellect. He raised and debated fundamental questions about governance and human rights and prosperity - questions that are still very relevant today. By the way, if Abigail Adams happened to join us, all the better.

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

Probably six months ago when I attempted to demonstrate that carbon nanotubes could be transferred from one substrate to another using simple mechanical forces. I was surrounded by several students who were (1) amazed to see me in the lab and (2) laughing because they thought that this could never work. Fortunately for me, AFM images revealed a clean transfer. For the most part, I'm smart enough to leave the experiments to the people that know what they're doing.

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

For the book, I'd probably take the latest edition of March's "Advanced Organic Chemistry" from which I could draw inspiration while drawing chemical structures in the sand. For the CD, I'd take my copy of "Faith Rewarded: The Historic Season of the 2004 Boston Red Sox". This way, even if I was never rescued, I could continuously relive the greatest comeback in the history of sports by the greatest team in the history of sports. And although I draw no pleasure whatsoever from watching the misery of others, this monumental feat, as it turns out, also marks greatest collapse in the history of sports by another franchise which I refuse to name,… ever. New Hampshire, by the way, is just one hour north of Boston.

Glen Miller is in the Department of Chemistry and the Materials Science Program at the University of New Hampshire and works on a number of projects at the intersection of organic chemistry and nanoscience. These typically involve fullerenes and carbon nanotubes.

Posted by Stuart Cantrill at 04:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

[In lieu of profiles, the contributors to this blog have decided to do their own Reactions pieces...]

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

Like Josh, I didn’t get interested in chemistry until quite late in the game. My high school science classes were not very inspiring, but they were also sufficiently painless that I wasn’t averse to taking more when I got to college. My freshman general chemistry class, then, got things moving: It was taught in the Socratic method by the best teacher ever, John Hutchinson. While the rest of the class was great, my ‘eureka’ moment came during a lecture about how soap works… as stupid as it sounds, the idea that physical processes could be explained in such a meaningful and elegant way really set me on the scientific path.

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

Well, I’ve been saying for a long time that I wish someone would pay me to read things, so if I couldn’t have this job, the other obvious choice is as an editor for a ‘normal’ publisher where I could read silly things (i.e., fiction). The other other (i.e., non-geeky) obvious choice would be as a dancer, although I would have to get back in shape (ahh, guacamole, the plague of my exercise plan!).

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

Without getting too negative, I think that many people live their lives without thinking things through, either in terms of their consequences (i.e., ‘it doesn’t matter if I throw this trash on the ground’…) or in how they will affect people around them (hmm… not sure I should get into this one, but let’s say I do not see eye-to-eye with Bush’s policies…). I like that scientists, as a whole, seem to be more willing to think about things carefully and act accordingly. Thus (although I guess this isn’t specific to chemists), an important potential contribution is to help people think more often.

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

Do they have to be dead? I would say Jon Stewart. I simply cannot imagine a more hilarious evening.

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

Last spring (May ’06) – I was trying to figure out if my beta-peptides had structure or not, and spent a few frustrating days on the CD. The last time I did an actual chemical experiment was shortly before that – homologating alpha amino acids to the beta compounds with diazomethane. I am proud to say there were no explosions.

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

I am, as my sister would say, an easy reader, so this is a tough one! Since I know I love it, and it’s long enough to take more than ~a day to read (and I could use it to further improve my Japanese), I would probably take Shogun, by James Clavell. (Josh thinks I should point out that I got this book for 25 cents, amidst a used-book-sale binge of 300 books. Fortunately they all cost ~25 cents.) Otherwise I’d take the complete works of Shakespeare. A CD… probably Crash, by Dave Matthews Band. Unfortunately, my favorite time to listen to that CD is while driving, which doesn’t work out so well for being on a desert island... can I have a (CD-equipped) dune buggy too?

Catherine Goodman is an Associate Editor for Nature Chemical Biology and a regular contributor to the Sceptical Chymist.

Posted by Catherine Goodman at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

[In lieu of profiles, the contributors to this blog have decided to do their own Reactions pieces...]

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

I was a bit of a ‘late bloomer’ when it came to chemistry: I didn’t own a chemistry set when I was growing up or run reactions in my garage. And I didn’t really enjoy high school chemistry classes (though I liked that feeling you get after successfully balancing a complex chemical reaction...) But I had an amazing AP chemistry teacher in high school, so I went into college with an open mind. When I got there, I was drawn to organic and biological chemistry: I thought it was so cool that a chemist could (design and) synthesize a biologically-active organic molecule that could be used to tease apart a complex cellular process or could be developed into a drug.

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

Like Andy, I probably would have been a musician - I play drums, jazz piano, various percussion instruments, and sing a bit. (I’m trying to learn how to play guitar, but don’t think my fingers are the right length/shape - or maybe I just need to practice more?) I played in a few bands in graduate school (which really helped keep my spirits up when my chemistry wasn’t working), and I miss the feeling you get when you’re playing music with close friends in a dirty/dusty basement...

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

The simple answer is to work on an important scientific problem that isn’t being adequately addressed by other chemists - easier said than done, though... I guess an important question to constantly ask is "why am I doing this experiment/project?" As long as you know the answer to that question, then you are probably "contributing to the world at large" - if you can't think of a good/satisfying answer, maybe it's time to change projects?

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

If I had to choose a scientist, I’d probably invite Linus Pauling or RB Woodward to dinner - I’d be interested in hearing what they think about all the things scientists have discovered in the last few decades. If I could choose any historical figure, I think I’d invite Oscar Wilde or John Coltrane – I imagine Wilde would be hilarious in person and I’d love to hear Coltrane talk about music and tell stories about the jazz scene in the 50s and 60s...

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

Several years ago – I can’t remember exactly what it was, but it involved DNA glycosylases...

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

I think I’d want to bring something I’d read before/knew I liked - so I’d probably go with Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina or Eco’s Foucault's Pendulum. As for music, I don’t think I could survive if I only had a single CD - does a mix CD count? If so, I'd burn one that had the second movement of Beethoven’s 7th Symphony, John Coltrane’s Giant Steps, Dizzy Gillespie’s A Night in Tunisia, Beck’s Tropicalia, Life In A Glass House from Radiohead’s Amnesiac and/or Morning Bell from Radiohead’s Kid A, Stevie Wonder’s Superstition, and a few other tracks… (Thank goodness for iPods…)

Joshua Finkelstein is a Senior Editor for Nature and a regular contributor to the Sceptical Chymist.

Posted by Joshua Finkelstein at 05:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

I was a beginning pharmacy-biology major in Mexico when, on a Saturday morning, a friend asked me to help him with work related to his natural products chemistry research. Following a manual, and with his help, I set up and ran a steam distillation extraction and analyzed fractions by TLC while he was doing something else. The whole process was so absorbing and entertaining that by the time I remembered that I had something to do that afternoon, it was already well into the night. About ten hours had gone by and I was having a lot of fun. That night I realized that chemistry research doesn’t feel like work (…and I hate work).

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

I would have been an archeologist. I like history, digging, classifying and solving puzzles.

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

There are many more questions and challenges in the world today than all chemists are capable of solving. We need to attract more talent and many more resources. While it is obvious that our society does not invest enough in the creation, preservation, and distribution of knowledge, we cannot expect poorly informed societies to make a significant investment in something they do not understand. In addition to having fun at work, we could take responsibility for not having the public engaged in all aspects of chemistry, and then do something about it.

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

Leonardo Da Vinci, because he may be the most amazing human being on record.

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

About six years ago my research group started work in the area of crystalline molecular machines. The project seemed so risky that I did all the initial work. Eventually, several students took over and have done wonders with it. However, I run emission spectra under cryogenic conditions regularly. We have a 15 year old (but still very nice) setup and I am one of the few experts in my group.

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

Any book worth reading multiple times will have to be poetry. I am a Pablo Neruda and Federico Garcia Lorca fan. For the CD, I’d bring a Mandarin language course. It would be the greatest irony that, with Spanish, English, and Mandarin I could speak to a significant fraction of the world’s population, yet there would be no one to talk to. Learning Chinese would be fun and it would take a while.

Miguel Garcia-Garibay is in an organic chemist in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of California, Los Angeles and works on the development of stereoselective solvent-free synthesis and on the design and testing of crystalline molecular machines.

Posted by Stuart Cantrill at 04:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

[In lieu of profiles, the contributors to this blog have decided to do their own Reactions pieces, and first up is Andy...]

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

I think what got me truly hooked was getting a chemistry set as a child. The very first experiment I did, I managed to blow up the reaction flask, which I’m now somewhat ashamed to admit I thought was pretty exciting. (Note to budding chemists: blowing up reaction flasks is not cool or clever).

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

In my spare time I sing with a choir - not as dull as it sounds, since we specialize in tongue-in-cheek arrangements of pop songs (which I compose) alongside the more serious stuff. So, if money was no concern, I’d like to train as a proper musician and try to make a career out of it.

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

By making useful things. I know a lot of chemists in the pharmaceutical industry who chose that career because they wanted to make something that could benefit society. Imagine being the chemist who made the first successful drug for Alzheimer’s disease – what a difference you’d have made.

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

How about Henrietta Lacks, who gave the world the first immortalized cell line (the ubiquitous HeLa cells)? She never knew that her cells made such a huge contribution to medicine and biological research, and I’d love to know what she thought about it.

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

About a year and a half ago, but I don’t recall what it was. I was an industrial synthetic organic chemist, and the company I worked for closed down my site, making about 350 people redundant. The experiment I was working on at the time didn’t stick in my mind, probably because I had other things to worry about.

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

I’d go for a couple of peculiarly British options. The book would be Behind The Scenes At The Museum by Kate Atkinson, which is a tragicomic examination of family life, written mostly from a child’s point of view. The CD would be Tropical Brainstorm, the final album from the much-underrated singer/songwriter Kirsty MacColl. (But I’d also like to take my Massive Attack CDs, especially the Blue Lines album).

Andy Mitchinson is an Associate Editor for Nature and a regular contributor to the Sceptical Chymist.

Posted by Stuart Cantrill at 04:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

Hard to be sure, but probably a visceral fascination with order, geometry, complexity and symmetry. Only chemistry allows the curious observer to examine all of these things and then to use what they learn to make new molecules which haven't ever existed. Chemistry is the science of synthesis, the most creative powerhouse of all the disciplines.

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

Attacking midfielder/captain, Liverpool FC. Being a fellow Huyton boy, Stevie Gerrard's job’s the one for me. Oh: we're talking about 'real' jobs? In that case, probably an author. I'd guess almost all scientists love writing papers, lectures, and articles: crafting a piece of writing, choosing the best, succinct, weighty but pithy phrase demands a precision which is immensely satisfying (surpassed only by certain watchings of LFC). So, professional writing would be a real treat; and I'd take on fiction and non-fiction with equal relish. Fiction? Plays, short and long stories. Non-fiction: football, politics and history (scientific and other).

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

When we talk about making life better for people, only democracy has contributed more than science, and chemists have made thousands of discoveries which have directly benefitted 'ordinary' people. If we continue to innovate with the pace of the last 200-odd years, we will directly benefit society by making and using new molecular structures not only to help people through difficulties (chemotherapy, amongst others) but also by making everyday life far more comfortable and enjoyable (iPods, mobiles, PSPs and the like). If we continue to create and implement useful inventions, whilst also keeping society properly informed about the significance and value of what we do, we'll make life better, don’t worry about that.

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

George Orwell. If you have to ask why, you need to get out more. OK, if you push me, because: (a) he was the greatest writer of his generation, (b) everything he wrote was (sooner or later) true and, (c) he was brave enough to physically take part in a distant struggle because of his principles. An erudite and true hero. If George Orwell's demise was too recent to register him as a historical figure, then Isaac Newton. Because he was Newton. Anyone who stuck a bodkin into his own eye socket just to further his study of optics is alright by me. If Isaac's busy with an alchemy committee meeting, Shankly, Paisley, Busby, Stein.....

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

Hmmm. About seven years ago. It was an asymmetric aza-Darzens reaction, which we had developed as a method to make enantiomerically-pure aziridines (pretty useful chemicals). As I recall, I was complaining to a guy called Andy McLaren about the yield of his reaction and he challenged me to do better: so I did the reaction, with all my research group watching me like vultures and throwing abuse my way. And I did get a better yield - by 1%. Ha!

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

Science is an intrinsically socialist (lower case) occupation: the collective is more important that the individual, and the system is only as successful as its weakest link. Not for nothing did Newton talk about the "shoulders of giants". Moreover, for someone from my social background, knowledge and learning was a religion, the means by which you could make sure you did something useful with your life. So, I choose a Manic Street Preachers CD, almost for a single line: "Libraries gave us Power; then Work came and made us Free". Eleven words which completely encapsulate the true ethos of science and give a perfect Design for Life. Even typing the words raises the hairs on my neck and brings tears to my eyes. I find it impossible to choose a 'best' book; notwithstanding the comments re. Orwell as dinner guest, the one which comes into my mind now is "Anna Karenin" (Tolstoy).

Professor Joe Sweeney is in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Reading and works on the design and implementation of new processes in organic chemistry, with a focus on asymmetric and target-oriented synthesis, and chemical biology. His ultimate objective is to actually make a difference.

Posted by Stuart Cantrill at 04:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

I was interested from a very early age in science, and alternated as a boy between the telescope, microscope, chemistry set, and so on. (My wife would tell you I haven't changed.) I suppose chemistry fit nicely in between biology (too vague for my tastes at the time) and physics (which was too austere). It had some rigor, but not too much. Of course, I loved reading literature from a very early age, too, but decided that it would be easier to have a library in my house than to have a lab.

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

I think I still would want to be some sort of research scientist. Finding things out that no one else knows, running real experiments where the outcome rides on your own skills and intuition - there's nothing else like it for me. I could enjoy teaching, writing, or even managing an investment portfolio, but not as much as what I do now.

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

The same way as other scientists do: by working at the top of their abilities, on the most unusual, far-reaching problems they have access to. I don't want to propose any specific topics; that's not how it works. Work on what excites you, and allow some time and space for blue-sky experiments. Getting the word out about what chemistry (and science in general) is would help, too, because most people (all these centuries later) still don't really know.

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

Arrgh, that's hard. No kings or politicians that I can think of, first off. Newton wasn't too sociable, was he? More recently I'd have loved to have met Richard Feynman or Peter Medawar - actually, I'd love to have dinner with Freeman Dyson, and he's still around! If I could tell them what we're up to now, some of the natural philosophers of the 1700s would be a lot of fun. Outside of science, it might be Nabokov - James Joyce would probably have tried to borrow money off me.

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

Easy. When my company announced the closure of our research site, I went straight back to my lab and started setting up experiments for a fascinating side project I'd been working on. It was then or never, so while everyone else was packing up their offices, I was out there taking aliquots and mixing up buffers. I did the last one in January, and the next day the instrument I needed was mothballed. My next experiment will be (I hope) not long after I start my next job, wherever that is. I never want to lose access to the lab.

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

I've never been able to answer these questions! I'm looking at a wall of books over my shoulder right now; how could I narrow down to one? I suppose I'd have to find the thickest anthology I could possibly carry - it would double as a flotation device. Literature, poetry, some math and logic problems - I don't think they make one of those, actually. CDs are a less wrenching call - something by Bach, maybe, if I had to pick just one thing, although Steely Dan would be a contender.

Derek Lowe is a research chemist in the pharmaceutical industry. Despite nearly twenty years of trying, he has yet to put anything on the market, so if you're looking for a reason for high drug costs, look no further.

Posted by Stuart Cantrill at 04:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

I took high school biology from a person who spent the first third of a semester teaching us about atoms and molecules, because he saw life as a chemical phenomenon. I've been entranced with the edge of life ever since, and have spent my entire career on that cusp, sometimes venturing into biology, and sometimes into chemistry. The structural beauty of crystallography and informational nature of nucleic acids seduced me into working at their interface. Being able to make things, rather than just analyze them, vectored me into structural DNA nanotechnology.

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

Chemistry gives me an outlet for my creative urges. If I couldn't do that, I'd probably try to be an artist (though I lack talent in that direction). I'm a totally visual person, with not a lot of response to acoustic phenomena.

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

By doing what they do - creating and analyzing new forms of matter, and gaining control over the structure of matter on the finest possible scale. Saying that, one cannot forget that chemists are subject to the same social responsibilities as other citizens of the world, and they must recognize them.

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

Probably one of the early empiricists, such as Bacon. It was a huge conceptual leap to go from arguing about what might happen in some circumstances, to actually looking to find out. I would hope my dinner companion had eclectic culinary tastes.

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

I've never done much in the wet lab. Mostly, I've programmed and modeled. I continue to model.

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

My favorite author is Thomas Pynchon, but if exiled alone on a desert island, his paranoiac tilt would not resonate with the isolated circumstances. I'd probably try to take a book on how to build boats from earth, air, fire and water, or more conducive materials if they were present. I don't listen to music, so I would trade in the CD for a DVD, probably of 'Casablanca'.

Ned Seeman is in the Department of Chemistry at New York University and works on structural DNA nanotechnology. He builds objects, lattices, and nanomechanical devices from DNA.

Posted by Stuart Cantrill at 04:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

I've always enjoyed building things, looking for ways to improve some feature or combine functionality. Synthetic chemistry is all about building things - except at a very small scale. The field of organic electronics provides a beautiful opportunity to enjoy both pico-scale construction (molecules) and macro-scale construction (devices). It's always a real thrill to take an idea all the way from initial target molecule, through synthesis and then into a working device in a matter of a few weeks.

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

I think I'd still be designing and building things. I'm already an avid woodworker - I could envision myself in architecture / homebuilding, furniture design / construction - any job where I can use my hands to create something beautiful, new and useful.

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

I suppose at first blush we contribute by doggedly pursuing our intellectual curiosity. Chemistry is central to so many endeavors - from understanding the fundamental science of molecules and molecular assemblies, to synthesizing compounds for pharmaceutical or materials applications. However, I see my most important contribution as the education of a new generation of scientists. I have had the pleasure of working with some exceptionally talented graduate and undergraduate students, and feel confident that their curiosity and enthusiasm will carry them into productive careers as chemical researchers.

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

I've always been fascinated by the history of early England, and the one person I'd love to have the chance to converse with is Eleanor of Aquitaine. She exercised an incredible amount of power in an era critical to the development of modern Europe.

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

Last week - I performed an Ullman coupling to put a perfluoroalkyl chain onto an iodothiophene compound. While I don't spend nearly as much time in the lab as I would like, I do try to do at least one reaction every few weeks, just to maintain credibility with the students that I instruct.

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

The CD question is tough - my musical tastes are strongly influenced by what I'm doing at the time. When writing, the von Karajan recording of Beethoven's 4th and 7th symphonies is a top pick. In the lab, lately I've loaded my i-pod with Tool's "Undertow". When grading, Blues are more appropriate, such as Tom Waits' "Real Gone". But the one CD I would never want to be without is Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here". As for books - since the 5th grade I've been fascinated by the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, and his complete works would serve as an entertaining read as well as a phenomenal example of literary creativity.

John Anthony is in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Kentucky and works on the design, synthesis and application of high-performance organic semiconductors for display and photovoltaic applications.

Posted by Stuart Cantrill at 04:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

I was always going to be a chemist even before I really knew what it meant. It seemed to be proper, tactile science. My two year old son was standing up on a chair at the sink this afternoon pouring water into washing up liquid and, I suppose, unwittingly making monolayers or micelles. My mum says that was me about 35 years ago. Maybe he’ll be the same?

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

I would be a writer I guess; from the mould of Giles Milton (author of Nathaniel’s Nutmeg and some other amazing tales of historical fact). I love to throw myself into a project and live and breathe it until it’s out there as a finished package. As a chemist I get to be a writer anyway… and a whole host of other things besides, and textbooks are a hell of a lot easier to get published than fiction! P.S. … I suppose I might be tempted to be a hotshot lawyer – they make a staggering amount of money. That might be nice for a little while at least but then I hate to argue.

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

How long have we got? Everything that is real and tactile in the modern world is underpinned by chemistry. Apart from the myriad of everyday things like soap, asprin and WD40, I think the challenge facing molecular scientists is to gain that molecule-scale control over materials that could underpin substances and objects with the kind of smart functionality only the likes of the recently departed Kurt Vonnegut could dream of.

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

My partner and I love to play “fantasy dinner guests”. For a while we had Kirstie and Phil from Location, Location, Location up there on the list. Connie Nielsen and Russell Crowe (from the movie Gladiator) were also contenders. Historical figures is a more interesting one. Somewhere (lower) on my list I would have both Jesus Christ and Adolf Hitler – I’d ask them both the same question: “What were you thinking?!” The top choice would go to someone from ancient history though, unfettered by our current (in my case, Western) cultural mould. I bet the “old liar” Herodotus could spin a good yarn to entertain the guests over a glass of fine wine. “What have you heard about the Minoans? Atlantis? Akhenaten?” I would ask, and then sit back and enjoy the results.

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

I labour under the misapprehension that I can crystallise things that others cannot. This usually means that I leave dried out vials of slowly darkening, valuable chemicals laying around to gather dust and dead flies. I can now reveal that, in fact, deceased insects and fluff do not aid crystal nucleation and growth, contrary to my fondest hopes.

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

The book (after a long struggle that ultimately ended with the rejection of Lord of the Rings solely because Liv Tyler is only in the movie, not the written version), would be John Fowles’ The Magus (the second, re-written edition). It’s seductive and enigmatic enough to keep you interested on a few re-reads, and it has that beauty of language and warm Mediterranean imagery that pros like Fowles have honed over many years… I kind of want to go off and read it right now actually. As for the CD (hopefully with a CD player and a decent battery? I know, I’m anal) it would be a late 90s style dance/chillout/electronica type compilation. Something with things like Sandstorm, Silence, Offshore… If you’re on a desert island it might as well be Ibiza.

Jonathan Steed is in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Durham and works on supramolecular chemistry and nanochemistry.

Posted by Stuart Cantrill at 04:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

Chemistry always came easy to me in school and college and so for the longest time it was the path of least resistance. It wasn’t until I had a wonderful undergraduate summer research experience that the switch was irreversibly flipped. What did it was making (unintentionally as it turned out) a molecule that apparently hadn’t been made before. This really blew my mind and still does when it happens.

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

I think something in the visual arts. Chemistry is a very creative science, but in some respects an abstract one in that we use somewhat arcane glyphs to represent the molecules we make. With painting or sculpting one actually sees that product of one’s creative efforts. This I would love to be able to do.

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

By continuing to do what we do, i.e., make things that the world needs, and without damaging it in the process. Chemistry often gets a bad rap by the popular media and I actually think it is best if most of us try to stay under the media radar. Some scientists are gifted ambassadors and so we should let them do the talking, the rest of us should stick to the experiments lest we run the risk of being chewed up and spat out by the press.

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

Great question, it is tempting to say someone like Da Vinci or Socrates, but since this is dinner I would probably go with the poet Rabbie Burns, a man who lived his short life to the full and whose words and music continue to inspire and comfort. Dinner with Burns certainly wouldn’t be dull.

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

A real experiment! Probably a year or two ago when I tried to attach ATP to a protein. However, I routinely help people in the lab with certain procedures that are tricky and/or potentially dangerous to perform.

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

The CD would be “London Calling” by The Clash and as for the book, this seems like an appropriate time to re-read Joyce’s Ulysses.

Tom Muir is in the Lab of Synthetic Protein Chemistry, Rockefeller University, New York and works on developing and applying chemistry-driven approaches for controlling and studying proteins.

Posted by Stuart Cantrill at 04:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a biochemist?

I grew up in Chengdu, China. When I was about 7 years old, I was often very curious about how my pet silkworm made silk from only eating mulberry tree leaves! Why cannot we do the same? The leaves are from plants, which are mostly made of cellulose or sugar units, but the silkworm silk is protein, made of amino acids! When I was about 9, I had a white hen as a pet. I was often wondering how the hen could eat rice and other things, but lay an egg every day! An egg has a hard shell that encloses the egg white and yellow yolk. I could not understand how the white hen could do that at all.

Unfortunately, the chaotic Culture Revolution went into full swing when I was only 13 and I lost the chance to go to junior high and high school because they were all closed for several years. But fortunately, in 1976, I was able to go to college to pursue my interest through a fortuitous opportunity to study biochemistry. Once there, I tried to recover the time I had lost and pursued biochemistry enthusiastically with all my effort. There were no textbooks at all and we had to take our notes from lectures – I had never heard of the great biochemistry textbooks by leading biochemists such as Albert Lehninger, Lubert Stryer and Geoffrey Zubay. I never heard of Nature nor Science magazines. However, my thirst for learning was so great, I overcame many obstacles and finished my biochemistry B.S. degree in China.

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

I would probably become a marine biologist, studying the fantastic oceans around the world. The oceans are the most fascinating places on the planet. There are so many extraordinary, alien-like, otherworldly, unimaginable and amazing creatures that live right under our nose, but we know virtually nothing about their biochemistry and physiology. For example, how can some creatures survive under several thousand meters of water on the deep sea floor, where no steel submarine can go? How can they see in the utter darkness? How fast do they reproduce and how does their DNA replicate? How can they change color so quickly to capture prey or to avoid predators? What are the colors made of? Do their proteins function like ours? The oceans are full of under-explored treasures. Currently, green fluorescent protein (GFP) from jellyfish and red fluorescent protein from coral have been enormously useful for biology, biotechnology and neuroscience. But they are only two out of trillions or zillions of treasures we know nothing about. Studying creatures in the oceans would be a great lifetime pursuit.

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

Chemists can make big contributions, particularly by making new materials for collecting the practically inexhaustible supply of solar energy, biosolar energy and other truly renewable energy sources. Chemists must do to a lot more to find solutions to combat the undeniable effect of global warming. It is our responsibility. All other activities, including making new drugs are much less important than finding an alternative source of clean and renewable energy, since all our activities depend on cheap energy. Imagine if the energy cost goes up, everything will quickly follow. Sadly, most chemists have not done enough at all in pursuing new energy research. Most big oil companies have made so much money in recent years, but little has been reinvested to solve the looming big problem, except for BP, who have invested a substantial amount of revenue for new energy research. Without solving the energy and global warming problems, which are tightly coupled, everything else will become insignificant.

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

I would like to have dinner with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig Beethoven and other great classical music composers. They not only truly captured pure human spirit and life experience, but also distilled the best culture that will resonate universally forever. Their music has been played for a few hundred years and will likely be played for thousands more years. Mozart often composed his elegant and timeless music at the last minute, a true music composer genius! Sadly, much of the current music songs are likely short-lived, trendy and fashionable. Few trendy music songs will be played 100 years from now. Unfortunately, some of today's science activities are also like the current music, very trendy and fashionable.

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

The last time I did experiments, was to try to grow membrane protein crystals in February 2007 in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Cambridge, UK when I was on my academic sabbatical with a Guggenheim Fellowship. Membrane proteins are one of the most difficult protein classes to work with. For example, as of April 2007, there are about 40,000 protein structures deposited in the Protein Data Bank, but there are only a total of 250 membrane protein structures, with only 124 unique structures. That is an enormous disparity! If you look at the chemical and biological sciences as a whole, very few people work on these elusive protein structures because they are very difficult to deal with. Yet, they are the best nature-made nanomaterials and nanodevices, from harvesting clean energy to ultrasensitive sensing devices. Membrane proteins comprise a very large number of our total proteins, ~30% of genes in organisms sequenced so far code for membrane proteins, namely, ~8,000-10,000 human genes code for membrane proteins. Embarrassingly, only 2 human membrane protein structures are known.

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

The one book I would like to take with me is 'Atlas of the Human Brain'. I have always been curious to read it, but never find time to do so. I am curious to know how such an unusual organ, only a few kilograms in weight, can not only organize memory, produce thoughts and images and detect smells, but also produce emotions and feelings. The only CD I would like to take is one featuring Mozart's piano concertos. The only DVD I would take is 'From Russia with Love' with Sean Connery as the best 007 Bond - James Bond, a timeless fun movie full of various cultures, humor, fun, excitement, exotic places and beauty.

Shuguang Zhang is in the Center for Biomedical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA and has invented several self-assembling peptide systems, including 1) lipid-like peptide surfactants that not only form nanotubes and nanovesicles, but also stabilize diverse membrane proteins, 2) designer Lego-like peptides that form nanofiber scaffolds for 3D cell culture and regenerative medicine, and 3) designer active peptide inks that can be printed on surfaces to produce biologically active surfaces.

Posted by Stuart Cantrill at 04:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

When I was ten or so I met one of my uncles who was a chemical engineer. We started talking about chemistry a bit, and he drew some structures of organic molecules. I became entranced by the variety of structures one could build up from carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen, and started drawing new structures in my notebook. The capability of chemists to plug components together both covalently and non-covalently to create new things is what continues to move me as a scientist.

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

I'd be a chef! I have a good ability in "visualizing" what various combinations of flavors and textures will produce in the finished product. Cooking also provides me with an outlet for all of the synthetic skills I honed prior to becoming a faculty member - plus my success ratio is way higher in cooking. My wife (a rather picky soul) has only complained of one meal in the last ten years, and that's because she's morally opposed to pineapple in savoury foods.

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

We have a unique viewpoint, centered at the atomic level. As synthetic chemists, we can control the structures of molecules with atomic resolution, giving us the ability to create typical "chemicals" such as drugs, household products, etc. Beyond this, however, our ability to manipulate matter and understand its behavior at this Angstrom scale puts us in a unique position to contribute to the worlds of materials and nanotechnology.

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

Mozart - he is a man that had a fairly tough life but made magic look so easy.

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

Today, when I ran a few electrochemical experiments with Mike Pollier, one of my graduate students. The group gets uncomfortable when I try to do things around lab, but some things are "safe".

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

As far as the book goes, a quick Google search would suggest "Boatbuilding: A Complete Handbook of Wooden Boat Construction" by Howard Irving Chapelle as a rather good idea. For the CD I'd go with Mozart's Le Nozze de Figaro. A bonus would be to have either Cecillia Bartoli or Frederica von Stade (very different but both beautiful voices) as Cherubino...

Vince Rotello is in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and works on interfacing nanosystems for biological and materials applications.

Posted by Stuart Cantrill at 05:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

Chemistry was always my favorite (but not always my best) subject in grammar school, probably because the practical applications of chemistry in everyday life are so tangible. To this day I remain fascinated and motivated by the opportunities and challenges offered by chemistry and how the practical relevance of basic research can lead so quickly to an application.

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

I cannot now imagine being anything other than a chemistry professor. There were times when parental or peer pressure might have pushed me towards teaching, industry or medicine. Based upon what I know now, these careers would probably have not worked out for me. However, if there was a fork in the road, it was when I was a teenager, since my best subject in grammar school was geography. Ironically, I have ended up seeing much more of the world than I could ever have imagined when I took the fork towards chemistry. My numerous visits to so many parts of the world have, in a way, made me an amateur at studying the chemistry of people.

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

Chemists can, must and will play a major role in solving the global challenges we face with the environment, energy and human health. In my opinion, if there is one thing we could do better in this context, it is to work less as individuals and more as teams. The grand challenges are simply too large and complex for an individual chemist or even a group of chemists to address, never mind solve.

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

A very difficult question. Historically, it would probably be Leonardo da Vinci, whose impact on art and science and even today’s culture was and is so immense. The living person I most admire is Nelson Mandela.

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

Yesterday. I still like to grow crystals and have never lost the excitement of solving crystal structures and I am apt to conduct a few experiments per month. If we ever figure out how to predict a crystal form before it is made then the excitement might lessen, but we are not there yet despite over 100 years of X-ray crystallography. However, I do not spend time in the lab every day, which is just as well for the students.

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

The Foundation Trilogy would be my book choice. In terms of music, I download (legally) individual tracks and have not bought a CD at a store for years. I would select a home-made CD which contains 20 tracks that represents a mix of the 60-90s (my selection of Beatles, Motown, U2, Cat Stevens, Eagles, Stones and, maybe, a track or two from Dark Side of the Moon).

Mike Zaworotko is Chair of the Department of Chemistry at the University of South Florida and works on crystal engineering, the design and application of functional solids, with particular emphasis on the design of porous and pharmaceutical materials.

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1. What made you want to be a chemist?

The opportunity to be a creative designer and an engineer of form and function at one of the smallest and most challenging of material levels - namely, the molecular one, in the beginning with all its fancy regulations involving valency and bonding and the like. Quite early on, my imagination started to run riot far beyond the molecule where the fundamental challenges in chemistry lie hidden today in the much more subtle rules that govern weak noncovalent bonding interactions.

At the outset, I would never have dreamt that I would be chasing complexity and emergent phenomena under the guise of chemistry but that's what is happening now. My experience has been a highly evolutionary and incremental one. I started with a hunch and a hope. I did not really know where chemistry would lead me, other than into the uncharted and the unexpected. I followed my nose but it was most certainly not smells or, for that matter, bangs that got me hooked on chemistry!

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

I would very much like to have been a highly successful writer and novelist. I have always had a fascination with the words and phrases that make up the English language. In fact, writing far too many scientific papers has given me the opportunity to develop my skills - which were dreadfully bad when I was in my twenties - during these past 40 years. If I am spared long enough, then I would love to put pen to paper in ways that might help to bring the excitement of being a scientist, totally and utterly addicted to chemistry, to a wide lay audience in many different places around the globe. We all have a right to dream a little!

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

By being an integral part of it, not only in a materials sense, but as folks who care so deeply about our planet that we would be ready, willing and able to provide it with an alternative way forward into the future that values and honors the sanctity of all living things, including human beings, on the planet. Much of our world revolves around chemistry, probably more than around any other creative medium.

In the 19th century, chemists gave the world dyes and made our lives more colourful, in the 20th century, chemists gave the world drugs (pharmaceuticals), so lengthening our lives and making them more bearable, and, in the 21st century, chemists will give the world devices, making our lives much more fulfilled and immensely more enjoyable. These three d's are made possible by chemistry which is, in turn, about three m's – making, measuring, and modeling – and a lot more which could make our world a better place for better living for all of us.

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

William Shakespeare. He was so brilliant and so highly prolific in an out-of-the-box kind of way during such a short and precarious period in history which coincided with the expansionary phase of the Elizabethan Age. I would like to learn from him how he organized his time in order to meet deadline after deadline. He must have had an extremely vivid imagination to have invented all those rich phrases he introduced into the English language.

I would like to have him tell me that he did it all by himself (for I suspect he did) so that I could hold him up as a role model to all the young people in my life whom I urge to do 200 times more than they do currently in their own lives. As one who gets endless fascination out of watching and analyzing human behaviour, it would also be such a privilege to listen to one of the all-time experts on this subject. I suspect I might come to know myself a lot better after dinner with the Bard.

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

Twenty-nine years ago in the summer of 1978 when I left the University of Sheffield to go to the ICI Corporate Laboratory in Runcorn on a three-year secondment. During the 70s, I ran all the NMR spectra for my medium-sized research group since postdoctoral fellows and (post)graduate students were not allowed to use the NMR spectrometers in the Sheffield Chemistry Department, then. I gained access, free from all competition, at five in the morning when my two young daughters made darn sure that I was on my way to the NMR lab at that unearthly hour. By the time we returned as a family to Sheffield in 1982, my daughters had both learned how to sleep and the NMR spectrometers had also become far too sophisticated for a simple-minded guy like me to be able to use them.

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

A well-illustrated (in colour!) and user-friendly English dictionary so that I could extend my rather limited vocabulary, while listening to the Beatles (particularly Paul McCartney singing “When I'm Sixty Four” for that's what I am!) on that one and only CD. After the tradition of that long-running BBC Radio 4 programme, Desert Island Discs, I am assuming that the complete works of Shakespeare will be already there on the island.

If, in the spirit of the programme, which incidentally was first broadcast in the year I was born, I can also choose one luxury item, then it would be an endless supply of Liquorice Allsorts. Guess what, if I told you I have only three ambitions left in life, what one of them is? Right! To be invited to be a guest on Desert Island Discs.

Sir Fraser Stoddart is in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of California, Los Angeles and works on the use of molecular recognition and self-assembly processes in template-directed protocols for the syntheses of two-state mechanically interlocked compounds (bistable catenanes and rotaxanes) that have been employed successfully as switches in molecular electronic devices (MEDs) and as artificial motor-molecules in nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS).

Posted by Stuart Cantrill at 03:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

Coming into contact with a brilliant chemistry teacher at pre-university class in school. Errol Fernando inspired not only me but generations of Sri Lankans, and later Pakistanis, who went on to various professions around the world. However, I am also delighted that chemistry is a subject rooted in the world from ancient times, i.e., reality would be closely connected with what chemists do. We can let our thoughts soar as high as we like, but at the end of the day, what we do with matter in all its forms has possibilities for good and bad, which also needs to be dwelt upon.

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

A percussionist/drummer. I’ve enjoyed playing informally since childhood, probably because Sri Lanka has an excellent drum tradition going all the way from high classical to a knockabout with friends. Hitting things to get a sound out of them (no violence) is brilliant fun. Drumming has a great, rather primeval, way of connecting with people like nothing else I know. My dream was to play weekends while doing chemistry as the day job. Luckily, I’ve been doing something pretty close to that for the past decade.

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

As mentioned under 1, our work as chemists directly impacts on the world at large, albeit in the hands of managers and corporations. In fact, the ‘white-hot revolution’ of yesteryear and the ‘knowledge-based economy’ of the present have a clear chemistry foundation in terms of new materials and processes. That is a positive contribution, at least at the point that chemists have control. However, we must also contribute positively by developing the tools for monitoring the final outcomes in an environmental/medical sense. Additionally, we must contribute by talking with the media in a transparent and understandable manner since they determine what the world sees and hears.

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

The first woman prime minister in the world - Sirimavo Bandaranaike. The stunning originality of her accomplishment was perhaps not appreciated globally as it should have been. It was one of those instances where a small country showed the world the way. Also, she presided over Sri Lanka at a time which proved to set the course of the country up to the present time and beyond, with all the attendant sadness and broken dreams. There would be so much to ask her.

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

Two years ago, a friend and I tried to coax a fluorescence emission spectrum from a single polymer bead tagged with a molecular computational identification (MCID) tag with a common spectrometer in the room where I work to this day. This effort failed, but we were happy because we could get a result with 3 beads. A bit more tweaking or a slightly more specialized spectrometer, and we would be home and dry. Other experiments established MCID as a viable tagging technology for micrometric or smaller objects in large populations - a bit of molecular computing that could do widely useful things that silicon-based computers couldn’t do.

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

Nihal Fernando’s ‘Sri Lanka-A Personal Odyssey’ (ISBN 9559236032) is a bittersweet photo-essay about this beautiful, but troubled, land. It reminds me of a wonderful past which hung on till not so long ago. Kevin Burke’s ‘If the cap fits’ is Irish fiddle playing at its raw and beautiful best. This music in all its forms has been a large part of my attraction for Northern Ireland. The format of the Irish music session, with its circle in a bar where punters and players are equal, appeals greatly. That feeling of elation/exhaustion at the end of a long non-stop session is also worth a lot.

AP de Silva is in the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at Queen's University Belfast and works on molecular sensing, logic and computing.

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1. What made you want to be a chemist?

I loved organic chemistry - best class in all of college.

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

Surgeon; I like to help people and enjoy detailed work.

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

Become civic scientists, aiding on boards and panels that interest them and society.

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

Jesus Christ because he is God having appeared in the flesh, and he is the one that I love more than life itself.

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

As I recall, it was a methyleneation of carbonyl compounds in 1989 for my first publication as an assistant professor.

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

The Bible and the CD of all Charles Spurgeon’s (19th Century Minister) recorded sermons and books.

James Tour is the Chao Professor of Chemistry, Professor of Computer Science, Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science and the Director of the Carbon Nanotechnology Laboratory at Rice University and works in the area of molecular electronics, nanotubes and nanocars.

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1. What made you want to be a chemist?

I was always drawn to science. There’s something deep and innate behind this, something best left to beers not blogs. As to why chemistry, I think it was the combination of its transformational abilities and the hands on practical experiences. I mean you can transform atoms with nuclear physics, but there wasn’t much in the way of practical experience as an undergraduate; except “watching” the decay of a radioactive species. To me this seemed slightly negative and sad, like being a geriatric nurse not a midwife. On the other hand, you could get into the chemistry laboratory and actually make stuff. Convert A into B, see the change in color, or measure some other change. Wow!

Within chemistry, I was definitely drawn to organic chemistry by the beauty and majesty of reaction mechanisms. There’s an aesthetic appeal both in the geometric way that we draw organic molecules, and in the dynamism of the “flow” of electrons; the myriad, counter-balancing possible routes, the mechanistic dead-ends, the reversibility and irreversibility of the different steps. Truly a wonderful language. Perhaps not surprisingly, I also find the emerging field of systems chemistry (and biology) fascinating.

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

That’s an easy one, a meteorologist. I’m drawn to the dynamism and complexities of weather systems, but beyond that there’s also something awe-inspiring and humbling about the scale of weather phenomenon. This is especially so with severe weather. It was estimated that hurricane Katrina (with which everyone in New Orleans had personal experience of) ditched 54 trillion watts of power in the five hours it took to come on shore in August 29th 2005. That sort of power output is influential.

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

Like all people, chemists can best contribute by being prudent yet proactive. We should all try to weigh the long-term as much as the short-term, tread carefully when the path is unclear, and act decisively when certainty permits; all within a sound ethical framework.

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

I’m a bit of an iconoclast so there’s no one historical person I’d really like to meet. Add to that the fact that history tends to distort personalities by exaltation or demonization, and there’s the distinct possibility that they would be a let down. Now meeting a well-educated person from the future is a different matter. To ask how the human experiment is going - over a good chicken saag - would be intriguing.

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

The last time I did an experiment in the lab was just before my group threw me out for asking too many annoying questions. Where are the round bottom flasks? Unfortunately, my ignorance of laboratory geography underlies the trend to put too much emphasis on quantity rather than quality. Presumably because the former is so much easier to define, there is all to often too much reliance on bean-counting. We all of course strive for quality, but all too often it’s a matter of number of publications, value of grants etc., that are the measure of a scientist (and the size of the paycheck). So like most people my age (41) I deal with administrative minutia and push paper while I strive to build an empire. Would I be a better teacher, and perhaps have more good ideas, if I could clear the decks a bit and spend time in the lab? Absolutely. I wager it would also be more fun.

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

If I were to be allowed to take a CD and CD player onto an island, I would swap them for a DVD player and a DVD. I’m a movie buff ahead of a lover of music. If I could get away with that slight-of-hand, I’d take Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Magnolia”. A bit sad for those down-days perhaps, but its a mesmerizing work of art, filled with beautiful scenes and a wonderful collection of quality actors.

If I could slip in a second disc (those boxes are often designed for more than one), I’d take David Lean’s Lawrence of Arabia. Outstanding! A gripping tale of a deep, often perplexing character framed to perfection both cinematographically and musically. They seldom make them like they used to.

As for a book, I’d probably plump for a one that gave me plenty to get my teeth into, such as the complete work of Shakespeare. I’ve a feeling that the sort of book I enjoy reading (current affairs with a political, scientific, ecological or economical bent) would be a bit out of context on the island. Speaking of context, maybe I should exchange Shakespeare for a survival handbook?

Bruce Gibb is in the Department of Chemistry at the University of New Orleans and works on designing supramolecular systems with novel and unusual properties.

Posted by Stuart Cantrill at 04:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

[Welcome to a new (and hopefully regular) feature on our little chemistry blog here. 'Reactions' will feature chemists answering questions ranging from why they entered the field to what reading material they would like to be stranded on an island with... - Stuart]

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

Like many who choose to study chemistry at university, an excellent and enthusiastic school teacher.

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

If I was miraculously granted the ability to do any of them well (unfortunately I have severe limitations in all the qualities required!) then prime minister, rock star, footballer.

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

By changing it for the better. This can be in obvious ways - introducing new technologies that contribute to solving global problems like pollution, energy needs, health and sustenance etc - and in less obvious ways, such as improving the way the general public understand the world, thereby making it safer by removing the influence of religions and other superstitions on societies and individuals.

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

Jesus or Einstein. So many questions...

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

Back in 2002 I was particularly excited about a compound one of my group was preparing at the end of a long synthetic sequence. It was a friday night and I was impatient to see the NMR of the product. So I worked up her reaction without asking and spent all Saturday and Sunday running chromatography columns to try and isolate it. Needless to say, I never got it and by the end of the weekend and half-a-dozen columns later there was nothing left. Jenny Wong, bless her, didn't say a thing - at least not in my presence! - and went back and did the 15 step synthesis again (this time without telling me when she put the final reaction on!).

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

'Card College' by Roberto Giobbi - I'd finally have time to study! [Leigh is a magician as well as a chemist - Ed.] - and any live bootleg of Elvis Costello from the 80s.

David Leigh is in the School of Chemistry at the University of Edinburgh and works on synthetic molecular motors and machines.

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