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.

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.

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.

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).