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.

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.

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.

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.