Nongjian (NJ) Tao is in the Center for Bioelectronics and Biosensors, Biodesign Institute, and also affiliated with Electrical Engineering, Physics and Chemistry at Arizona State University. His current research interests include molecular electronics, chem- and bio-sensors.

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

I am probably not a typical chemist on Nature Chemistry’s blog because my training is in biophysics. I have been attracted to chemistry because it serves as glue between physics, biology and engineering, which is critically important for interdisciplinary research, such as molecular electronics and sensors.

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 geologist or astronaut, who can explore new frontiers, a remote desert or a distant planet, while getting paid. I don’t really regret my career decision because I find that exploring research areas between different traditional disciplines is just as exciting (and challenging).

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

I am looking for ways to place a single molecule between electrodes, to probe and control its chemical and physical properties, and to explore device applications. I am also developing chemical sensors that can fit in a cell phone, allowing one to excess not only internet and email, but also chemical information. I believe that such a function would expand our capability to solve many real world problems, such as security, environmental protection, and disease prevention and diagnosis.

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

Richard Feynmann would be at the top of a long list. “Feynmann’s Lectures in Physics” helped me to pass an important Physics exam that sent me to study for a Ph.D. in the US. “Surely, you’re joking, Mr. Feynmann” once made a 12-hour oversea flight quite enjoyable and unforgettable. His “plenty of room” lecture has been a constant source of inspiration for my research.

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

That was last week – when I was experimenting three different glues to fix my broken glasses. Over time, I find myself spending less time doing lab work, and more time reviewing or writing proposals. Fortunately, I am surrounded by many young talents who can do better jobs in lab than myself.

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

I will bring books that can teach me how to survive in a desert island or break out of prison. Entertaining books and CDs would be nice, but I would have to save the space for water and food.

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

Stuart Lindsay – my Ph.D. mentor. He taught me how to do science. I am sure that younger readers will benefit from interacting with him.

Junichiro Yamaguchi is in the Department of Chemistry at Nagoya University, and works on the synthesis of biologically active molecules and natural products – particularly through C-H bond functionalization. Discovery and development of new chemical reactions in order to aim for the “ideal organic synthesis” are his ultimate goals. He also co-runs Chem-Station, a famous chemistry website in Japan.

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

When I first entered university, I had absolutely no interest in chemistry. However, I am fortunate to have met Prof. Yujiro Hayashi at the time, who completely changed my mind and who eventually became my Ph.D. supervisor. He had an unusual, almost excessive passion for chemistry, and particularly for organic chemistry, which he seemed to enjoy purely out of curiosity. I simply started chemistry in order to try to see what he thought was so incredibly interesting – by that time, his passion had already transferred onto me!

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

I guess I would be a salesman of some business or medical firm because I am drawn by the strength of interpersonal communication, and I think that selling merchandise is based on trust and relationships between people. In this vein, I am also interested in working on the World Wide Web. I would have set up an independent online-based company, although I cannot tell if such a plan would have enjoyed success or not.

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

I am working as an Assistant Professor with Prof. Kenichiro Itami in chemical synthesis. I have partaken in natural product total synthesis, and I have been fortunate enough to be involved in the synthesis of many bioactive natural products during my graduate and postdoctoral research. However, natural product synthesis requires so many complex strategies, such that only fellow scientists in this field could understand the extent of its tortuous and complex nature. In order to realize the “ideal chemical synthesis”, the main emphasis of my research regards the development of new synthetic methods, strategies, and concepts to solve challenging synthetic problems. I would like to make molecules as if one were to construct architectures using LEGO blocks.

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

I would like to have dinner with Prof. Robert Woodward, widely recognized as the best synthetic chemist of the 20th century. Having achieved such tremendous total syntheses in an age when purification techniques and spectroscopic analyses were so limited, is nothing short of extraordinary. I would like to talk to him about chemical synthesis and the future of the field of organic chemistry.

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

I am still running experiments routinely in the lab, and trying to share time with my students in the fumehood. Therefore, I cannot even conceptualize the last experiment I could run, and in fact I do not even want to think about it! Over time, my efforts in the fumehood will have to be gradually reduced, but I would like to keep doing chemistry with my own hands as much as possible.

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

Could I cheat and bring a laptop, or at least an iPhone? If I had to be disconnected from the world, I would simply like to enjoy various pieces of literary works and music, as well as various scientific papers, little by little, until the end of time.

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

I actually have two chemists in mind – the first one is Prof. Phil Baran of The Scripps Research Institute, my postdoc advisor as well as good friend. He is only one year older than me, and yet his ability to synthesize natural products keeps astonishing the chemical community. The second chemist would be Prof. Kenichiro Itami, who I currently share my days with. I would have refused to go back to Japan for my career had I not had the opportunity to meet him and if he did not have such a splendid personality and intellectual talent.