Thomas Faust studied in the UK and Australia before moving to London, where he was previously an editor at Nature Communications. He is presently an Associate Editor for Nature Chemistry.

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

My chemistry education started at a young age, which is pretty much unavoidable when your Dad is a chemistry teacher. Take, for instance, our family summer holiday in a lovely cottage, which included an educational trip to a nearby nuclear power station. Or our kitchen, which was periodically populated with all manner of apparatus for the synthesis of home brewed beer. In this setting, it’s pretty hard not to pick up an interest in science. At age five, my favourite chemistry involved trips to the school’s prep room, where I’d insist on seeing ‘magic smoke’¹ or ‘colours from nothing’².

My Dad tells of a time when, around the age of nine, I asked what the highest qualification he held was. After finding he had a BSc in Chemistry and a Masters’ in Education, I asked what was one better than that. A PhD, he said…

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

I’m a real sports fan. Most weekends I’m at a game of some description; I’m always looking to visit a new stadium, see a new team or learn about a new sporting code. Conveniently this hobby can coexist with conference travel quite nicely. My dream job would combine this with an interest in photography. I think I’d really enjoy being a sports photographer.

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

Well I’m currently on secondment to Nature Chemistry, from my permanent position at Nature Communications. I enjoy working with a new team, and getting involved with all of the extra roles associated with a print journal. I want to bring my experiences back to Nature Communications and think about how some of the practices here might translate back into Open Access publishing.

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

Jesus, I think. He could clear up a lot of queries I have.

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

My last experiment was about two years ago and will have been performing magnetometry on some new framework materials I’d prepared. They behaved quite unusually, and a satisfactory interpretation of those results continues to elude me.

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

The book would be David Deutsch’s The Beginning of Infinity; I’ve starting reading it twice but have yet to make meaningful headway. If you haven’t read his earlier book, The Fabric of Reality, I suggest you try. It took me quite a while to finish, and I found myself re-reading each chapter multiple times to make sure I fully understood it. I still don’t fully appreciate some of the concepts. Nevertheless, it was a rewarding experience. Music-wise, definitely something by Kasabian. It’s tough to pick one, but I’m going to go with West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum.

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

Stephen Curry; does he qualify as a chemist? In any case, he always has something interesting to say, and that’s more important, right!?

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1. Bringing together stoppers wetted with hydrochloric acid and ammonia solution to generate plumes of ammonium chloride.

2. Any number of pH sensitive indicators, but adding base to a phenolphthalein solution was a winner.

[Editor’s note: Previously this article referred to the acidifcation of a phenolphthalein solution; a reader pointed out that Thomas had this backwards in his original post, and it has been modified accordingly.]

David Schilter studied in Australia, the United States and South Korea before making the move to London, where he now serves as Associate Editor for Nature Reviews Chemistry.

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

I found high school science experiments to be kind of fun. Getting decent grades in chemistry didn’t hurt my enthusiasm either; fast forward to undergraduate lab, and I’ve got this black ooze in my flask. I complained to my teaching assistant—a certain Mr. (now Prof.) Nilay Hazari— “I don’t know if this slime is the right stuff, I just wish my eyes could see the structure of this compound”. His response: “If that’s the way you think then chemistry isn’t for you.” Far from being discouraged, I now try to visualize—using equal parts experience and imagination—what’s going on in any material I set my eyes on. So I ended up being a chemist after all. And what of the black ooze? Well, that mysteriously transformed into shiny crystals of the product, of course.

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

I fancy some cooking, although my enthusiasm for that probably exceeds my skill (perhaps to the disappointment of any dinner guests). But isn’t a chef just a chemist anyway? Or perhaps it’s the other way around. In any case my real answer is that I’d be a yoga instructor (I wouldn’t go so far as to use the word ‘guru’). I do enjoy teaching and leading an active lifestyle, for which yoga is perfect. Ommmmmm….but I’d still want to be a chemist on the side.

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

I just joined the editorial team at Nature Reviews Chemistry, a journal that doesn’t exist yet! Having said that, Nat. Rev. Chem. will open with a bang in 2017, showcasing high-visibility articles on all sorts of interesting chemistry. My hope is that this will be the go-to forum for experts and non-specialists alike to learn from our fantastic and diverse authors.

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

That would have to be Alexandre Yersin. Raised in Europe and trained by Louis Pasteur, Yersin was a prolific microbiologist, physician and all-round polymath who traversed much of Europe and Asia as a doctor aboard a ship. Along the way he treated the poor, mapped unchartered jungles of Indochina, and just happened to discover the bacterium responsible for the bubonic plague: the eponymous Yersinia pestis. All this before settling in Vietnam, where he spread his scientific acumen while manufacturing quinine (as well as a certain ‘reinvigorating’ cocaine-containing soft drink that went unpatented…). Yersin’s ‘biography’ Plague and Cholera, penned by Patrick Deville, is a must-read.

More than worthy of an honorable mention is Charles Pedersen, also a man of the world, and one that I—as a Eurasian and a synthetic chemist—have long wished to emulate.

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

A month ago I prepared a nickel complex I had designed as an electrocatalyst.

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

The book is a no-brainer: On Writing by Stephen King is both hilarious and educational. I might still be an awful writer, but I’d be an even more awful writer had a friend of mine not gifted me this gem a few years back. As for music, Disintegration by The Cure is pretty damn near perfect. It is a little dark though, so I might cheat and also take Riot on an Empty Street by Kings of Convenience.

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

Emeritus Professor Leonard Lindoy is a great friend of mine and a font of arcane knowledge. I could retell here many of his stories, but you’d do much better by going straight to the source.

Rachel Whittaker is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Murray State University, and works on iron dioxygenase mimics and other iron-catalyzed transformations.

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

I entered college as a Biochemistry major with every intention of going to medical school. My sophomore year, I had the opportunity to teach as a teaching assistant and take organic chemistry. I loved both so much that I changed my plans and went to graduate school instead.

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

I would probably be a bed and breakfast owner. It just seems like the world’s best job; meeting new people and baking are both great fun.

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

I’m currently working on developing selective iron dioxygenase mimics to catalytically induce aryl–aryl bond cleavage. I’m hoping it will ultimately lead to a wider range of methodologies that utilize first-row transition metal catalysts.

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

Eleanor Roosevelt. She was so interesting and led such an extraordinary life. I’d love to hear her opinion and perspective on basically everything.

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

Yesterday. As a new assistant professor, I spend a lot of time in the lab. I ran a simple  ketone reduction.

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

I would bring some sort of carpentry book; I have always been interested in learning to build things, but never had the time. Plus, it would come in handy. As for the album, I would take In Between Dreams by Jack Johnson, since it’s the beach.

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

My former colleague, Xu Tao. I’m sure his answers would be interesting and hilarious.

John Anderson is in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Chicago, and works on inorganic chemistry with a particular focus on the role that ligand-based redox or radical character plays in catalysis and new materials.

1. What made you want to be a chemist?

When I was 15 I realized that my long-awaited growth spurt wasn’t going to be enough for a career as a professional basketball player, leaving chemistry as my second choice.

In all seriousness, like many others, I had fantastic mentors. Most important in this context was Greg Hillhouse, who really kindled my passion for science as an undergraduate.

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

I guess my first answer gives this away. Who wouldn’t want to get paid millions to play a game for a living?

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

One of the things we are currently working on is synthesizing a well-defined family of first-row metal oxo complexes. By changing the identity of the metal, and thus the electronic configuration, we can ask questions about the importance of O-centered spin density for hydroxylation and O–O bond formation reactivity. We have some exciting initial results supporting the formation of these species, and are currently characterizing them more thoroughly. These studies will lead to an improved understanding of important processes such as photosynthesis, and may help us develop improved catalysts.

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

 Leonardo Da Vinci. There are a bunch of good options here, but I think his creativity and perspective would be really interesting at a dinner table.

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

 This morning. I am prepping samples for a trip to Argonne.

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

 Bob Marley’s Legend seems appropriate for a tropical destination. For a book, I would probably choose Linus Pauling’s The Nature of the Chemical Bond. I am always finding new insights from re-reading this book!

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

Dan Mindiola. I think the expanded space of this format would allow him to build on his responses to his Angewandte interview from 2011.