{"id":7017,"date":"2017-02-10T09:00:36","date_gmt":"2017-02-10T09:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.nature.com\/thescepticalchymist\/?p=7017"},"modified":"2017-03-09T21:36:28","modified_gmt":"2017-03-09T21:36:28","slug":"reactions-julia-kalow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.nature.com\/thescepticalchymist\/2017\/02\/reactions-julia-kalow.html","title":{"rendered":"Reactions: Julia Kalow"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Julia Kalow is in the Department of Chemistry at Northwestern University<\/a> and works at the interface of organic synthesis and polymer science, developing mechanism-driven approaches to new reactions and materials that can be controlled by light.<\/p>\n

1. What made you want to be a chemist?<\/em><\/p>\n

I was initially attracted to the puzzle-solving aspect of my organic chemistry course, but it was my first experience in a research lab (in Jim Leighton’s group at Columbia) that made me want to be a chemist. The thrill of getting a reaction to work, or making a molecule that no one’s ever made before, was addictive.<\/p>\n

2. If you weren\u2019t a chemist and could do any other job, what would it be \u2014 and why?<\/em><\/p>\n

I really enjoy writing (which is fortunate, since it’s a significant part of my current job), so whatever I would do would probably involve writing in some way. I also love reading fiction. That being said, I don’t think I’d actually want to be a fiction writer \u2014 it seems like a lonely profession that requires great self-discipline, and possibly involves even more rejection than being a scientist!<\/p>\n

3. What are you working on now, and where do you hope it will lead?<\/em><\/p>\n

There are two main directions in my group right now: one where we’re trying to develop new mechanisms for controlled chain-growth polymerization based on selective photoexcitation, and another program based on developing physical hydrogels that can be controlled (ideally in a reversible manner) by visible light. I hope both projects will lead to new reactions and new materials that are both useful and allow us to learn fundamental lessons about reactivity, polymer physics, and biology.<\/p>\n

4. Which historical figure would you most like to have dinner with \u2014 and why?<\/em><\/p>\n

Humphry Davy sounds fun.<\/p>\n

5. When was the last time you did an experiment in the lab \u2014 and what was it?<\/em><\/p>\n

I set up a couple Suzuki reactions last week to make authentic product standards for one of our projects, but have yet to purify them!<\/p>\n

6. If exiled on a desert island, what one book and one music album would you take with you?<\/em><\/p>\n

Not a book, but I’ve had a subscription to the New Yorker since college and have amassed a collection of unread back issues that, to my husband and movers’ dismay, I insist on taking with me every time I move. So, I should probably get on that.<\/p>\n

7. Which chemist would you like to see interviewed on Reactions \u2014 and why?<\/em><\/p>\n

I bet Erik Sorensen would have great answers!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Julia Kalow is in the Department of Chemistry at Northwestern University and works at the interface of organic synthesis and polymer science, developing mechanism-driven approaches to new reactions and materials that can be controlled by light.  Read more<\/a> Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":96213,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7017","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reactions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nature.com\/thescepticalchymist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7017","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nature.com\/thescepticalchymist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nature.com\/thescepticalchymist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nature.com\/thescepticalchymist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/96213"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nature.com\/thescepticalchymist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7017"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nature.com\/thescepticalchymist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7017\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nature.com\/thescepticalchymist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7017"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nature.com\/thescepticalchymist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7017"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nature.com\/thescepticalchymist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7017"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}