College Confessions from a Chemist's Kitchen

For those of you who don't know, I am graduating from college today with a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry. I am so very thankful to everyone who helped me get this far. Thanks to the Sunday Dinner group for keeping me sane and my kitchen busy. To my parents who supported me every step of the way, even when the steps led me half way across the country. To all of my professors for expanding my mind. And to those at the 11 am mass for expanding my soul. But most of all I would like to thank my research advisor Professor Timothy Warren. You opened my mind to new possibilities, you helped me find a place in a world I never thought I would fit into, and you taught me more in a year and a half than I could have ever imagined. Thank you.

And now that I have that off my chest, I have a couple of confessions, now that my diploma no longer hangs in the balance. It was me. Sophomore year, Henle Village, no fewer than three fire alarms. It was me, sorry. My kitchen skills have gotten better since then, not that the smoke detector goes off any less often.

It was me. All those missing samples in the glove box that turned up later in a broken vial grave yard. It was me, sorry. I am a klutz in the normal world, put me in space aged super thick gloves with a limited range of motion and we were all asking for trouble.

And finally, it was me. Remember that time in Orgo lab? The last experiment of the year and the fire alarm went off right at the critical moment in a timed experiment. The entire Basic Science Building had to evacuate. You all complained as we stood on the esplanade waiting for the all clear. Of course you do. My experiment was smoking, I had slammed down the fume hood window. It was me, sorry. I haven't caused an evacuation since, not that my lab mantra has changed. "At least I didn't blow anything up. At least I didn't blow anything up. At least I didn't blow anything up."

So for these, and any other sins I may have forgotten, I beg your forgiveness. But, at least I didn't blow anything up.

Photography Final

So, at the very beginning I talked about how this all started as a photography project that snowballed into an even bigger project. I also said I still hadn't finished my final portfolio. Well, here it is in all its black and white glory. The goal of this project was to show, in a single set of images, that the Chemistry lab isn't all that different from your average kitchen, and I think it turned out pretty well. Enjoy!

The Department of Mad Scientists

So, this is a little off topic, I know. There isn't an ingredient pictured above. There isn't a recipe posted below. But there is a science lesson to be learned. I just finished reading a book called The Department of Mad Scientists by Michael Belfiore. It is a peak inside the understated and top secret world of DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Administration). I was first introduced into the world of DARPA while I was working on Capitol Hill and it is probably the coolest thing ever. It is a branch of the defense department that funds the research necessary to get pure science (lab and university stuff) into applied science (3M and your store shelf). This is the most expensive step in the innovation process and is known as the Valley of Death. Very few new technologies are able to overcome this gap. No one works for DARPA for more than a few years by design, but they have come up with some of the coolest stuff from the rocket that got us to the moon, to artificial hands that work like the real thing, to the internet, to a computer that learns what you want instead of you learning how to use it. It might be the most important government department you've never heard of and it proves how important science and technology really are to our everyday lives. Check it out and be amazed!

Being Exact, The Expert Effect

If you want to know the time, you check a clock. If you want to know where Angola is you ask the atlas. If you want to know how to spell disestablishmentarianism you discuss it with the dictionary. And if you want to know how chemistry works you consult any number of texts including the CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics (kind of a chemist's dictionary), textbooks, or scientific journals. To get my facts straight I have been using a pile of textbooks (see above) that I have collected throughout my studies.

They are great for long standing facts, but to get the most up to date information chemists turn to peer reviewed journals. These are essentially magazines where chemists specifically, and scientists in general, publish their most recent research. This is where the science headlines come from. The journals can be very broad like the Journal of the American Chemical Society (loving referred to as JACS). Or they can be very specific like the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, which is also published by the American Chemical Society. To be published by one of these journals is a big deal for a chemist. It is proof that what you are doing is relevant, important, and correct. And for many being published that first time marks the transition between being a chemistry student and being a chemist.

From time to time I'll be turning to the front pages of these journals for inspiration. So be prepared, at times we are going to be on the cutting edge. And as always, I'll be figuring it out right along with you.

Chemistry Queen or Mad Scientist?

So this all started as an photography assignment and a curious spark. I was working in a Chemistry lab and cooking all the time. Cooking was my passion; chemistry was my life. I tried, in a single portfolio (still in progress), to show people who weren't in the lab that science isn't all that different from everyday life. I wanted to demystify chemistry and make it cool again. Like during the Cold War when the United States was the shinning star of technology and scientists were heros.* So here is my attempt. Every week or so I am going to try and figure out/explain, why things work in the kitchen using basic chemistry, physics and biology. The fact of the matter is I don't have a clue right now why anything works so I'll be in the weeds with the rest of you. I don't blame you at all if you skip the sciency stuff and go right for the recipes. And I really hope this doesn't turn into a repeat of Organic Chemistry (tears, frustration, failure, repeat). Recipes will be included, photos will happen, and I'll try really hard not to blow anything up.

*If you want to see something really cool, high tail it down to the Smithsonian American History Museum. They currently have an exhibit on American research and it is sitting right next to Julia Child's kitchen.