I
have recently returned to New Zealand after five years as a Fulbright Scholar at
Northwestern University near Chicago, where I completed my PhD in Chemistry
with Sir
Fraser Stoddart, who is a pioneer in the use of
supramolecular chemistry to study the properties that emerge upon increases in
the structural complexity of simple building blocks.
When
people think of chemists, they conjure up images of lab coats, crazy hair, and
colourful explosions. Whilst some of these stereotypes are true – I have been
witness to more than one “explosion” of colourful reactions that went all over
my not-so-white labcoat – chemistry is more than just messy hours spent in a
lab!
Whilst
research is a significant component of science, it is just as important to
share your research successes, most commonly through scientific conferences,
which, luckily, are held all over the world. I was therefore fortunate enough to
be able to travel and present my research across the US, in Germany, China and
Scotland, which definitely make up for the long hours in lab and occasional
lack of weekends!
 |
| My labmates and me on the Great Wall of China during a trip to a conference in 2014 in Shanghai |
 |
| In Edinburgh, the Dunedin of the UK, or something along those lines. |
 |
| The Stoddart group |
 |
| I sat behind Nobel Laureates for a week at the Lindau Nobel Laureates Meeting in 2013 in Germany. When you've made it at a scientist, you’re allowed to sleep during lectures… |
