Thesis in 2010

Using chemical intuition often allows one to predict what might transpire on throwing a batch of chemicals into a beaker, but sometimes the unexpected can occur. Bruce C. Gibb discusses how you define an 'emergent phenomenon', recognizing that it's not a simple exercise and can actually be different for each of us.

Michelle Francl wonders just what we're buying — and buying into — when we shop for our laboratories.

Bruce Gibb finds that time away from the laboratory can help the mind to wander and explore new research ideas — and that inspiration for possible projects can come from somewhat unlikely sources.

It might come as a disappointment to some chemists, but just as there are uncertainties in physics and mathematics, there are some chemistry questions we may never know the answer to either, suggests Fredric M. Menger.

Michelle Francl reminds us that even a rigorous scientific discipline such as chemistry has its own myths and legends — and explains why this isn't such a bad thing.

As we learn more about the complexities of water, Bruce Gibb argues that organic chemists shouldn't be afraid to take the plunge into aqueous environments.

We should do less staged science and more science on stage, suggests Michelle Francl.

In the sink-or-swim world of academia, Bruce C. Gibb considers what support structures should be put in place for those who have only just entered the water.

Michelle Francl wonders why people almost inevitably draw scientists as men with weird hair and glasses, and why there is no such thing as a 'draw a lawyer' test.

Bruce C. Gibb wonders why curry is not part of the chemistry curriculum.