An investigator starts research in a new field with faith, a foggy idea, and a few wild experiments. Eventually the interplay of negative and positive results guides the work. By the time the research is completed, he or she knows how it should have been started and conducted.
By the time I entered college, I had decided not to have children, a decision that was never regretted. Accordingly, I was careful to court only girls who wanted to have professional careers.
Evolution has produced chemical compounds exquisitely organized to accomplish the most complicated and delicate of tasks.
Few scientists acquainted with the chemistry of biological systems at the molecular level can avoid being inspired.
I prize the lack of attention. I surf on a beach where all kinds of people surf.
One can't, just by writing out line formulas on a two-dimensional sheet of paper, get a feeling for the three-dimensional character of a compound.
This is largely the methodology I've used throughout my career - that is, starting with a question as to what might be the properties of a set of compounds that could be invented which were unusual and unpredictable. Many times I've felt a bit like Columbus setting sail.
To retain my fascination with chemistry, I have had to change my research fields about every 10 years.
We usually don't have applications in mind. They come later.
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