Interview Round-up
Fiona Brinkman - "My parents are scientists and love the outdoors, and so I was exposed to the wonders of nature early in life. I've been fascinated ever since with nature's complexity. I did well at math and logic, and so also enjoyed playing with computers. I was therefore naturally attracted to areas of research that combine the two."
Philip Cohen - "I need to be more diplomatic and patient. I don't suffer fools gladly. When I see people frittering their time away - Ph.D. students, for instance, who think it's okay to take six weeks off a year and then wonder why they need an extra six months to complete and write up their dissertation - it annoys me."
Steve Jones - What was your first scientific experiment? "To move 20,000 snails around the countryside in the hope of picking up differences in fitness from place to place."
How low can you go?
Many chemists will probably be familiar with measuring millilitres of solution, more than likely conversant in micromolar concentrations, well aware of picoamps and certainly not averse to a discussion on nanometre dimensions. Probe the majority about zepto and yocto and you may draw a blank. For the analytical chemist though zepto and yocto represent the smallest of the small. Is there any point to the infinitesimal, asks David Bradley.
Previously in Elemental Discoveries, Issue 73, September 2004)
Green silicon production
P2P for scientists
Women in science
Academic poaching of researchers
Permanent implantable contact lenses
Profile of ETH Zurich
Paradoxical ozone
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