F.A.Q.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is your favorite chemical? 

Formerly raspberry ketone, for its subtle fruity aroma, but more recently I've been a big fan of tannic acid, because of how it brings things together.

Q: If you could be any element on the periodic table, which would you be? 

While it would be a luxury to be something more exotic like tungsten, the stability of being an iron atom is hard to pass up.

Q: What first got you hooked on chemistry? 

A series of great teachers, including but not limited to Dr. Douglas Horsey in high school and my first research mentor, Dr. Audrey Moores.

Q: What's one idea you wish more people outside science actually understood? 

How to read ingredients lists on consumer products.

Q: What's your most controversial food or drink opinion? 

Passion iced tea lemonade is meant to be enjoyed year-round; there is always an anthocyanin to be had somewhere.

Q: What's a common misconception students have when they walk into your classroom? 

That chemistry is something to be feared. Everything on Earth is made of chemicals; we should be more awestruck than scared.

Q: If you had to explain your research to a curious 10-year-old in one sentence, what would you say? 

Can we make that from waste instead?

Q: What's something you hope your students remember about you, or about chemistry, 10 years from now? 

By understanding science and our natural world, we gain awareness which fosters agency. When you understand something like the science behind soap, you're not washing your hands because you were told to; you're doing it because you understand how the universe works.