Letters to a Young Chemist

Abhik Ghosh, Editor, is a professor of inorganic and materials chemistry at the University of Tromso, Norway. A former Senior Fellow at the San Diego Supercomputer Center and a frequent Visiting Research Fellow at The University of Auckland, New Zealand, he has recently completed a term as an Outstanding Younger Researcher of the Research Council of Norway. He serves or has served on the editorial advisory boards of the Journal of Inorganic Biochemistry, the Journal of Biological Inorganic Chemistry, and the Journal of Porphyrins and Phthalocyanines. His research interests lie at the intersection of bioinorganic, materials and computational chemistry.

“Therefore, this book is a useful tool for faculty mentoring students in a chemistry club, or even using the book in courses on careers or professionalism in chemistry.”  (Journal of Chemical Education, 11 June 2012)"Finally this book helps teachers and scholars at universities to get ideas how to think about their own research fields in order to motivate young students and to wake enthusiasm for the wonderful and widely spread world of chemistry. So that they not only learn or study chemical facts but also live the science. For all other readers this book is an entertaining reading matter." (Materials and Corrosion, 2011) "A great resource for career mentoring. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Teachers and students of chemistry at all levels." (Choice, 1 January 2012)"Lippard also says that the book should be ‘required reading for all faulty members who teach chemistry in high schools, colleges, and universities'. I would endorse this view, as I found the book to provide excellent insights into many unfamiliar areas of modern chemistry." (Chemistry World, 1 September 2011)"This is a somewhat unusual book that is well worth reading . . .The book is well constructed with print of a relatively large font size." (ISSX (International Society for the Study of Xenobiotics), 1 November 2011)"This title deserves to be held by every public library as the interested layperson will quickly come to see just why it is that our discipline is so exciting and vibrant, and what it is that makes it so essential for the future of humankind." (Chemistry in New Zealand, 1 July 2011)"In this imaginative book, 17 chemists give their best advice in letters to Angela, an imaginary chemistry undergraduate who is thinking about making a career in the field. In the process, the contributors provide an excellent overview of chemistry as a whole, and give a good sense of the challenging and rewarding work that chemists do." (Booknews, 1 June 2011)

• Foreword viiStephen J. LippardPreface xiiiContributors xixPart I From Fundamentals to Applications 11. Let’s Get Physical 3Marye Anne Fox2. In Silico: An Alternate Approach to Chemistry and Biology 19David A. Case3. The Purple Planet: A Short Tour of Porphyrins and Related Macrocycles 33Abhik Ghosh4. Anesthesia: Don’t Forget Your Chemistry 51Jonathan L. Sessler and Daniel I. Sessler5. The Green Evolution 77Terrence J. CollinsPart II Chemistry and the Life Sciences 956. Thinking Like an Enzyme 97Judith P. Klinman v7. Making Sense of Oxygen 109Marie-Alda Gilles-Gonzalez8. Let’s Visualize Biology: Chemistry and Cellular Imaging 119Elizabeth M. Nolan9. Bioinorganic Chemistry: Show Your Mettle by Meddling with Metals 137Kara L. Bren10. Better Than Sliced Bread 155Chaitan Khosla11. Choreographing DNA 165Cynthia J. BurrowsPart III Functional Materials 17712. Supramolecules to the Rescue! 179Seth M. Cohen13. Biomaterials at the Beach: How Marine Biology Uses Chemistry to Make Materials 197Jonathan J. Wilker14. The Advantage of Being Small: Nanotechnology 217Michael J. SailorPart IV Chemistry and Energy 23915. Happy Campers: Chemists’ Solutions to Energy Problems 241Penelope J. Brothers16. Clean Electrons and Molecules Will Save the World 261Carl C. Wamser17. Metals, Microbes, and Solar Fuel 279Harry B. Gray and John S. MagyarIndex 291