Adventures in Bioinorganic Chemistry

Abstract

Preparing an acceptance talk for the ACS Award for Distinguished Service in the Advancement of Inorganic Chemistry provided me the opportunity to reflect on the human side of my professional journey. Subsequently, I accepted the Editor's kind invitation to publish these reflections, in the hope that they will amuse my colleagues and that they may even hold some meaning for those starting out on their careers. From Chemistry Set to ScandinaviaI liked chemistry from the moment my parents bought me a chemistry set when I was 12. I had a great time dissolving and mixing the metal salts, watching the resulting colors, and smelling the smells. My little sister was terrified that I would blow up the house, but somehow we survived. This introduction to chemistry was reinforced by Mr. Nicklin, my enthusiastic high school chemistry teacher. So, when I enrolled at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), I majored in chemistry, though I did cast about in social science courses. I also considered a career in science journalism, after writing for the college paper, the UCLA Daily Bruin, and serving as its managing editor. However, the chemistry faculty were very supportive, and I decided to continue toward the Ph.D.My favorite undergrad courses had been in analytical chemistry. So, when I arrived at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for graduate work, in 1956, I joined the analytical division, headed by David Hume and Lockhart (Buck) Rogers. Hume was a great thesis advisor. He left me to do pretty much what I wanted but was always available with thoughtful advice.Research in the Hume laboratory focused on the measurement of metal complex formation constants. I chose mixedhalide complexes of mercury 1,2 for my thesis. Outside the laboratory, I took key courses in vibrational spectroscopy from Dick Lord and in group theory from Al Cotton, then a young turk on the faculty. Cotton's course gave me my first taste of the hot new field of ligand-field theory. When I finished my thesis, I won a Fulbright scholarship to study in Denmark. Hume and Cotton helped to get me a spot with Carl Ballhausen, who had just returned from Harvard