“There is no science without fancy, nor art without facts.”
I have always been interested in science, even when I was very young. I have the twin tendencies of liking to ask questions and hating an unsolved problem. Learn a few creative problem-solving techniques and away you go.
I had my first taste of research at home with computers. In high school, I spent a summer doing organic chemistry research. Ultimately, I learned that real science research is a combination of art and logic. I was hooked.
After picking up some math, statistics, and computer science classes at Williams College, I ultimately went into chemistry — it really fits both the creative and practical sides of my personality.
Long story short, I now do chemistry research, on the nanoscale. This usually encompasses a combination of computational chemistry, theoretical models and synthetic experiments.
For more about my research group at University of Pittsburgh, please see the Hutchison Research Group web site.
Furious activity is no substitute for understanding.