Ana, ‘13

My inorganic chemistry professor was very excited about bringing to class this professor from Caltech to talk to us about the color of inorganic compounds. He also mentioned something that this professor, called Harry Gray, was doing research on something solar-energy related. I don’t get to meet every day a chemist that does research on something related to pollution or energy, so I naturally became immediately excited.

Of course it was super cool that we had an outside speaker in class, especially the next day after prospective scholars left. It got our test postponed, we didn’t have to study anything for that day, and we weren’t going to be tested on that stuff, so nobody minded if we didn’t pay attention. But as soon as the presentation started, we all realized that not paying attention was simply out of the question. The guy was very entertaining and engaged everyone, with his stories about this town from Kentucky of 300 (I think) people he grew up in, and his history about what discoveries were made that lead people to understand how color appeared in cool minerals like ruby or sapphire.

He presented these theories, including a couple we studied in class, and at some point he talked about how this latest-at-the-time theory  didn’t satisfy people anymore. “That’s where I came in” he said, and talked about how he came to a conclusion that another theory would explain things better. “And that’s how I developed the ligand field theory”. WAIT, WHAT? That theory is the basic concept of our inorganic test, and one of the main ideas of inorganic chemistry in general. SO THE GUY WHO DEVELOPED IT ACTUALLY CAME TO CLASS TO EXPLAIN IT TO US? That explains why our professor was so excited, to the point of postponing the test.

I already mentioned that his talk was interactive, right? It was so interactive, that he actually invented an award on the spot, for someone in the audience. For me! That was because I was the fastest in responding to his question that  in English would translate as “What is 5-4?” When I said “1″, he came to me, shook my hand, and asked me what’s my name. “Ana”. “Well, Ana, you just won the 2011 Harry Gray award for (something related to oxidation states)! Please give me your email address so I can send it to you!” 

During his lecture, I asked him a gazillion of questions.  And I found him so interesting, that I went to another lecture later that day, which was more of a question-and-answer session about his life and how he came to do chemistry, during which I asked him even more questions. I was impressed that he remembered my name right away, but considering that nobody else was asking so many questions, it sort of made sense.

And he hadn’t started speaking about his research on solar energy yet!  Apparently, that was reserved for his final lecture, in the evening, where a lot of chemists from all over Virginia came. Apparently, his lecture is part of an annual lecture series called Powell Lecture, that is a pretty big deal in the chemistry community of the area. Anyway, he gives his lecture and talks about this ample project called the Solar Army, where high school and undergraduate students from across the world work for him to find a catalyst that would split water into hydrogen and oxygen using solar energy, and at the end there’s time for questions. After a few questions from professionals that probably knew what they were talking about, I raise my hand timidly. At that point, Dr. Gray looks at me and brags me in all ways possible (I paraphrase): “Look at that young lady over there, she was asking me all day all sorts of intelligent questions, and she’s just a sophomore!” (I can swear I never mentioned I was a sophomore). At that moment, all the important chemists in the room were looking at me. Also at that moment, I realized I had just impressed one of the most famous chemists in the country. Wow!

The reason why I raised my hand was to ask him how can a student become involved in his Solar Army. That opened a longer discussion over several questions, and concluded that the University of Richmond has a huge potential for becoming involved in the project. An since there is student interest (aka my interest) we can make it happen. He asked me to contact someone from his team and ask how the university can get involved. A week later (after actually taking my inorganic test from the theory he developed) I contacted that person. Now I’m waiting for a reply. If all goes well, I may have just set the basis for another kind of research opportunity at the university!

Before he left, I couldn’t help myself but ask him to take a picture with me: 

Update: here are some videos of the Powell lecture. The video quality is not too great, but the audio is excellent and that is the most important. Check Part II, around minute 25:30 to listen to Harry Gray answering my questions and praising me in front of all the chemistry community from the area.