I have always loved seeing what happens behind the scenes. I always want to know not just what, but why. This question is what led me pursue my PhD in Chemistry and what is leading me to write this.

In everything that we eat, wear, sleep on, sit on… EVERYTHING around us, is a material made of chemicals. The unique arrangement, structures, and properties of those chemicals, and the elements (think sodium, carbon, hydrogen, iron…) which make them up influence just about everything we interact with.

What is really going on to make your shoes waterproof? How soon can we expect to see hologram technology? Why aren’t all plastics recyclable? Why do we still continue to put money into pursuing outer space? I want to delve into the microscopic attractions, forces, and interactions which exist in the wood, plastic, rubber, metal, and all of the other substances we use everyday.

But more importantly, I want this to be a place where people can appreciate the beauty that exists hidden beneath the surface of the things we use everyday. And appreciate the people who work to make those things into the objects we know. What are researchers currently excited about? How is that research being done? Who worked in the past to make these materials possible?

I hope to be a resource to engage your curiosity about products, hard work, and other material unseen!