Bringing Chemistry to Life

According to the second law of thermodynamics, the entropy of a system will always increase. For a layperson, this means that all things must come to pass and nothing lasts forever. Since no person or thing can evade the laws of physics, this also applies to Bringing Chemistry to Life. In this final message from Paolo, the series' creator and host, we hear about how the series started and how it's been fueled by the passion of guests, host, and listeners, alike. It is with gratitude that we reflect on the 55 episodes of great science, and great people, that we've been able to capture and share. Many of the conversations are timeless, but for now we say, goodbye. Thank you for being part of the journey!Related episodes: Season 1, Ep.1: Human milk—it's a matter of chemistry (aka The Start of it All) Season 4, Ep.2: Paul Anastas – The father of green chemistry (aka A Dream Come True) Season 4, Ep.10: Eric Scerri – The most famous unknow – the periodic tableSeason 5, Ep.5: Paolo Braiuca – Flip the script, meet your host, Paolo The Archives:Access all 5 seasons, 55 total episodes, by visiting www.thermofisher.com/chemistry-podcast.      View the video of this episode on www.thermofisher.com/chemistry-podcast.A free thank you gift for our listeners! Visit the episode website and request your free Bringing Chemistry to Life t shirt.Use Podcast Code cHeMcas+ng in October, KemThrReDs in November. We read every email so please share your questions and feedback with us! Email helloBCTL@thermofisher.com

Join us for this look into materials chemistry, developed under the guiding principles of sustainability and a systems approach.Dr. Zlatka Stoeva, Co-founder and Managing Director of DZP Technologies, discovered her love of chemistry out of boredom as a child. She then traveled to unknown lands to master her science and discover the value of mentors while doing amazing work on lithium-ion battery chemistry. A stint in the technology transfer office at Cambridge showed her how fundamental research can be translated into real-world solutions that can change lives, and this inspired her to start her own company.In providing CRO services and developing IP to help companies address market needs using unique materials, Stoeva and her colleagues approach problems with a systems mindset that is common in engineering, but not always chemistry. We hear about their work in “plastic electronics” that leverage biological materials and consider sustainability aspects while delivering results. We also hear about their exciting work using graphene materials to produce digitized materials that can code information about how they're made and their interactions with the environment.Check out this great episode that balances a wonderful personal story, amazing science, and great bits of advice to guide your science and career development!Related episodes:Season 5, Ep.1: Batteries unplugged: past, present and the electrifying futureSeason 4, Ep.4: Women in chemistry: learnings from one of the greatestSeason 4, Ep.2: The father of green chemistrySeason 3, Ep.9: Energy harvesting and self-sustainable greenhousesSeason 2, Ep.8: Sustainability as an entrepreneurial choiceSeason 2, Ep.3: Rethinking catalysisBonus content!Access bonus content curated by this episode's guest by visiting www.thermofisher.com/chemistry-podcast for links to recent publications, podcasts, books, videos and more.View the video of this episode on www.thermofisher.com/chemistry-podcast.A free thank you gift for our listeners!Request your free Bringing Chemistry to Life t-shirt on our episode website.Use code cHeMcas+ng in October and KemThrReDs in November. We read every email so please share your questions and feedback with us! Email helloBCTL@thermofisher.com

Some debate that synthetic organic chemistry strategies have become stale, but Dr. Todd Hyster of Princeton University's Hyster Lab disagrees.Todd fell in love with organic chemistry early in his education, but it wasn't until he got turned on to enzyme catalysis that he found his true calling. He's built a career using engineered enzymes to facilitate chemical transformations that would otherwise not be possible. Specifically, he and his team focus on photo-enzymatic catalysis where they use a combination of light and engineered proteins to drive new chemical transformations.Join us to learn about his work, the methods involved, and the types of transformations being accomplished, which is beyond enantioselective synthesis, by the way. This stimulating conversation delves into the tactical and philosophical aspects of the synthetic chemistry, enzyme catalysis, and even the realities of academic funding and industry collaboration. Related episodes: Season 3, Ep.2: Making impossible moleculesSeason 2, Ep.3: Rethinking catalysisBonus content!Access bonus content curated by this episode's guest by visiting www.thermofisher.com/chemistry-podcast for links to recent publications, podcasts, books, videos and more.View the video of this episode on www.thermofisher.com/chemistry-podcast.A free thank you gift for our listeners! Request your free Bringing Chemistry to Life t-shirt on our episode website.Use code BCTLisn3R in September, and cHeMcas+ng in October We read every email so please share your questions and feedback with us! Email helloBCTL@thermofisher.com

Early in her career, Dr. Jessica Reiner realized that she cared more about ensuring the accuracy of the measurements she was making than making the measurements themselves. This realization, combined with experience in working with PFAS, led to her current role as Research Chemist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).Join us to hear an insider's perspective on the PFAS topic, with a deep dive into the analytical methods used to detect, quantify, and identify PFAS species. Jessica and her team use LC-MS, anion exchange chromatography, and other orthogonal methods in their work and they focus on creating, validating, and maintaining reference materials (RM) and standard reference materials (SRM) that are used to help ensure that PFAS measurements are accurate and comparable with those made in other laboratories around the world. From challenges around defining a PFAS, to creating a stable, ultra-low concentration standard, to detecting ultra-high concentrations PFAS, Jessica provides an ace analytical chemist's perspective grounded in the metrology of it all.As always, and in addition to the great science, you'll get to learn about Jessica's personal career path, the ups and downs of her work, and hear her advice for career development. Related episodes: Season 4, Ep.2: The father of green chemistrySeason 2, Ep.7: Fresh urban waterSeason 1, Ep.3: There's chemistry in the air!Bonus content!Access bonus content curated by this episode's guest by visiting www.thermofisher.com/chemistry-podcast for links to recent publications, podcasts, books, videos and more.View the video of this episode on www.thermofisher.com/chemistry-podcast.A free thank you gift for our listeners! Request your free Bringing Chemistry to Life t-shirt on our episode website.Use code 0chemRcks in August, and BCTLisn3R in September. We read every email so please share your questions and feedback with us! Email helloBCTL@thermofisher.com

Bioconjugation of antibodies to drugs via chemical linkers is how antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) are made. We're joined by Matt Giese, Senior Scientist at Vector Laboratories, who talks us through the complex chemistry options and biodesign considerations that have to be considered and balanced when making a successful ADC.How does one build the skillset to work in biodesign of ADCs you might ask? Well, Matt's career path might not provide a clearcut roadmap like you might hope. That's because Matt started his career as an auto mechanic, moved into art, went back to auto mechanics, worked as baggage handler and as a construction worker, all before ever finding chemistry. If you think that's a convoluted path, just wait to hear about his academic and professional work journeys.  You'll revel in following this journey, and in the lessons and diverse skills learned along the way. Join us to hear it yourself, from who might just be the most interesting man in chemistry!Related episodes:Season 5, Ep.7: The life-altering impact of one chemist's sabbaticalSeason 2, Ep.1: Chemistry: a modern American dreamSeason 3, Ep.5: On the COVID pill and other process chemistry tales Bonus content!Access bonus content curated by this episode's guest by visiting www.thermofisher.com/chemistry-podcast for links to recent publications, podcasts, books, videos and more.View the video of this episode on www.thermofisher.com/chemistry-podcast. A free thank you gift for our listeners! Request your free Bringing Chemistry to Life t-shirt on our episode website.Use Podcast Code: LabRatsRul3 in July or OchemRcks in August. We read every email so please share your questions and feedback with us! Email helloBCTL@thermofisher.com

We're diving into an important topic: the representation of women in STEM careers. Despite making up about 50% of the population, women hold only around 34% of STEM positions, with even fewer—approximately 25%—in the chemicals industry. Why is this the case, and what can be done to change it?Kylie Wittle (Co-Founder & Operations Director of Women in Chemicals) and Amelia Greene (Co-Founder and Executive Director of Women in Chemicals), join us to explore this issue. Kylie and Amelia founded Women in Chemicals (WIC) to create opportunities and empower women in the chemicals industry. Initially driven by their personal experiences, over time, WIC has grown into a global resource supporting women and promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion within industry companies.Join us as we explore the history of the chemicals industry, the current state of women's representation, and the ongoing efforts to ensure unbiased opportunities for women. Don't miss this insightful conversation!Related episodes: S4E4 – Women in chemistry: learnings from of the greatestS3E9 – Energy harvesting and self-sustainable greenhousesS2E10 – Bioorthogonal chemistry, tuberculosis, and making the best of opportunitiesS2E9 – Materials of tomorrow to recycle materials of todayS4E9 Cate – C.R.E.A.M. – Chemistry rules everything around meBonus content!Access bonus content curated by this episode's guest by visiting www.thermofisher.com/chemistry-podcast for links to recent publications, podcasts, books, videos and more.View the video of this episode on www.thermofisher.com/chemistry-podcast.A free thank you gift for our listeners! Request your free Bringing Chemistry to Life t-shirt on our episode website.Use Podcast Code:  LabRatsRul3 in July or S4_BCTL in August We read every email so please share your questions and feedback with us! Email helloBCTL@thermofisher.com

Strap in for this charged up conversation. Battery chemistry is a topic we've touched on before and is one we've committed to exploring further in this season. This conversation with Dr. Heather Platt, Co-Founder and Chief Battery Scientist at Platt Engineering Solutions, takes us on an expert-guided tour of battery chemistry.This conversation quickly moves us through battery chemistries like lead/acid and metal sulfides and into more modern mixed metal oxides with reversible chemistry. Our discussion of the pros and cons of various chemistries, including lithium-ion, touches on complex considerations including power density, voltage, global material sourcing, safety, and more. Manufacturing methods and the micro and nanostructures of battery materials are also discussed.If you're excited about the future of the battery field you'll be sure to enjoy Heather's views on up-and-coming battery technologies, including solid state and sodium-ion chemistries. Related episodes: Season 5, Ep. 1: Batteries unplugged: past, present and the electrifying futureBonus content:Access bonus content curated by this episode's guest by visiting www.thermofisher.com/chemistry-podcast for links to recent publications, podcasts, books, videos and more.View the video of this episode on www.thermofisher.com/chemistry-podcast. A free thank you gift for our listeners! Request your free Bringing Chemistry to Life t-shirt on our episode website. Use Podcast Code: laBcheM in June orLabRatsRul3 in July We read every email so please share your questions and feedback with us! Email helloBCTL@thermofisher.com About Your HostBorn and raised in Italy, Paolo Braiuca, a PhD in pharmaceutical sciences, co-founded a startup company after conducting research in biocatalysis in Italy and the UK. He transitioned from R&D to business development, working in commercial, product management, and marketing roles in the specialty chemicals, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical markets in Germany and the UK. A busy father of four, if asked, he'll call himself a “maker” at heart and enjoys inventing electronic devices in his free time.

Join our host, Dr. Paolo Braiuca, as he chats with some of the most fascinating scientists around the globe doing trailblazing work in a variety of fields and industries. Learn about their personal stories, notable contributions, and the enthusiasm for discovery that unites them all. This is a podcast for anyone who wants to learn more about science and the brilliant minds advancing it.Now in the fifth season of our podcast, in store are more inspiring conversations about trending topics with influential guest that chemists, students and science enthusiasts will undoubtedly find captivating. In the mid-season checkpoint, Paolo reflects on the evolution of the series and gives a glimpse of what's to come. Diversity remains a priority but, there will be deeper looks at topics like battery technology, PFAS chemistry, chemical biology, and sustainability in organic chemistry. If you're new to the podcast, now is the time to catch up and get ready for what's to come. If you're a loyal listener, Paolo has a special message for you and a humble request Regardless, we're happy you found us and we're looking forward to sharing more with you soon!Bonus content!Access bonus content curated by each episode's guest by visiting www.thermofisher.com/chemistry-podcast for links to recent publications, podcasts, books, videos and more.View the video of each episode on www.thermofisher.com/chemistry-podcast.A free thank you gift for our listeners! Visit the episode website and request your free Bringing Chemistry to Life t-shirt.Use Podcast Code: Bi0catalys1sin June or LabRatsRul3 in July We read every email so please share your questions and feedback with us! Email helloBCTL@thermofisher.com About Your HostPaolo Braiuca grew up in the North-East of Italy and holds a PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences from nearby esteemed University of Trieste, Italy. He developed expertise in biocatalysis during his years of post-doctoral research in Italy and the UK, where he co-founded a startup company. With this new venture, Paolo's career shifted from R&D to business development, taking on roles in commercial, product management, and marketing. He has worked in the specialty chemicals, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical markets in Germany and the UK, where he presently resides. He is currently the Director of Global Market Development in the Laboratory Chemicals Division at Thermo Fisher Scientific™ which put him in the host chair of the Bringing Chemistry to Life podcast. A busy father of four, in what little free time he has, you'll find him inventing electronic devices with the help of his loyal 3D-printer and soldering iron. And if you ask him, he'll call himself a “maker” at heart.

Anyone that's followed this podcast will know that Paolo's final question to each guest is, “What advice would you like to share with younger scientists just starting their career?” Here, our guest, Dr. Monte Helm, professor of chemistry at Metropolitan Community College in Kansas City, shares advice that he clearly lives by, which is, “… be flexible ii your career and follow what you think you'll be passionate about.” While Monte's academic training is in inorganic chemistry, he'll tell you he's always cared about teaching as much as the subject itself. Join us to meet this lifelong learner and teacher, that's parlayed his passion for phosphine chemistry and teaching into roles as a postdoctoral researcher, a professor at an undergraduate research institution, a deputy director at a national laboratory, and now a teaching-focused role at a community college. A set of roles that definitely demonstrates flexibility!In addition to learning about the fundamental research Dr. Helm has done in crown-phosphine and phosphine ligand synthesis, we learn about his unconventional career path and the key role that mentors and sabbatical opportunities played in its development. He talks openly about the joys and challenges of each role, about his motivations for each career change, and his current love of teaching at a community college where he's able to focus solely on teaching to students that may not have had positive primary educational experiences in science. Related episodes: Season 2, Ep. 3: Rethinking CatalysisSeason 2, Ep. 6: The charm of the forgotten elementsSeason 3, Ep. 3: Imagination and the chemistry of the things around usSeason 5, Ep. 4: Shining a photochemical light on undergraduate researchBonus content!Access bonus content curated by this episode's guest by visiting www.thermofisher.com/chemistry-podcast for links to recent publications, podcasts, books, videos and more.View the video of this episode on www.thermofisher.com/chemistry-podcast.A free thank you gift for our listeners! Visit the episode website and request your free Bringing Chemistry to Life t-shirt.Use Podcast Code:  laBcheM in March or sc13nc3  in April We read every email so please share your questions and feedback with us! Email helloBCTL@thermofisher.com About Your HostPaolo Braiuca grew up in the North-East of Italy and holds a PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences from nearby esteemed University of Trieste, Italy. He developed expertise in biocatalysis during his years of post-doctoral research in Italy and the UK, where he co-founded a startup company. With this new venture, Paolo's career shifted from R&D to business development, taking on roles in commercial, product management, and marketing. He has worked in the specialty chemicals, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical markets in Germany and the UK, where he presently resides. He is currently the Director of Global Market Development in the Laboratory Chemicals Division at Thermo Fisher Scientific™ which put him in the host chair of the Bringing Chemistry to Life podcast. A busy father of four, in what little free time he has, you'll find him inventing electronic devices with the help of his loyal 3D-printer and soldering iron. And if you ask him, he'll call himself a “maker” at heart.

Most of us don't grow up across the street from a chemistry building or know from an early age that we want to be a scientist, but Alan Dyke, VP of Business Development for ProChem, Inc. (CTO of Boulder Scientific Company at the time of the interview) did and became a chemist. Dr. Alan Dyke, former colleague, and friend of Paolo's, shares his career path and discusses the history and current state of the field of catalysis. With a father that taught university-level chemistry, and a brother in the field, it may not be surprising that Alan Dyke became a chemist, but it is surprising is that he's considered to be the outcast of the family for choosing a commercial career instead of taking an academic route. But, as he'll passionately reveal, there are upsides to choosing a non-academic career. Join us for a wonderful conversation where Paolo and Alan recount their shared history and the evolution of the catalysis field over recent decades. They discuss the evolution of homogeneous cross-coupling, biocatalysis, metathesis, and metallocene chemistry. Application of catalysis to fields as varied as pharmaceuticals and polymers is discussed, along with sustainability and other trends and dynamics in the field. Overcome your activation energy and join us!Related episodes: Season 1, Ep.2: Reinventing plastics, one reaction at a time Season 2, Ep.1: Chemistry: a modern American dreamSeason 2, Ep.6: The charm of the forgotten elements Bonus content!Access bonus content curated by this episode's guest by visiting www.thermofisher.com/chemistry-podcast for links to recent publications, podcasts, books, videos and more.View the video of this episode on www.thermofisher.com/chemistry-podcast. A free thank you gift for our listeners! Visit the episode website and request your free Bringing Chemistry to Life t-shirt.Use Podcast Code:  laBcheM in March or sc13nc3 in April We read every email so please share your questions and feedback with us! Email helloBCTL@thermofisher.com About Your HostPaolo Braiuca grew up in the North-East of Italy and holds a PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences from nearby esteemed University of Trieste, Italy. He developed expertise in biocatalysis during his years of post-doctoral research in Italy and the UK, where he co-founded a startup company. With this new venture, Paolo's career shifted from R&D to business development, taking on roles in commercial, product management, and marketing. He has worked in the specialty chemicals, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical markets in Germany and the UK, where he presently resides. He is currently the Director of Global Market Development in the Laboratory Chemicals Division at Thermo Fisher Scientific™ which put him in the host chair of the Bringing Chemistry to Life podcast. A busy father of four, in what little free time he has, you'll find him inventing electronic devices with the help of his loyal 3D-printer and soldering iron. And if you ask him, he'll call himself a “maker” at heart.

Bringing Chemistry to Life is as much about the people behind the science as it is about the science itself. We've been remiss in sharing a bit more about the creator and host! In this unique episode we flip the script and move Paolo from the host chair to the guest chair to hear his story. From Paolo's childhood memories watching his father fix electronics and his dreams of being in the NBA, he chats about developing into a skilled bioorganic chemist, working in biocatalysis and his contributions to international study programs. He describes the “God-like” powers that organic chemistry gave him, manipulating matter and creating things that didn't exist before and how this led to becoming an R&D leader in a startup. Our protagonist's story takes a turn when he discovers and becomes enamored with the “dark side” of science finding success in sales, product management, and product marketing roles, where we find him today. The origin story of Bringing Chemistry to Life is uncovered, fulfilling his aspiration of being a podcast host while keeping him connected to great science and market trends. Join us to meet Paolo, your host, learn what he gets from hosting the podcast, and what he hopes listeners get from it!Related episodes: Season 1, Ep.1: Human milk — its a matter of chemistry (aka The Start of it All) Season 4, Ep.2: Paul Anastas — The father of green chemistry (aka A Dream Come True)  Bonus content!Access bonus content curated by this episode's guest by visiting www.thermofisher.com/chemistry-podcast for links to recent publications, podcasts, books, videos and more.View the video of this episode on www.thermofisher.com/chemistry-podcast. A free thank you gift for our listeners! Visit the episode website and request your free Bringing Chemistry to Life t shirt.Use Podcast Code:  liV4chem in February or laBcheM in March We read every email so please share your questions and feedback with us! Email helloBCTL@thermofisher.com About Your HostPaolo Braiuca grew up in the North-East of Italy and holds a PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences from nearby esteemed University of Trieste, Italy. He developed expertise in biocatalysis during his years of post-doctoral research in Italy and the UK, where he co-founded a startup company. With this new venture, Paolo's career shifted from R&D to business development, taking on roles in commercial, product management, and marketing. He has worked in the specialty chemicals, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical markets in Germany and the UK, where he presently resides. He is currently the Director of Global Market Development in the Laboratory Chemicals Division at Thermo Fisher Scientific™ which put him in the host chair of the Bringing Chemistry to Life podcast. A busy father of four, in what little free time he has, you'll find him inventing electronic devices with the help of his loyal 3D-printer and soldering iron. And if you ask him, he'll call himself a “maker” at heart.

With four seasons under our belt, we've heard some amazing stories about how our guests have found, or often “stumbled” into, their careers in science. We've also had many conversations where past guests have passionately discussed the importance of their early career teachers as well as what teaching does for them in their current careers. This conversation is squarely centered on these two topics, with a good dose of photochemistry mixed in too. We meet Dr. Izzy Lamb, Assistant Professor at Fort Lewis College, which is a small liberal arts school in Colorado with a primarily undergraduate student population. Izzy is entertainingly forthright in admitting that he's often a bit surprised by his success in chemistry given that he was failing the topic in high school and was later accepted to only one of the six graduate programs he applied to. However, our conversation quickly uncovers why Izzy has been successful in what matters most to him—exploring photochemistry and training the next generation of chemists. Join us for this engaging look at how Izzy has built a thriving career in chemistry through perseverance, passion, and knowing what matters most to him. We learn about his career in photocatalysis and how he's now adapting his research to better fit the resources and undergraduate students where he's now working. A passion for teaching students in a way that gets them thinking and equipped to solve real-world problems is his priority, and we learn how he's using a passion for understanding quantum yields of photochemical reactions to help inform more sustainable ways of doing chemistry.Related episodes: Season 1, Ep.2: Reinventing plastics, one reaction at a time Season 3, Ep.1: Fuel the world with light -  the wonders of nano-magnesiumSeason 3, Ep.9: Energy harvesting and self-sustainable greenhousesBonus content!Access bonus content curated by this episode's guest by visiting www.thermofisher.com/chemistry-podcast for links to recent publications, podcasts, books, videos and more.View the video of this episode on www.thermofisher.com/chemistry-podcast.A free thank you gift for our listeners! Visit the episode website and request your free Bringing Chemistry to Life t shirt.Use Podcast Code:  Ba++ery in January 2024 or liV4chem in February We read every email so please share your questions and feedback with us! Email helloBCTL@thermofisher.com About Your HostPaolo Braiuca grew up in the North-East of Italy and holds a PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences from nearby esteemed University of Trieste, Italy. He developed expertise in biocatalysis during his years of post-doctoral research in Italy and the UK, where he co-founded a startup company. With this new venture, Paolo's career shifted from R&D to business development, taking on roles in commercial, product management, and marketing. He has worked in the specialty chemicals, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical markets in Germany and the UK, where he presently resides. He is currently the Director of Global Market Development in the Laboratory Chemicals Division at Thermo Fisher Scientific™ which put him in the host chair of the Bringing Chemistry to Life podcast. A busy father of four, in what little free time he has, you'll find him inventing electronic devices with the help of his loyal 3D-printer and soldering iron. And if you ask him, he'll call himself a “maker” at heart.

After realizing at a young age that rock and roll might be a better hobby than a career, our guest chose chemistry and chromatography as his path, and he's rocked that career choice!In this fun and engaging conversation, you'll meet Frank Steiner, PhD, Senior Manager of Product Applications, and Scientific Advisor at Thermo Fisher Scientific, who has earned much respect for his contributions to the field of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). He and his team are customer number one for new HPLC products and generate much of the data used to support product launches. Steeped in the theory and fundamentals of HPLC, they provide us with a very approachable summary of the technique and considerations that must be balanced across diverse applications. Follow Frank and Paolo as they uncover insights on the evolutionary arc of HPLC, what challenges still exist, and why Frank believes it to be the technique that is most widespread and effective in affecting our lives. As always, we promise to let you get to know Frank, his personal story, and some bits of sage advice from a man that's been there and done that. Related episodes: Season 1, Ep.3: There's chemistry is in the air!Season 1, Ep.7: Stronger magnets, stronger scienceSeason 4, Ep.7: From an F in chemistry to 40 years in chemicals Bonus content!Access bonus content curated by this episode's guest by visiting www.thermofisher.com/chemistry-podcast for links to recent publications, podcasts, books, videos and more.View the video version of this episode on www.thermofisher.com/chemistry-podcast. A free thank you gift for our listeners! Visit the episode website and request your free Bringing Chemistry to Life t shirtUse Podcast Code:  2023wrap in December 2023 or Ba++ery in January 2024 Share your feedback with us! Email helloBCTL@thermofisher.com About Your HostPaolo Braiuca grew up in the North-East of Italy and holds a PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences from nearby esteemed University of Trieste, Italy. He developed expertise in biocatalysis during his years of post-doctoral research in Italy and the UK, where he co-founded a startup company. With this new venture, Paolo's career shifted from R&D to business development, taking on roles in commercial, product management, and marketing. He has worked in the specialty chemicals, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical markets in Germany and the UK, where he presently resides. He is currently the Director of Global Market Development in the Laboratory Chemicals Division at Thermo Fisher Scientific™ which put him in the host chair of the Bringing Chemistry to Life podcast. A busy father of four, in what little free time he has, you'll find him inventing electronic devices with the help of his loyal 3D-printer and soldering iron. And if you ask him, he'll call himself a “maker” at heart.

Protein biology has always been grounded in the relationship between structure and function but how we determine structure has changed dramatically. While it's still common to crystallize a protein for X-ray diffraction and then back calculate its structure, supercomputing-powered, AI-driven tools have revolutionized approaches to getting a protein structure and engineer proteins for uses such as biocatalysis. Amazing right, but how? By using wet lab data to train and then compute, protein structure based on their sequence alone, which is why talking with this episode's guest is so interesting. In this episode, Dr. Ahir Pushpanath, Enzyme Technology Innovation Lead at Basecamp Research, explains his passion for gaming as the reason he got interested in this unique computational approach to chemical catalysis. He takes us through the field's fascinating history, recent breakthroughs, and their immense potential. You'll hear about the intersection of his personal mission to provoke a bio-revolution with his company's mission to combine nature and AI. Today at Basecamp Research, Ahir and his team are working to remove global bias from protein-specific AI training sets by collecting samples and data from diverse locations, but their primary focus is to understand the why of protein evolution. Ultimately, they hope to someday be able to help make a protein for every conceivable function by incorporating environmental pressure aspects into their sequence/structure/function AI models. Related episodes: S4 : E3 Chemistry, Computers, and HumansS2: E5 Questioning the limits of Moore's law Other episodes on catalysis:S3:E2 Making impossible moleculesS2:E1 Chemistry: a modern American dreamS2: E3  Rethinking catalysis Bonus content!Access bonus content curated by this episode's guest by visiting www.thermofisher.com/chemistry-podcast for links to recent publications, podcasts, books, videos and more. View the video version of this episode on www.thermofisher.com/chemistry-podcast.  A free thank you gift for our listeners! Visit the episode website and request your free Bringing Chemistry to Life t shirt. Use Podcast Code:  2023wrap in December 2023 or Ba++ery in January 2024. Share your feedback with us! Email helloBCTL@thermofisher.com About Your HostPaolo Braiuca grew up in the North-East of Italy and holds a PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences from nearby esteemed University of Trieste, Italy. He developed expertise in biocatalysis during his years of post-doctoral research in Italy and the UK, where he co-founded a startup company. With this new venture, Paolo's career shifted from R&D to business development, taking on roles in commercial, product management, and marketing. He has worked in the specialty chemicals, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical markets in Germany and the UK, where he presently resides. He is currently the Director of Global Market Development in the Laboratory Chemicals Division at Thermo Fisher Scientific™ which put him in the host chair of the Bringing Chemistry to Life podcast. A busy father of four, in what little free time he has, you'll find him inventing electronic devices with the help of his loyal 3D-printer and soldering iron. And if you ask him, he'll call himself a “maker” at heart.

Electricity undeniably changed the world and enabled countless other technologies. Now, via storage and mobile access to electrical energy, batteries are positioned to further enable us as a species. So, it is the perfect time to get to know battery technology innovator and entrepreneur, Dr. Simon Engelke, Founder and Chair of Battery Associates, as he shares his passion for sustainable battery innovation. Any battery enthusiast will feel recharged by this electrifying conversation about the past, present, and future of battery technology.  As a child, Simon was fascinated with energy sources and storage and recalls playing with the fuel cell toy car from his father. In his teens, he indulged his entrepreneurial spirit by starting his first small company. Fast forward through his globally sourced academic training, always focused on electrochemistry and battery-related research, to find Simon leading a company at the forefront of the battery community and technology.  In our conversation, Simon touches on battery fundamentals; how they work, how they're produced, the various types, and the work involved in optimizing various components, as well as the geopolitical aspects of batteries. We got this insider to school us on how they've evolved, what's next in battery technology and what's needed from the global community to responsibly realize the potential that battery technology represents. Season 5 of Bringing Chemistry to Life starts now! Related episodes: S1 : E6 One person's waste is another's treasureS2 : E8 Sustainability as an entrepreneurial choiceS3 : E10 On solid state materials, electrochemistry and the importance of rootsS4 : E2  The Father of Green ChemistryS4 : E8 The electrifying chemistry of the nitrogen cycleBonus content!Access bonus content curated by this episode's guest by visiting www.thermofisher.com/chemistry-podcast for links to recent publications, podcasts, books, videos and more. View the video version of this episode on www.thermofisher.com/chemistry-podcast. A free thank you gift for our listeners! Visit the episode website and request your free Bringing Chemistry to Life t shirt. Use Podcast Code:  AlwysL3rning in November 2023, 2023wrap in December 2023. About Your HostPaolo Braiuca grew up in the North-East of Italy and holds a PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences from nearby esteemed University of Trieste, Italy. He developed expertise in biocatalysis during his years of post-doctoral research in Italy and the UK, where he co-founded a startup company. With this new venture, Paolo's career shifted from R&D to business development, taking on roles in commercial, product management, and marketing. He has worked in the specialty chemicals, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical markets in Germany and the UK, where he presently resides.He is currently the Director of Global Market Development in the Laboratory Chemicals Division at Thermo Fisher Scientific™ which put him in the host chair of the Bringing Chemistry to Life podcast. A busy father of four, in what little free time he has, you'll find him inventing electronic devices with the help of his loyal 3D-printer and soldering iron. And if you ask him, he'll call himself a “maker” at heart. 

Visit https://www.thermofisher.com/chemistry-podcast/ to access the extended video version of this episode and the episode summary sheet, which contains links to recent publications and additional content recommendations for our guest. You can also access the extended video version of this episode via our YouTube channel to hear, and see, more of the conversation!Visit https://thermofisher.com/bctl and use the code S4_BCTL in August, StyTun3d in September, BrgChem2Lif in October, or AlwysL3rning in November, to register for your free Bringing Chemistry to Life T-shirt. Chemistry is often perceived as inaccessible and challenging, but there is one fundamental chemical construct that everybody knows – the periodic table of the elements. The periodic table is a chemical icon, that has transcended the boundaries of the chemical sciences to somehow become familiar, almost a staple in several aspects of everyday life. It is the foundation of every chemist's knowledge, but not many understand its deeper meaning, let alone its history and philosophical significance. This is an exciting and unusual episode with one of the biggest names in chemistry, Eric Scerri, historian and scientist and the biggest living expert of the periodic table of the elements. The history and philosophy of chemistry are not common topics for Bringing Chemistry to Life, but this is an intriguing discussion that provides a deeper meaning and context to scientific research and chemistry in particular. In what may be our most thought-provoking episode yet we explore the relationship between chemistry and physics and revisit concepts that have been lost by modern scientists. We discuss what an element really is and the fundamental discoveries and progress that have been made over the years to influence chemical understanding and the periodic table. All this can explain how modern science really works and perhaps how we can teach it better. Our greatest season finale yet!

Visit https://www.thermofisher.com/chemistry-podcast/ to access the extended video version of this episode and the episode summary sheet, which contains links to recent publications and additional content recommendations for our guest. You can also access the extended video version of this episode via our YouTube channel to hear, and see, more of the conversation!Visit https://thermofisher.com/bctl and use the code PaoloRKS in July, or S4_BCTL in August, to register for your free Bringing Chemistry to Life T-shirt. Some chemists just see the world around them in a different way. Where you see a pen, they see the polymer structure of its plastic body and the complex formulation of the ink. Where you see a building, they see the composite materials that make it and think about how the nano-scale structure of those materials define their macroscopic properties. Where you see a juicy burger, they see the proteins and complex chemicals that make its taste and texture so attractive.In a nutshell, this is how Cate Levey sees the world around her. It's a fascinating perspective that has taken her professional path down some paths less traveled. Engineered wood products, plant-based meat products, and carbon-negative aggregate for concrete have nothing to do with each other if you don't look at things the way she does. To her they are they are all composite materials, where understanding and altering the chemistry at the nano, or sub-nano scale allows her to alter macroscopic functional properties to make amazing things happen. It's where chemistry meets material science and where the science can really change the world around us.Cate explains some of her groundbreaking work, but also offers a fresh perspective on how to pursue a career in science, following a true passion, and taking unbeaten paths.

Visit https://www.thermofisher.com/chemistry-podcast/ to access the extended video version of this episode and the episode summary sheet, which contains links to recent publications and additional content recommendations for our guest. You can also access the extended video version of this episode via our YouTube channel to hear, and see, more of the conversation!Visit https://thermofisher.com/bctl and use the code PaoloRKS in July to register for your free Bringing Chemistry to Life T-shirt. Moving from a linear economy, where things are made, used and discarded, to a circular one, based on recycling and reuse, is one of the most important and difficult challenges for our society. Cracking this problem and moving to a more sustainable way of living, while maintaining or even improving living standards, is key for the future of our planet.With Matthew Liu, we go back to topics discussed in Episode 6 of Season 1 to look at one of the most important chemical elements, nitrogen. Reducing atmospheric nitrogen to nitrates is fundamental to our modern world. Nitrogen reduction makes possible to feed billions of people globally and it provides some of the most fundamental building blocks of modern chemistry. At the same time, it is one of the most energy-intense industrial processes, and its products, while essential and beneficial, eventually become environmental pollutants at the end of their lifecycle. An old technology might be the key to change this landscape. Electrochemistry is going through a renaissance and it's a very promising tool to recover nitrogen and put it back into the economic circle. In our discussion with Matthew we discuss some breakthrough and novel electrochemical approaches, electrocatalysis in particular, and how they can impact the economy of developed and under-developed countries.

Visit https://www.thermofisher.com/chemistry-podcast/ to access the extended video version of this episode and the episode summary sheet, which contains links to recent publications and additional content recommendations for our guest. You can also access the extended video version of this episode via our YouTube channel to hear, and see, more of the conversation!Visit https://thermofisher.com/bctl and use the code CoolCh3mShirt in June to register for your free Bringing Chemistry to Life T-shirt. We embrace this rare opportunity to sit and chat freely with someone who has lived and breathed the technical and business sides of the chemicals market for the last 40 years. Simon Pearce is a Senior Product Manager in Thermo Fisher Scientific and a man of a thousand stories. Join us for this entertaining and eye-opening journey into the origins of chemical diversity, a bit of history on the British chemicals market, and a first-hand account of changes and constants in the work over time. We cover a lot of ground in this interview, from the early days of compound screening libraries, to the mindset of managing a complex product portfolio. We speak about serendipity, the power of making the most of opportunities, and how chemistry looks different when framed by business requirements. As it's often the case, it's about humans interacting with each other, the people behind science, and the people behind the market. It doesn't get more “Bringing Chemistry to Life” than that.

Visit https://www.thermofisher.com/chemistry-podcast/ to access the extended video version of this episode and the episode summary sheet, which contains links to recent publications and additional content recommendations for our guest. You can also access the extended video version of this episode via our YouTube channel to hear, and see, more of the conversation!Visit https://thermofisher.com/bctl and use the code Scienc3Fwd in May to register for your free Bringing Chemistry to Life T-shirt. The modern revolutions of electronics and biotechnology are changing the world in dramatic ways. The incredible progress of electronics is changing the world external to our body, while biotechnology/genetics is promising to change it “internal” to our bodies. While these two revolutions have not quite met, chemistry is what could link them up. Imagine completely novel materials for interfacing electronics and the human body in a harmonious way. Be bold and open to new ideas, such as organic electronics with little or no use of semiconductors. Bio-electronics that can self-assemble, biodegrade after use, and leave no toxic trace behind. Imagine what this could mean for new generations of medical devices, diagnostic medicine, as well as robotics and other applications.Exploring these ideas takes an inquisitive, enthusiastic, and creative polymer chemist with ambition, vision, a passion for science communication, and an incredible drive to succeed. Helen Tran is all of this and more. She speaks about her science and her desire to give back as much, or more, than she has received. Hear her views on the importance of mentorship and how having fun doing meaningful work remains a simple, powerful way to achieve something meaningful in life.

Visit https://www.thermofisher.com/chemistry-podcast/ to access the extended video version of this episode and the guest content sheet, which contains links to recent publications and additional content recommendations for our guest. You can also access the extended video version of this episode via our YouTube channel to hear, and see, more of the conversation!Visit https://thermofisher.com/bctl and use the codes below to register for your free Bringing Chemistry to Life T-shirt (April = BCTLshirt, May = Scienc3Fwd). Among the various chemical disciplines we have discussed so far, astrochemistry is by far the most surprising. And Chris Shingledecker is a surprisingly charming member of this relatively new and growing scientific niche. He's managed to naturally balance his passions for chemistry, born from a chemical set received as a gift in his childhood, and for astronomy, that grew in him during middle school. This is a great story of someone who took his education and professional path in his own hands and gave it the shape he wanted to follow his interests and passions. Chris is now living the excitement of a new science. So many things to understand and explain given such fast progress in the field. We learn about what a young discipline astrochemistry is, where until three or four decades ago it was thought chemistry could not occur in outer space, and hear how Chis and his colleagues are quickly showing that chemistry beyond the boundaries of planet Earth is in fact extremely rich, diverse, and complex. This is a fascinating discussion about the story and the future of astrochemistry, a jump into new ideas about the origins of life on our planet and hypothetical other worlds. 

Visit https://www.thermofisher.com/chemistry-podcast/ to access the extended video version of this episode and the episode summary sheet, which contains links to recent publications and additional content recommendations for our guest. You can also access the extended video version of this episode via our YouTube channel to hear, and see, more of the conversation!Visit https://thermofisher.com/bctl  and use the code BCTLshirt to register for your free Bringing Chemistry to Life T-shirt during March 2023. Many discussions have that “ah ha moment” making them memorable. It doesn't happen often that you get half a dozen of these moments in less than an hour. It's conversations like this one that make running this podcast worthwhile and really fun. Lesley Yellowlees, Professor of Inorganic Electrochemistry at the University of Edinburgh, first woman President of the Royal Society of Chemistry, and uber-accomplished chemistry with a never-ending list of academic and scientific achievements, needs no introduction. What needs attention is the many things she has to share and her unique style of doing so. She is personable and makes a palpable connection between herself and her science by sharing her journey through the experience, learnings, achievements, but also challenges and failures of one of the most influential chemists of today. We speak about electrochemistry, its long history and recent popularity, but also about the importance of fundamental research in fueling progress as well as scientists' responsibility in communicating the value of science to the general public. All of this from someone that has been a pioneer in her field and dedicated herself to be the first of many, rather than a one-and-only. What Lesley Yellowlees has done, and continues to do, to level the opportunities for women and other underrepresented groups in STEM is regarded as a milestone in the history of the field of chemistry. And she reminds us, there is still a lot of work to do!

Visit https://www.thermofisher.com/chemistry-podcast/ to access the extended video version of this episode and the guest content sheet, which contains links to recent publications and additional content recommendations for our guest. You can also access the extended video version of this episode via our YouTube channel to hear, and see, more of the conversation!Visit https://thermofisher.com/bctl to register for your free Bringing Chemistry to Life T-shirt. This started with a TV in the background showing Brazil playing Croatia in the World Cup quarter-finals, and ended with Brazil's surprising defeat, to the dismay of our guest, Brazil-born Gabe Gomes. In the middle, the most approachable conversation you'll ever hear about computational chemistry.Gabe tries to solve real world problems using computers and it's almost a paradox that such an extroverted, fun guy, in love with music and speaking so much about people, ends up investing his life in machine learning algorithms. Yet it takes courage, creativity, and daring to go in new directions and seek the next big problem at the interface of scientific disciplines.Chemistry is a complex multivariate problem and resolving this complexity is the key to the fundamental understanding we need to advance the discipline. Gabe is a wonderful chaperone in our journey to discover how automation and optimization can be used not to replace chemists, but to free them to apply their skills where in matters most. Gabe is the living demonstration that computers and humans can be part of the same discourse.

Visit https://www.thermofisher.com/chemistry-podcast/ to access the extended video version of this episode and the episode summary sheet, which contains links to recent publications and additional content recommendations for our guest. You can also access the extended video version of this episode via our YouTube channel to hear, and see, more of the conversation!Visit https://thermofisher.com/bctl to register for your free Bringing Chemistry to Life T-shirt. This is a big one. When one of the most influential chemists of a generation gives you a full hour of his time, you can say your chemistry podcast has made it!This conversation with Paul Anastas (Yale University), the father of Green Chemistry, is an inspiration to think differently. He favors disrupting common rules and to stop accepting the status quo, given that the status quo is not sustainable.The “green shift” towards sustainable processes in chemistry and engineering is the revolution than we can't afford to miss. We do not need any more evidence. The silliness in the way we do things is in front of our eyes, we just need to be willing to look and see it. When we make 1000 kilograms of waste per kilograms or product, there is no future. When we keep producing, using, and discharging in a linear way, there is no future. When governments and private companies don't embrace environmental responsibility as part of their performance metrics, there is no future.Paul and his co-author Urvashi Bhatnagar have written The Sustainability Scorecard – How to Implement and Profit from Unexpected Solutions to outline the green chemistry principles that show the way to a sustainable future in chemistry. The pursuit of sustainability offers what they call “unexpected solutions;” leaps forwards that make new processes not only more sustainable, but also more efficient, cheaper, and more profitable. There are many great examples, with many more to come. Disrupt or be disrupted.

Visit https://www.thermofisher.com/chemistry-podcast/ to access the extended video version of this episode and guest content and resources, which includes links to recent publications and additional content recommendations for our guest. You can also access the extended video version of this episode via our YouTube channel to hear, and see, more of the conversation!Visit https://thermofisher.com/bctl to register for your free Bringing Chemistry to Life T-shirt. We open Season 4 with a unique double interview with Dr. Steven Townsend (Vanderbilt University) and Dr. Frank Leibfarth (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill). These are our original two guests from Season 1 of this series! Steve Townsend and Frank Leibfarth are two of the best chemists of the current generation as well as being incredibly charismatic and fun humans. With that said, this episode is a bit different in that it was a fun moment of connection and entertainment where we discuss things on the fringe of chemistry, tongue in cheek. As it happens, it became much more than that, a journey into personal history, motivation and drive, stories and reflections on great chemists of the past and present, and much more. The human element behind the science takes center stage in this episode for certain. One not to miss.

Visit https://thermofisher.com/bctl to register for your free Bringing Chemistry to Life T-shirt and https://www.thermofisher.com/chemistry-podcast/ to access the extended video version of this episode and the  episode summary sheet, which contains links to recent publications and additional content recommendations for our guest. You can access the extended video version of this episode via our YouTube channel to hear, and see, more of the conversation!Some people have an aura, which is something difficult to describe; some define it charisma, others call it charm. These are people you want to spend time with, because they make you feel good and always have something interesting to say. Jesus Velasquez is one of these people. A talented materials scientist, deeply attached to his motherland of Puerto Rico, and determined to give back what he feels life has given him.Jesus' science is as generous as he is and brings disruptive potential with it. He studies nanostructured solid materials, particularly the so-called chalcogenides (metal complexes containing group 8 elements) and Chevrel phases (MxMo6S8). These materials can be used for a variety of applications, the most promising being electrochemical reactions. Splitting water to generate hydrogen gas, or reducing carbon dioxide to methanol, are among these applications.This is a scientifically stimulating, and yet warming conversation. We span from solid phase material synthesis and characterization to coaching and mentoring young talent from underrepresented communities. A great way to close season 3!

Visit https://thermofisher.com/bctl to register for your free Bringing Chemistry to Life T-shirt and https://www.thermofisher.com/chemistry-podcast/ to access the extended video version of this episode and the  episode summary sheet, which contains links to recent publications and additional content recommendations for our guest. You can access the extended video version of this episode via our YouTube channel to hear, and see, more of the conversation!While most love adventure, it still takes courage and determination to go find it and commit to it. Dr. Derya Baran, a Turkish native, who studied in Austria, Germany, and the UK before now working in Saudi Arabia, has ample courage and determination that have provided a life of adventure! This is one of our best explorations of the link between the person and the science. Derya, an academic researcher and entrepreneur, that can't stop thinking about how her work can benefit people's lives. She develops smart and functional materials for energy harvesting and conversion. Specifically, innovative organic materials with photovoltaic properties that can be used in challenging (hot and/or humid) environments and present unique properties of transparency, color, and ease of manufacturing, relative to traditional silica-based technologies. Her materials are enabling incredible concepts, such as self-sustainable greenhouses that can generate all the energy they need to enable agriculture in inhospitable environments.There is a lot to like here… great science that promises to address very important global issues and the personal story of a smart, determined, woman, full of unlikely, brave choices. 

Visit https://thermofisher.com/bctl to register for your free Bringing Chemistry to Life T-shirt and https://www.thermofisher.com/chemistry-podcast/ to access the extended video version of this episode and the  episode summary sheet, which contains links to recent publications and additional content recommendations for our guest. You can access the extended video version of this episode via our YouTube channel to hear, and see, more of the conversation!Chemical biology is a relatively recent discipline where thinking about biomolecules as big organic molecules isn't shocking, but it was completely revolutionary just 3 or 4 decades ago. What is undeniable is that chemistry offers a new lens to observe, interact with and alter biological phenomena. Chemistry opens the possibility to understand biomolecules at the atomic level and to leverage traditional organic chemistry methods to change their function, ultimately influencing macroscopic biological phenomena.Dr. Shanique Borteley Alabi has been thinking about how chemicals can influence humans ever since childhood observations of her grandfather at work in his pharmacy, in Ghana. She now uses chemistry to influence the interaction between cellular proteins by designing small molecules that work as “glues” for macromolecules. She spent her PhD developing “proteolysis targeted chimeras” (ProTaC), the use of small molecules with affinity for both a specific protein target and for kinases that tag proteins to initiate their degradation. She now works on similar concepts to selectively initiate and promote the interaction between natural proteins with the objective of amplifying specific natural pathways to treat disease. This is the frontier of drug development, going beyond simple competitive inhibition and promising a way to develop drugs for undruggable targets.

Visit https://thermofisher.com/bctl to register for your free Bringing Chemistry to Life T-shirt and https://www.thermofisher.com/chemistry-podcast/ to access the extended video version of this episode and the  episode summary sheet, which contains links to recent publications and additional content recommendations for our guest. You can access the extended video version of this episode via our YouTube channel to hear, and see, more of the conversation!Entrepreneurship in the blood, a fine mind, and a bold spirit makes for a life of successes and a great podcast episode as well! This is how we would describe Chern-Hooi Lim, a Malaysian chemical engineer who is thinking big and aiming to reshape the way we make molecules through the use of light. Chern-Hooi is an expert and innovator of photocatalysis. His organo-catalysts are a big departure from the more established precious metal-based ones and bring with them the promise of a new deal for synthetic chemistry.This is a fascinating discussion about the present and future of chemistry. We discover how photocatalysis enables a new paradigm in chemistry, where we depart from fully reduced carbon sources and imitate nature in using oxidized carbon and light as the fundamental building blocks. We explore mild-condition Birch reduction, cross-coupling, and radical reactions. This is also a story of smart ideas and bold choices and a new perspective on the role entrepreneurship can play in science and technology. Another great discovery of a strong personality and the science that comes from it. more of the conversation!

Visit https://thermofisher.com/bctl to register for your free Bringing Chemistry to Life T-shirt and https://www.thermofisher.com/chemistry-podcast/ to access the extended video version of this episode and the  episode summary sheet, which contains links to recent publications and additional content recommendations for our guest. You can access the extended video version of this episode via our YouTube channel to hear, and see, more of the conversation!Antibiotics are an incredibly important class of drugs and possibly the most impactful, life-changing scientific innovation in history. However, microorganisms reproduce themselves very rapidly and can evolve in literal minutes. We can't iterate science this quickly, which is the basis of increasing cases of antibiotic resistance that are a growing concern in modern medicine. Antibiotics are complex both chemically and in their biological function, which makes them hard to develop and a relatively unattractive pharmaceutical class from the business perspective. Like never before, we need a fresh perspective, and this is where Ziyang Zhang is leaving an impression. Ziyang is young, but incredibly productive and creative. Even before starting with his own research group (soon at Berkley), he has achieved so much and shown incredible chemical talent and thinking unlike anyone else's. His new way of thinking can affect drug development strategies for antibiotics and beyond.This is a captivating discussion with an incredible character, that fascinates with his understated style as he introduces us to his chemistry and his ideas. In a classic BCTL way, we explore his personal and professional path, his research into macrolide antibiotics, and his novel approach to selectively targeting brain cancer.

Visit https://thermofisher.com/bctl to register for your free Bringing Chemistry to Life T-shirt and https://www.thermofisher.com/chemistry-podcast/ to access the extended video version of this episode and the  episode summary sheet, which contains links to recent publications and additional content recommendations for our guest. You can access the extended video version of this episode via our YouTube channel to hear, and see, more of the conversation!Process chemists are the silent heroes of modern pharmaceutical sciences. They take a drug molecule coming out of medicinal chemistry research and make sense of its chemical synthesis. With tight deadlines they often must completely reinvent chemical syntheses to meet strict efficiency and cost requirements necessary to move drugs to commercial production. It's a challenging job that requires discipline and pragmatism, but a certain dose of chemical creativity at the same time.Patrick Fier, from Merck, represents the perfect profile of a great process chemist. He makes the most of the incredible resources and the culture of innovation available at Merck. His chemistry is creative and intriguing, he shows that unique mix of disruptive thinking and disciplined determination that is needed to design state-of-the-art chemical syntheses. And his talent gave him the opportunity to lead the development of Molnupiravir, the so-called COVID pill, one of the most promising antivirals used in severe Coronavirus cases.In this unique episode we have the rare opportunity to get to know a chemist who really played a key role in helping address the COVID pandemic. Keywords:  process chemistry, COVID, molnupiravir, COVID pill, pharmaceutical development, drug, antivirals, C-H functionalization, sulphonamides, phenol synthesis, medicinal chemistry, Merck Sharp & Dome

Visit https://thermofisher.com/bctl to register for your free Bringing Chemistry to Life T-shirt and https://www.thermofisher.com/chemistry-podcast/ to access the extended video version of this episode and the  episode summary sheet, which contains links to recent publications and additional content recommendations for our guest. You can access the extended video version of this episode via our YouTube channel to hear, and see, more of the conversation!Perovskites are somewhat ambiguous compounds defined by general chemical formula and their three-dimensional structure. Yet their potential is huge; they represent the next generation of materials to harness the relationship between energy and light.Like perovskites, the scientific landscape in Mexico is also a bit ambiguous. The lack of history and of an established scientific infrastructure make it hard to do research in the country. However, a there are promising, yet still isolated, success stories and spring of new talent, such as Diego Solis-Ibarra, that suggest a new dawn for Mexican science. The conversation with Diego is an amazing story of a brave and talented young man, with a deep connection to his roots and the determination to embrace challenges not many would even consider. He traded a relatively easy scientific career abroad for being the steward of the growing scientific culture in Mexico. His research is as punchy and disruptive as his personality. We learn about the amazing technology of perovskites, while discovering a great scientist's profile.

Visit https://thermofisher.com/bctl to register for your free Bringing Chemistry to Life T-shirt and https://www.thermofisher.com/chemistry-podcast/ to access the extended video version of this episode and the  episode summary sheet, which contains links to recent publications and additional content recommendations for our guest. You can access the extended video version of this episode via our YouTube channel to hear, and see, more of the conversation!Alaaeddin is someone you can spend entire afternoons chatting with about life, experiences, and of course, science. His studies and career in chemistry brought him around the world, living, working, and studying in several countries, accumulating life learnings that made him the person and the scientist he is today.Dr. Alsbaiee has worked in an industrial environment since his PhD and is not afraid of new challenges. His polymer chemistry background allowed him to work on some incredible applications, such as the materials of which turbine blades are made, or sophisticated methods to manufacture electronic microchips. This is a textbook Bringing Chemistry to Life conversation, where you can see the person in their science, you'll learn about Chemical Mechanical Planarization (CMP), polymer chemistry, and their role in our everyday life as well as the importance of imagination in chemical research.

Visit https://thermofisher.com/bctl to register for your free Bringing Chemistry to Life T-shirt and https://www.thermofisher.com/chemistry-podcast/ to access the extended video version of this episode and the  episode summary sheet, which contains links to recent publications and additional content recommendations for our guest. You can access the extended video version of this episode via our YouTube channel to hear, and see, more of the conversation!For decades chemists have challenged themselves to reproduce in the lab incredibly complex molecules that can usually only be extracted from plants or other highly evolved (micro)organisms. These are often painfully complex efforts from researchers to design and execute multi-step chemical synthesis, where consideration must be given to intramolecular interactions from to multiple functional groups as well as many stability, configuration, and conformational issues. Yet this is how modern synthetic chemistry has evolved its toolbox of useful reactions and how skilled chemists exhibit creativity in addressing some of the most complex scientific problems.Hans Renata left native Indonesia as a young child to study in Singapore and later emigrated to the US for his academic career, partly spent in the lab of a Nobel Prize recipient. Perseverance and the ability to adapt skills learned at an early age played that played a key role his becoming the chemist he is today: a chemist that make molecules everybody else struggles to imagine. Hans is known for his chemical creativity and his synthetic approaches look like nothing else out there. In this episode we discuss how combining traditional organic chemistry with the use of enzymes is at the foundation of his research and how this could change organic synthesis as we know it.

Visit https://thermofisher.com/bctl to register for your free Bringing Chemistry to Life T-shirt and https://www.thermofisher.com/chemistry-podcast/ to access the extended video version of this episode and the  episode summary sheet, which contains links to recent publications and additional content recommendations for our guest. You can also access the video version of this episode via https://youtu.be/LtWghIdoeLo. One of the most difficult scientific concepts to grasp is how things behave differently in the macro- vs. the nano-scale. For example, everyone knows that gold is shiny and yellow, but gold nanoparticles suspended in a liquid (colloidal gold) are red. Dr. Emilie Ringe, a Canadian-born Assistant Professor at the University of Cambridge, travelled the world investing the best part of her still young career in studying one of these intriguing phenomena. She is an expert of the so-called plasmonic nano-materials, focusing specifically on magnesium. These materials can collect specific wavelengths of light and emit energy, behaving like nano antennas.The potential applications are incredible, from an efficient way to apply localized energy to chemical reactions, to an innovative and benign cancer treatment. And in perfect Bringing Chemistry to Life style, the discovery of the science and the person go hand in hand, making for a great start of Season 3!

Over 80,000 Laboratory Chemicals are now consolidated under the Thermo Scientific brand. This unified portfolio is now available at thermofisher.com/chemicals along with everything else you need to focus on your science. All of our podcast guests have been recognized by the C&EN Talented 12 program, presented by Thermo Fisher Scientific.  If you know an up and coming rock star of science we encourage you to nominate them for consideration in the selection of the 2022 class of Talented 12.  They could end up being a guest on Season 4 of our podcast!  Nominations close on March 14th so get your submission in today at cenm.ag/t12nom.If you just can't wait for Season 3 to start to get your BCTL fix, you can binge back episodes and check out guest content recommendations that are always a part of our episode summary sheets. Access back episodes and summary sheets on our BCTL podcast page.Don't forget that you can also request a free Bringing Chemistry to Life T-shirt to represent your love for chemistry and the program. Request your shirt today at thermofisher.com/bctl.   

Visit https://thermofisher.com/bctl to register for your free Bringing Chemistry to Life T-shirt and https://www.alfa.com/en/chemistry-podcasts/ to access our episode summary sheet, which contains links to recent publications and additional content recommendations for our guest.Dr. Lingyin Li is strong and determined and smart and brave. She knows that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger and that challenges are just steps towards success. While she survived her fight with cancer, many people don't. Her biochemistry research, however, is as brave as she is and offers the promise to revolutionize cancer treatment. This new way of thinking overcomes the limitations of the two main therapeutic approaches: the general toxicity of chemotherapy and the drug resistance of targeted therapy.Lingying's study of the cGAMP cascade is as new as it is disruptive, offering a completely new perspective on how we could use chemistry to activate our own immune system. This is opening the door to a completely novel approach to the use of immunotherapy as a targeted treatment for cancer and viral infections.This interview is another great example of chemistry research defining new ways in an adjacent scientific discipline and, as it often happens in this podcast, an intriguing personal story. A perfect finale to close this exciting season 2 of Bringing Chemistry to Life, and a hint of more of what's to come in our next season.

Visit https://thermofisher.com/bctl to register for your free Bringing Chemistry to Life T-shirt and https://www.alfa.com/en/chemistry-podcasts/ to access our episode summary sheet, which contains links to recent publications and additional content recommendations for our guest.Sometimes you feel like you missed an opportunity, or didn't make the best out of it, or sometimes you feel like life is unfair and doesn't offer any attractive chance. Then you hear stories like Mireille Kamariza's and your perspective changes.This is classic Bringing Chemistry to Life episode, where an incredible personal story is intertwined with great science. Dr. Mireille Kamariza, junior fellow at the Society of Fellows at Harvard University, is driven by her personal experience growing up in war-torn Burundi. She was given the opportunity to move to and study in the U.S., rose to the challenge becoming an expert in biorthogonal chemistry and developed a technology for a highly reliable, yet simple and affordable, detection method for tuberculosis. Now Mireille, nominated as one of Fortune Magazine's most powerful women, wants to give back and aims at addressing the TB global health crisis thanks to her technology.While listening to Mireille's personal story alone is well worth your time, make no mistake, there is great chemistry here. Another brilliant example of chemistry at the interface with biology, where some of the most exciting results in modern science come from.

Visit https://thermofisher.com/bctl to register for your free Bringing Chemistry to Life T-shirt and https://www.alfa.com/en/chemistry-podcasts/ to access our episode summary sheet, which contains links to recent publications and additional content recommendations for our guest.Every day, tons of potentially valuable materials are discarded in various waste streams simply because recycling them is more expensive than their recoverable value. Considering that finite resources such as precious metals are among these wastes, the opportunity appears obvious. Wendy Lee Queen, and American expat and passionate baseball player, leads the Laboratory for Functional Inorganic Materials at the EPFL in Lausanne, and has a potential solution. She is one of the leading experts of metal organic frameworks (MOF) and a pioneer of novel composite materials where MOFs and polymers in bead form provide an innovative way to fine tune affinity and selectivity for various chemical species of interest. These can be used to efficiently capture pollutants such as carbon dioxide, but also to recover valuable resources from water waste streams, such as precious metals.Wendy's research is a beautiful story of chemical innovation, where ground-breaking chemistry makes new things possible. And when these new things have the potential to change the way we look at our urban and industrial wastes, this is a moment chemistry is brought to life.

Visit https://thermofisher.com/bctl to register for your free Bringing Chemistry to Life T-shirt and https://www.alfa.com/en/chemistry-podcasts/ to access our episode summary sheet, which contains links to recent publications and additional content recommendations for our guest.Sustainability is a trendy word that is often abused, especially when speaking about chemistry. Most commodity chemicals and their highly integrated value chains remain rooted in the oil feedstock. Until this changes, it will be difficult to move towards truly sustainable technologies. The use of renewable resources to produce valuable chemicals has promised a lot but delivered little so far. Dr. Kevin Barnett aims to change that, and his approach is radical and pragmatic at the same time. No real innovation is possible without commercial attractiveness. The obvious start is something that can be useful and commercially attractive right now. Something that can't be easily obtained from the established value chain. That something is 1,5-pentanediol, a small but wondrous molecule.After graduate school, Kevin took the entrepreneurial way and co-founded Pyran, a company focused on the production of useful commodity chemicals from renewable resources and already launched his first commercial product; 1,5-pentanediol of course! In this fascinating discussion, Paolo and Kevin discuss career choices, entrepreneurship as a credible option for chemistry graduates, the present and future of renewable resources, and the promise for a different chemistry of tomorrow.

Great scientists look at the world around them, identify problems and think about how their area of expertise can provide a solution. This is what Jessica Ray does. In her native St. Louis, she experienced regular urban flooding and grew up familiar with the problem of managing urban wastewater. When, later in life, her studies took her to California, she experienced the opposite problem of severe droughts. This is how she became interested in urban water and started applying her chemical engineering skills to deal with the problem of contaminants, such as PFAS, in urban waste waters.The theme of the unsustainability of our linear economy – where things are made, used and discarded - returns to the podcast. This episode explores Jessica's disruptive work on the development of cost-efficient methods for the treatment of storm water and other urban water wastes. It's a surprising discovery of a smart combination of everyday materials and clever chemistry that promises to bring us one step closer to a more sustainable circular economy.

Visit https://thermofisher.com/bctl to register for your free Bringing Chemistry to Life T-shirt and https://www.alfa.com/en/chemistry-podcasts/ to access our episode summary sheet, which contains links to recent publications and additional content recommendations for our guest.There is one thing Robert Gilliard, Jr. refutes categorically; that there is no innovation in chemistry. As an innovator, he has made a career on the risky proposition of finding value in a part of the periodic table that has been historically underappreciated, the main-group elements. In his fearless exploration of the properties of bismuth, germanium, beryllium and boron, Robert is discovering new chemistries and inventing new applications. He believes in moving beyond the well of tried-and-true chemistry to explore less-traditional approaches and making them part of the standard chemistry toolset. This is a classic Bringing Chemistry to Life episode; one that those genuinely passionate about chemistry will love. Paolo and Robert speak about new properties, reactivities and applications in synthetic chemistry and material science, all coming from the “forgotten,” abundant and cheap main-group elements. A wonderful story of relentless pursuit of knowledge that proposes a vision for a very different chemistry of tomorrow.

Visit https://thermofisher.com/bctl to register for your free Bringing Chemistry to Life T-shirt and https://www.alfa.com/en/chemistry-podcasts/ to access our episode summary sheet, which contains links to recent publications and additional content recommendations for our guest.The unstoppable progress in computational power that we have experienced in the last few decades, and that has changed the world as we know it, is almost entirely due to the relentless efforts of cramming an increasing number of transistors in microprocessors. Moore's law, predicting a linear increase in microchip transistor density, doubling every two years, has been consistently proven right, but we are now approaching physical limitations as resolution breaking the 5 nm barrier is quickly approaching molecular dimensions. This is why many think Moore's law is dead and this is why Rudy Wojtecki and the conventions-challenging teams at IBM Almaden Research Center are working on developing new paradigms for the computers of the future.Rudy is a polymer chemist by background and a true multidisciplinary scientist at heart. His work on self-assembling polymers and surface chemistry is innovating the way microchips are manufactured, and the way research is done at Almaden is providing a brilliant example of different scientific disciplines working together to accelerate progress.

Visit https://thermofisher.com/bctl to register for your free Bringing Chemistry to Life T-shirt and https://www.alfa.com/en/chemistry-podcasts/ to access our episode summary sheet, which contains links to recent publications and additional content recommendations for our guest.The only chemistry we know is what we can experience on our planet, or is it? Brett McGuire is among the pioneers looking beyond the Earth's atmosphere and discovering a surprising and fascinatingly complex chemical world that defies imagination and provides intriguing new insights into the origin of the chemistry we know. In one of our most fascinating episodes yet, Paolo and Brett discuss astrochemistry, the study of chemistry in outer space. Chemistry in space is unique because it is atmosphere and solvation free, and temperature is really low. By scanning radio telescope spectra, astrochemists are discovering hundreds of complex organic molecules in the spaces between stars and are developing intriguing new theories on the origin of our chemical reservoir, the reasons for biological L- chirality, and how life could vary in different parts of the universe. If you're tempted to dismiss this as mere curiosity, you will be surprised by how efforts to study chemistry happening light years away from our planet are often the key to revolutionizing chemistry here on Earth.

Visit https://thermofisher.com/bctl to register for your free Bringing Chemistry to Life T-shirt and https://www.alfa.com/en/chemistry-podcasts/ to access our episode summary sheet, which contains links to recent publications and additional content recommendations for our guest.Modern synthetic chemistry relies on a rich toolbox of chemical transformations, among which catalytic reactions play a prominent role. Yet, despite all the many successes, innovation in the field has seemingly slowed down, the focus moving to exploring variations and application scope of well-established catalysts based on a limited number of reliable transition metals.Josep Cornella, from the Max Planck Institute in Mülheim an der Ruhr, is an innovator. He is not loyal to a specific element or a specific catalyzed reaction. He has a non-discriminatory approach to catalysis, where the key is choosing the catalytic approach to do what he wants/needs rather than figuring out what he can do with his catalyst of choice. This episode is a declaration of love for catalysis as a driver for innovation in organic synthesis. Paolo and Josep discuss using the elements the Earth has given us in creative new ways, from making air-stable nickel zero (Ni(0)) complexes to the unexpected use of bismuth as a completely novel catalyst, opening the box of possibilities by removing the biases from overreliance on well established – and old – concepts.

Visit https://thermofisher.com/bctl to register for your free Bringing Chemistry to Life T-shirt and https://www.alfa.com/en/chemistry-podcasts/ to access our episode summary sheet, which contains links to recent publications and additional content recommendations for our guest.Laura-Isobel McCall is a chemical cartographer. She has a fundamental question: why are chemical responses to an external stimulus, such as a pathogen, different depending on the organ, tissue and even different areas of the same tissue? Her curiosity and talent for working at the interface between scientific disciplines led her to develop innovative ways to build three-dimensional maps of the chemical composition of organisms. This is what is defined as chemical cartography and it allows us to understand complex interactions and interplay of host and pathogen metabolism.This episode explores the complex relationship between living organisms and the environment around them. A deep understanding of the metabolic response to exogenous chemicals can ultimately enable the design of better drugs but also generates a new set of ethical questions.  Metabolomics, or each person's chemical map, not only define who we are (like genomics does), but also what we have done, and what we have been in contact with over the course of our lives.

Visit https://thermofisher.com/bctl to register for your free Bringing Chemistry to Life T-shirt and https://www.alfa.com/en/chemistry-podcasts/ to access our episode summary sheet, which contains links to recent publications and additional content recommendations for our guest.There are exciting stories of life-changing experiences thanks to science, or through science. And then there is Osvaldo's story. Osvaldo Gutierrez, now assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry at University of Maryland, could not really foresee his future as an award-winning chemist when, as a child, he left Mexico to move to the United States. This episode tells an inspiring story of personal development through hard work, perseverance and talent – a real and modern American dream. But it's not just a tale of a kid from humble origins becoming an accomplished chemist and a role model for the younger generations, this is also a story of scientific excellence. Paolo and Osvaldo discuss the present and future of catalysis, how base metals such as iron could displace precious metals but also offer novel options for synthetic organic chemists and how combining computational and experimental chemistry is a promising way to gain the fundamental understanding necessary to introduce some much-needed innovations in modern organic synthesis.

For decades the pharmaceutical industry has synthesized millions of molecular entities in the pursuit of novel biological activities. These huge compound libraries have always been considered a treasure trove of potential new drugs for a plethora of new therapeutic targets. With the huge progress in laboratory automation and high-throughput technology over the last decade, library screening remains a key drug discovery strategy. The size of these libraries and their handling present however multiple challenges, starting from the synthesis and screening speed, storage space, and annotation required when working with Singleton compounds. A clever alternative finds inspiration from biology and leverages the DNA information storage power. This is known as DNA Encoded Libraries, or DELs. Dr. Katelyn Billings is a pioneer of this technology that offers a number of advantages, starting from the possibility of working on the nanoscale in as little as a few microliters to make and screen millions of molecules as a pool. In this episode we learn about how DELs work and discuss their advantages, challenges and the promise of combining data from DEL screens with machine learning to disrupt modern drug discovery.Visit https://thermofisher.com/bctl to register for your free Bringing Chemistry to Life T-shirt and https://www.alfa.com/en/chemistry-podcasts/ to access our episode summary sheet, which contains links to recent publications and additional content recommendations for our guest.

Life is the result of an incredibly complex mix of chemical reactions, all happening at the same time, influencing each other. These apparently chaotic and incomprehensible systems are elegantly regulated at organ, tissue and even cellular and sub-cellular level. Most of these chemical phenomena are not fully understood and the scale and complexity of the micro-environment where they happen often prevent scientific observations without perturbing them. This is where out-of-the-box chemical thinking can make a difference, and this is what Dr. Peng Zou has dedicated his research efforts to. Smart use of chemical tags can allow us to literally visualize chemical phenomena inside the cell as they happen, using relatively straightforward technologies such as fluorescence microscopy. One reaction at a time, Peng’s team is developing detailed cellular maps and achieving significant advances in the comprehension of the cell’s chemical machinery. This episode is masterful example of how chemistry can advance biological knowledge.Visit https://thermofisher.com/bctl to register for your free Bringing Chemistry to Life T-shirt and https://www.alfa.com/en/chemistry-podcasts/ to access our episode summary sheet, which contains links to recent publications and additional content recommendations for our guest.

Theoretical chemistry is one of those subjects that can intimidate even the most passionate experimental chemist. Complex theories rooted in super-advanced mathematics to model a chemical bond length are not everyone’s cup of tea. Yet it does not have to be like that and it takes brilliant minds like Brenda Rubenstein’s to make it so elegantly obvious. Brenda and Paolo’s discussion is as approachable as it gets; a surprisingly eye-opening discovery of how theory can have profound effects on experimental practice. Brenda talks through her efforts in finding the right balance between molecular simulations’ theoretical rigor and their practical utility, and opening the door to her incredible creative thinking and courage in pursuing disruptive ideas. Her novel paradigm for the computer of the future, where chemistry is used to achieve massive increases in data storage density compared to traditional semiconductor technologies, represents truly out-of-the-box. As if all this wasn’t enough, we also find a brilliant example of social responsibility in Brenda’s commitment to change lives of children from low-income background through facilitating access to STEM education. An unmissable episode.Visit https://thermofisher.com/bctl to register for your free Bringing Chemistry to Life T-shirt and https://www.alfa.com/en/chemistry-podcasts/ to access our episode summary sheet, which contains links to recent publications and additional content recommendations for our guest.

Since the elucidation of the DNA structure by James Watson and Francis Crick in 1951, the importance of understanding the three-dimensional structure of biomolecules has become obvious. Over the last few decades scientists have resolved the structure of thousands of complex biomolecules enabling incredible innovations in drug design, biological and medical sciences. X-Ray crystallography has been the key technique, but in recent years Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) has emerged as an additional, complementary approach. Dr. Loren Andreas explains to us how NMR has grown to be the technology of choice as it has expanded its field of application from liquid solutions to condensed systems. The discussion is a surprising discovery of how progress in engineering and instrument design has completely changed the landscape in structural biology. Modern NMR allows scientists to study molecules in complex systems, simulating more closely their natural environment, including interaction between them. This episode offers an exciting glimpse of the future, through a few examples from today’s science.Visit https://thermofisher.com/bctl to register for your free Bringing Chemistry to Life T-shirt and https://www.alfa.com/en/chemistry-podcasts/ to access our episode summary sheet, which contains links to recent publications and additional content recommendations for our guest.