BFF | Focus, scientific friend or foe?
Cheerlessly, I was standing in front of my beloved fume hood on the ninth floor of T-hoog, the former home of Chemical Engineering (now Vertigo). Numerous experiments were performed here to gain insight into the structure of PPI dendrimers and their ability to encapsulate molecules. Hundreds of little vials, containing the yields of purified reaction mixtures, stared at me from the back of my fume hood. My supervisor, a very good impersonator of Elvis, celebrated that he finally got me to start the tedious cleaning process of these vials. I was determined to get this done in the shortest amount of time possible. I had to focus!
Surrounded by the sound of Elvis, I went into a hypnotic state as I thoroughly cleaned the vials with solvents and a brush. I estimated that it would take me at least three hours to complete the task. I was already full into my rhythm, and just about to clean yet another vial, when my supervisor screamed as if he saw Elvis come back to life. Those are crystals, Monique!
He cried and I snapped out of my trance and looked at the vial between my fingers. Indeed, beautiful crystals had formed in the time that I ignored the vials at the back of my fume hood. We both realized that analyzing these crystals provided a gateway to answer many questions and gain insight into the molecular structure at hand.
Crystals can be analyzed using scattering techniques. This ‘work’ led to my first publication. We were the lucky victims of serendipity! Before this encounter, I thought that serendipity and I would never cross paths. As the Elvis impersonator said: “Focus with a touch of Elvis makes the magic.”
I was so focused on the task at hand that I missed the unexpected cool stuff that had formed in this one vial, assuming that I did not miss any other vials with crystals. I only focused on finishing the cleaning act and I therefore had tunnel vision, blocking everything around me. Despite my supervisor’s jolly state of mind, he was extremely alert. I still do not know how he managed to be in the right place at the right time. What led him to look at this one vial?
Conducting a good experiment, my modest disobedience to delay cleaning the vials, my supervisor's vigilance, and luck, were the key ingredients, necessary to brew a beautiful scientific article. You could call it great teamwork too!
Having focus is often seen as your ally. In my case it did not contribute to an optimal result. Focus combined with an eye for the unexpected effects is, I think, one of the aspects that elevates science to art.
BFF | Bald, Frizzy or Flowing is a joint initiative of Willem Mulder (Bald), Monique Bruining (Frizzy) and Luc Brunsveld (Flowing), that they started at the beginning of 2023 on the site of Cursor.
Discussion