The early composition of my lab at Berkeley, in fact really the core people that did the work that the Nobel Foundation has recognized me for, if you look at that group of people they are far more diverse than certainly at that time you would see in the average chemistry laboratory. I had a preponderance of female grad students at a time when our representation in the graduate program at Berkeley was maybe 30%, but my lab was over half. I had people from different backgrounds, people who identify as underrepresented minorities, and I think that diversity of people created an environment where we felt we didn't have to play by the same old rules as scientists. We could do things like organic chemistry in living animals. Why not? Right? We didn't have to play by the rules. If there weren't the right chemistries to get the job done, we could invent new chemistries. Why not? We didn't have to play by the rules. And I think that culture, it kind of grew organically, no pun intended, without a whole lot of steering by myself. I was very fortunate that I could actually play a supportive role in my lab and let that diverse group of students find their voice, realize their curiosity, break the rules, and do something that 25 years later some people found impactful. And I owe them a great debt of gratitude.

University of California at Berkeley (UC Berkeley) is one of the most outstanding universities, and the Chemistry Department there ranks first amongst the universities of the world in research performance. This department was established by G.N.Lewis, who is considered to be the father of modern chemistry.

At the very least, one would imagine being an openly anarchist professor would mean challenging the way universities are run—and I don’t mean by demanding an anarchist studies department, either—and that, of course, is going to get one in far more trouble than anything one could ever write.

The Berkeley campus was academically overpowering. In the Tuesday evening colloquia, one would see a galaxy of chemists in the front row, with many Nobel Laureates and members of the National Academy of Science amongst them. It was a daunting task to give talks at these meetings. I managed to survive those occasions.

Be a physical chemist, an analytical chemist, an organic chemist, if you will; but above all, be a chemist.

You're a theoretician. I'm more at home in applied physics."
He reached for his pipe and tobacco pouch. "Ah yes, the great divide in physics. It's like the nature versus nurture arguments the biologists and psychologists have."
"I wonder what they argue about in the chemistry department," I wondered.
"Probably who has to pick up the check, if they're anything like the professors I know. If it doesn't smell or blow up, they seem more interested in mixing drinks than chemicals.

The next time some academics tell you how important ‘diversity’ is, ask how many Republicans there are in their sociology department.

…universities are worried about diversifying and are wondering how. Playwrights want students exposed to their work and wondering how. The educator in me fights with the playwright in me. Should universities who do not have students of color still be able to do my plays? The educator says yes and the playwright says no. If universities produce ethnically specific plays with any of the available swap-out options, what are we teaching the next generation of theatre artists? Experience has taught me that artists will duplicate whatever they have learned in school…

Puzzled frowns in the audience. Science reporters they might be, but high school chemistry was going a bit too deep for most.

All I can say is that I worked hard and as I was working hard, the titles kept coming. I became the first female pharmacy professor in UI when I was the director of General Studies and that was a whole lot of responsibilities because I was in charge of all the students, both regular and distant learning.

As a university professor I sell what I know.

Chemists usually write about their chemical careers in terms of the different areas and the discrete projects in those areas on which they have worked. Essentially all my chemical investigations, however, are in only one area, and I tend to view my research not with respect to projects, but with respect to where I’ve been driven by two passions which I acquired in graduate school: I am passionate about the Periodic Table (and selenium, titanium and osmium are absolutely thrilling), and I am passionate about catalysis. What the ocean was to the child, the Periodic Table is to the chemist; new catalytic reactivity is, of course, my personal coelacanth.

However, my Chemistry knowledge brought a difference to Haematology because my work was different from everyone else’s it was analytical. I was finding out a lot about research of blood disorders. Till today, I am still challenged by research ideas in my head. My chemistry background has helped me a lot. It stands me out from the medical people.

Political correctness has its stronghold among university professors,