Professional Background

Currently, I am an Associate Professor of Chemistry at the College of Charleston. I started my academic career here in August 1999. Previously I was a postdoctoral researcher at Dartmouth College with Russ Hughes where I studied transition metal perfluoroalkyl complexes. I obtained my Ph.D. at Vanderbilt University with Tim Hanusa by investigating main group and transition metal metallocenes and metallocene derivatives. I earned my B.S. in Chemistry and Political Science at the University of Tennessee at Martin.


Personal Background

My wife, Robin, and I have two daughters (Emma and Sarah) and two cats (Simon and Sebastian).


Things I Like and Like to Do

My real passion is cooking; cooking is simply chemistry on a macroscopic scale but it is also a way to peer into one's soul. I like the Iron Chef America series on Food Network. I especially like Bobby Flay and Mario Batali on Iron Chef America; they are unbelievably imaginative and creative cooks. The newest Iron Chef, Michael Symon, is pretty amazing too in the short time he has been on. I like Alton Brown too. He does a great job of mixing cooking with science. Top Chef on Bravo is good too, and in some ways, better than Iron Chef America.

As for cuisines, I enjoy just about every one of them. Currently, I am favoring rustic French, Italian and Spanish cooking. For Italian cooking, I love the The Silver Spoon. I highly recommend it and have learned a lot about authentic Italian cooking from it. A Spanish cookbook along the same lines as The Silver Spoon is 1080 Recipes. It has a wonderful intro written by Ferran Adria and provides insight into how the Spanish really eat at home. And finally, the classic French cookbook I Know How to Cook has finally been released in English. Another absolutely great book.

For French cooking, I can't recommend enough Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles Cookbook. This cookbook is not about haute cuisine (though The French Laundry Cookbook is a spectacle to behold), it is absolutely focused on classic bistro fare for the common folks. Bourdain is an unbelievable writer; the work he did with this cookbook breaks down the classic French dishes with ease.

I am also a fan of Thomas Keller’s Bouchon cookbook. Again, it is not the The French Laundry Cookbook but it is a great way to see the spins that Keller puts on French bistro cooking. Keller recently released another cookbook based on his restaurant Ad Hoc. Another fantastic book.

Speaking of Bourdain, if you are a foodie and haven't read Kitchen Confidential, go get it and read it now. In fact, this might be the first book I could actually recommend the audio version of over the hardcopy because Bourdain reads the book himself. It is absolutely fantastic; I am actually on my third go-around with this book. It is that good! You can check out Bourdain on the Travel Channel with his No Reservations series.

I enjoy cycling but I just don't get to do enough of it. I am a huge Lance Armstrong fan and fanatically follow the Tour de France. I like to play tennis too, but again, there are just not enough hours in the day. For now, tennis on the Nintendo Wii is a somewhat decent substitute.

When it comes to rooting for pro teams, I am a diehard Pittsburgh Steelers, Pittsburgh Pirates and Los Angeles Lakers fan. Of course, I root for my alma maters in college sports, particularly Vanderbilt basketball (unfortunately, rooting for Vanderbilt football is like rooting for the grass when it is being mowed, it is a bad bet; however, hope springs eternal...).

When it comes to computers, I am a Mac fanatic. I got on board with Apple in 1992 with my first Mac and have never looked back. If you want the best computing experience available, quit wasting your time with Windows and get a Mac.

While you are purchasing a new Mac, get an iPod as well. Sure, Apple wasn't first with an MP3 player, but the iPod is the easiest and best digital audio player out there. I currently have a 3rd generation iPod (15 GB), an original iPod Shuffle (1 GB), an iPod Nano (2 GB) and an iPod Touch (16 GB). Though I love my iPod Nano at the gym with the Nike iPod kit, the iPod Touch is simply amazing.

Now I have an iPhone. This is probably the single greatest invention known to man. The wheel is a close second... :-)

What do I play on my iPods? I have somewhat diverse tastes when it comes to music with the exception of country music. I cannot stand country music. It is a horrific and excruciatingly painful genre of music.

So what is on my iPod right now? In no particular order (click the link to go directly to the appropriate iTunes Music Store page): Dave Matthews Band, Rammstein, The Crystal Method, Fatboy Slim, Handsome Boy Modeling School, Flogging Molly and a whole bunch of mash-up songs. These are just some of my favorites right now. The Crystal Method is especially good to run to. Linkin Park is pretty good at the gym too. Go check out Matisyahu (Youth and Live at Stubbs). This is amazing and innovative music.

While you are there, check out some great audiobooks as well. My two current favorites: Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner; A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson. John Hodgman's book The Areas of My Expertise is pretty good too.

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