You don’t need to have studied any amount of Chemistry toknow that our world is made up of molecules. But, to know the properties ofthose molecules? Well that’s a little different.
More than one professor on the show has brought up that partof science is understanding the connections between what something does and what that something is made of. Maybe this relationshipexists in the form of polysaccharides, our cell language. Maybe thisrelationship exists in the form of proteins, another component to howcells communicate to each other.
Or, maybe, this relationship can also exist in the inorganicrealm…
For example, why do fireworks burst into different colors?Why is it that some materials are magnetic and others aren’t? If NaCl, CuCl2, KNO3, SrCl2, and MnCl2 are burned in ethanol, they each burn in differentcolors ranging from bright red to lavender. Why is that?
Well, it all goes back to the fact that how something ismade and what it is made up of will directly affect how it behaves.
Dr. Matt Shores of the Chemistry Department at Colorado State University.
My guest for this interview on “The Innovators”, Dr. MattShores, studies just this. Specifically, his interests lie in coordinationchemistry and using earth-abundant metals to make useful compounds. What isa useful compound? As you’ll hear in his interview, a useful compound for Mattcould be a compound able to provide for photocatalysis, molecularmagnetism and memory storage, and for information about that funny littlerelationship between form and function.
But, Matt also happens to be a down-to-earth, funny,relatable person. He hails from Minnesota, he’s married to a fellow professor,and he has two fantastic kids.
And interview below showcases all of this. Enjoy.
The Shores research group
If you would like to know more about the work that the Shores group does at Colorado State University, feel free to check out their website, here.
Background music featured: “Ghostwriter”, RJD2
