Gadgeteer at Heart
April 6, 2017
The Analytical Scientist magazine recently published an article entitled: Sitting Down With Milton Lee, H. Tracy Hall Professor of Chemistry, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, USA.
What drew you to the scientific field?
I’ve always had a desire to do practical things; at graduate school in Indiana, my interest was in environmental analysis – specifically, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in air pollution, and from tobacco and marijuana smoke. I also like to build things – I’m kind of a ‘gadgeteer’. I like to see things mechanically, see electronics put together and become useful. One of the first things I did as a graduate student in Milos Novotny’s laboratory was design and build a capillary column injector for the gas chromatographs we were using. I have a tendency to get bored with repetition, and enjoy having more variety – going into the field and lab, writing papers, giving talks. I’ve always insisted on having my office right next to the laboratory so I have easy access to what my team is doing.