About

The "outside the flask" is a new blog on the block, born right after when I realized I haven't started a new one this year. It will cover many things unrelated to chemistry, which probably means nothing. The idea is not to cover the latest in chemical sciences, as it would be a full time job of roughly a team of hundred people. And I don't think I can tell you the secrets of lab work anymore, since it's been almost five years since I did my last experiment. What I can do here is perhaps to exchange ideas and experiences, like the ones I often share in my classes. If you already have taken one, you probably know what I mean. If you haven't, then there is your reason to keep reading this blog.

I (am lucky to) have a research group at KAIST, a major Korean university (the South). Thanks to our sponsors and hard working group members, I have time to write blogs. We like all nano materials whether or not they have pores. Our latest excitement is about the porous polymers, off of which one can capture things, such as carbon dioxide. We've come a long way and think that very soon someone will crack the code for an effective and affordable CO₂ capture.

My all time favorite scientist is Nikola Tesla, in case you wondered. I admire people that are far and beyond deeper than what they seem. If you are like him, we probably won't know until after you are long gone. So, it shouldn't matter to you.

Yes, I do tweet, but I no longer write other people's walls. In my not-so-spare-time I lie down and relax, and think about what would have been if I weren't a chemist. And then I smile. Several nanoseconds later my brain restarts the to-do-list, which mostly is populated by papers I haven't yet written.

If you read this far, let me tell you that you are a patient person and you would be a good chemist one day, just a little after 20 years of schooling and training.