The new university semester for undergraduates around the
world has just started recently. This time, I would like to share some of my
fond memories about an inspiring chemistry teacher – Dr. S, and my indirect
connection to the Nobel Prize-winning English chemist – Professor Geoffrey
Wilkinson. While I will not explicitly state the identity of Dr. S, the smart
readers will be able to find out somewhere in this article.
I have taken Chemistry as one of my A-Level subjects when I
was studying in London
about 10 years ago. One of my chemistry teachers, Dr. S, is someone who has since
left a lasting impression on me, and he is probably one of the most admirable
teachers I have ever met in school. He is knowledgeable, has a great British
sense of humor, and is really committed to help and give advice to his
students. I have had a lot of chances to interact with him during my A-Level
studies. From all these interactions, I can feel his intense knowledge about
the various aspects of chemistry, and furthermore, his wise insights about
life. Often, he quite simply dictated the notes onto the whiteboard, without
any reference to the textbooks, because, as he has said before, ‘I have taught
this course for like 30 years.’ He loves his wife and family, and enjoys a
decent glass of red wine. He has always demonstrated a genuine passion for his
field. I still vividly remember the excitement he had when he was teaching my
class about the various oxidation states of transition metal complexes, and the
beautiful range of colors exhibited from those co-ordination compounds. His
passion has infected me, too. He has motivated me to learn way beyond the
boundary of exam syllabus, digging deep into the concepts of organic chemistry
and co-ordination chemistry. These further studies have certainly benefited me
in my future university work.
One great aspect regarding Dr. S is that, at the end of each
lesson, he would always ask, ‘Does anyone have any questions or comments?’ To
me, this is exactly the correct attitude to approach education. After all, the
whole process of education should come from both directions, not merely about
spoon-feeding some infants not knowing their places. The teacher can just learn
as much as the students when the students are willing to provide feedback. The
room to allow comments can provide a more liberal atmosphere for everyone, and
can lead the students to pose appropriate questions and to generate
discussions. This inspiration is something I have always borne in mind since
then, and I still ask this to my students whenever I am serving as a teaching
assistant in my department.
When I was studying chemistry in my undergraduate years, I
had the opportunity to come across the wonderful work of the English chemist,
Sir Geoffrey Wilkinson. By accident, I discovered an old research article of
which Dr. S was co-authoring with Professor Wilkinson! Soon, I learnt that Dr.
S was actually a PhD student from Professor Wilkinson’s research group in the
early 1970s. Dr. S has told me on one occasion that he did his PhD in Imperial College ,
London , yet I
have never drawn this connection myself. No wonder Dr. S has always been fascinated
with transition metal chemistry! I also feel extremely fortunate that I can
have such an indirect connection to Professor Wilkinson, someone I have always admired.
Now, let me tell you a bit about Professor Wilkinson’s work, and Dr. S’s
contribution to organometallic chemistry.
While Professor Wilkinson’s initial independent research
career concentrated on nuclear chemistry, he soon decided to pursue his
research in something that has fascinated him since his student years – the
chemistry of transition metal complexes. Soon after, he worked in the US through the early
1950s. In Harvard, he and Woodward were instrumental in solving the structure
of ferrocene, one of the most famous organometallic compounds in the chemistry
world. In mid-1955, he was appointed to a chair professorship of Inorganic Chemistry
in Imperial College , UK
Since last year, I have been working on rhodium-catalyzed
hydroboration and hydroformylation reactions in my research, and have also been
preparing analogous versions of the Wilkinson’s catalyst. Thus, I can totally
appreciate the insightful achievement Professor Wilkinson has contributed to
the field of homogeneous catalysis. Without his hard work, the development in
organotransition metal chemistry would certainly less likely to be as vibrant
as now. Indeed, I am proud of involving and contributing to this wonderful
research field!
I am so fortunate to have met such an inspiring chemistry
teacher, and more so, we can both stand on the shoulders of a giant, who
encourages us to see further in the world of Chemistry. Thank you, Dr. S and
Professor Wilkinson!
by Ed Law
4/10/2016
Reference:
1. A. Shortland and
G. Wilkinson
Hexamethyltungsten
J. Chem. Soc., Chem. Commun., 1972, 318.
DOI: 10.1039/C3972000318A
2. A. J. Shortland and G. Wilkinson
Preparation and properties of hexamethyltungsten
J. Chem. Soc., Dalton
Trans., 1973, 872.
DOI: 10.1039/DT9730000872
