Why did you decide to become a chemist? I am one of the children of the Sputnik generation. Chemistry sets were very popular and my parents bought me a Gilbert set when I was eight. I was fascinated by it. I would sit in my basement for hours on end doing experiments. My laboratory grew from that little set to a full blown laboratory when I was in high school. It was at a time when anyone could buy chemicals from chemical stores. I remember carrying bottles of nitric and sulfuric acid on the bus back from a nearby town. It wasn't until I went to university that I learned that you could actually have a career as a scientist in academia.
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