Spinach On The Ceiling: The Multifaceted Life Of A Theoretical Chemist

Spinach On The Ceiling: The Multifaceted Life Of A Theoretical Chemist

by Martin Karplus
Spinach On The Ceiling: The Multifaceted Life Of A Theoretical Chemist

Spinach On The Ceiling: The Multifaceted Life Of A Theoretical Chemist

by Martin Karplus

Hardcover

$88.00 
  • SHIP THIS ITEM
    Qualifies for Free Shipping
  • PICK UP IN STORE
    Check Availability at Nearby Stores

Related collections and offers


Overview

'Karplus's tales of a turbulent graduate school experience at Caltech will inspire readers to muster fortitude when everything seems to be spinning out of control. Karplus balances rigorous scientific discussions with refreshing chapters expounding his passion for photography and gastronomy.'
Nature Chemistry, May 2020Nobel Laureate Martin Karplus was eight when his family fled Nazi-occupied Austria via Switzerland and France for the United States. He would later credit his life as a refugee as a decisive influence on his world view and approach to science.Spinach on the Ceiling is an autobiographical telling of Karplus' life story, and how it led him to win the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2013. The book captures pivotal moments in Martin's life — from his escape to Switzerland in 1938 shortly after Hitler's entrance into Austria; to memorable moments like when his parents gave him a microscope which opened his eyes to the wonders of science; to his education in New England and California; and his eventual scientific career which took him to England, Illinois, Columbia, Strasbourg, and Harvard. It relates how Martin's optimistic outlook and belief in his vision made it possible for him to overcome setbacks in his life, and turn a subject of study his colleagues considered a waste of time into a central part of chemistry and structural biology. It is his hope to inspire and aid young readers, in particular, to have a successful trajectory in their own lives. Although research and teaching have been his primary focus, he has traveled the world photographing people and places with a Leica IIIC and has had numerous exhibitions of the photographs. He has also enjoyed a lifelong interest in cooking and worked in some of the best restaurants in France and Spain.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781786348029
Publisher: World Scientific Publishing Europe Ltd
Publication date: 07/16/2020
Pages: 312
Sales rank: 1,155,787
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.75(d)

Table of Contents

Preface ix

Acknowledgments xiii

1 My Ancestors 1

2 Childhood Years in Europe 15

3 Final Days in Europe 25

4 A New Life in America 39

5 Beginning of Scientific interests 49

6 College Years 63

7 Graduate School 69

8 Postdoctoral Sojourn in Oxford and Europe 79

9 University of Illinois: NMR and Coupling Constants 85

10 Move to Columbia and Focus on Reaction Kinetics 91

11 The FBI and I 101

12 Return to Harvard University and Biology 107

13 Move to Paris 117

14 Protein Folding, Hemoglobin, and the CHARMM Program 123

15 The First Molecular Dynamics Simulation of a Biomolecule 127

16 Early Applications of Molecular Dynamics 131

17 My Career as a Photographer 135

18 How We Came to Move to Strasbourg 155

19 My Life as a Chef 163

20 Announcement of the Nobel Prize 181

21 After the Announcement 187

22 The Nobel Prize Event 203

23 Science After the Nobel Prize Simulation 217

24 Life After the Nobel Prize 239

References 247

Appendix 1 Karplusians: 1955-2019 261

Appendix 2 Martin Karplus: LIFE IN COLOR-From the 1940s to 2019 265

Appendix 3 Nobel Lecture 269

Appendix 4 Haaretz Article 283

Appendix 5 Supplementary Material* 287

Index 289

From the B&N Reads Blog

Customer Reviews