From the vantage point of being able to look back at the year 2007, I can honestly say that this year of change has been a good one. In deciding between several job offers, I had to evaluate my career goals as well as my personal ambitions. Eventually, I decided to accept the offer from Washington University in St. Louis — on the basis that if I were a high school senior deciding on a college to attend, that I would choose WashU. I liked the emphasis on quality research and teaching, the friendly Midwestern small-school atmosphere in a medium-sized city, and the diverse political and cultural viewpoints found on campus. I can definitely say that all of these first impressions have been realized in my first semester here, and I have thoroughly enjoyed my career in academia so far.
What I’ve enjoyed the most about teaching are the challenges of explaining difficult concepts clearly, the twice-weekly opportunities to “perform on stage” and overcome my fears of public speaking, and the joys of mentoring students. What I hope to improve upon next semester is to better balance the time and mental energy I devote to teaching versus research. I’ll be teaching a graduate course on computational chemistry of molecular and nanoscale systems, and hope to better integrate my teaching and research.
While I like St. Louis very much, I do miss many things about DC, so I’ll end with a roughly chronological list of some of my most cherished memories from the past year:
- Listening to a concert by the National Symphony Orchestra, performing Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition”
- Watching the snow fall while preparing my job talks (but I could have probably done away with the air travel snags)
- Two words (or, I guess, four): Peking Cheers and Dogfish Head
- Viewing downtown St. Louis and the Mississippi River from the top of the Arch
- Meeting my hero, Dr. Francis Collins at the AAAS, and getting a copy of his book signed
- Listening to a concert by The Decemberists and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
- Driving around the Capitol Beltway (all ~60 miles of it)
- Eating ice cream and fruit smoothies on the front porch while discussing life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness
- Driving halfway across the country
- Working on my first NSF grant proposal one day from 4 pm until 10 am (and hearing my first fire alarm on campus that morning)
- Singing alto (for practice) in the WashU Messiah sing-along
Merry Christmas and a good night to all!
