You may be wondering about the title of this section of my O-Chem Home Page, but it will become clear to you eventually.
So, who is this so-called "guide" of yours in organic chemistry? Well, I'm Nancy E. (not Ester nor Ether) Carpenter, aka NEC (a tag stuck on me in grad school, when we had to label EVERYTHING with our initials). I was born in Oklahoma City and stayed there, in the same house (the extent of my moving experiences is moving from a downstairs bedroom to an upstairs bedroom), until I went away to college (a long time ago). I am the youngest of four kids -- I have two sisters and one brother, all of whom still live in Oklahoma City.
A LONG TIME AGO, I went off to college in Shreveport, Louisiana -- WOW, was that an experience. You may think that Oklahoma and Louisiana are both "southern," but believe me, I experienced real culture shock. I don't think I went with a major in mind, but did take chemistry, and for awhile (like one semester; it didn't take me long to recognize my limitations!) was a double major in English and Chemistry. I thought that Centenary was a great college, but unfortunately, I wasn't quite up to it, and ended up taking a brief hiatus from college after two years in "The Pit" (our "affectionate" name for Shreveport). I eventually wound up in Chicago, IL, working for Alberto-Culver of VO5 shampoo fame (no joke), formulating personal care products. I liked chemistry before I had this job, but this cemented it for me. Working in the lab, making, modifying and testing new shampoos and creams, etc., was loads of fun. I changed jobs after awhile and worked at an aerosol manufacturer doing the same sort of thing (ask me about my vandalism spray?!?!), but eventually realized that I needed to get my rear back into school.
SO, I started to go back to school part-time, but soon realized that I'd be about 40 by the time I got my degree. I eventually quit my job and got my bachelor's degree at Elmhurst College, in the western suburbs of Chicagoland. Then, a strange confluence of events in my life pointed me toward graduate school: 1) I realized that I really enjoyed explaining things to people, 2) thought that maybe I might be pretty good at it, and 3) I found out that I wouldn't have to borrow any more money to go to graduate school. So, the idea of a career teaching organic chemistry (yes, it's true, it was one of my favorite classes as an undergrad...) was born. Fortunately, I REALLY REALLY wanted to do this, or else I never would have made it through grad school, even though I stayed in Chicago to go to grad school (at Northwestern University), so that I could continue to listen to my favorite radio station (WXRT) and watchmy favorite baseball team play (Cubbies) in the best ballpark in the world (Wrigley field).
After getting my Ph.D. in o-chem (where, by the way, I met SVEN, who does exist and works for Roche chemical in Basel Switzerland, REALLY), I headed out to sunny southern California to do a post-doc. In February of 1989 I got on a Northwest Airlines jet in Orange County, where it was 70 degrees, bound for an interview at some school I had never heard of before in the middle of nowhere, MN. I thought I had lost my mind, especially when the pilot announced that the outside temp in Minneapolis was -15. WHAT HAD I GOTTEN MYSELF INTO!?!?!? But, as you all know...Morris won me over.
I guess I've answered most of the applicable questions...you certainly know what my major was, and now you know what I'm doing with it...but if I could change anything, I guess my "in the best of all possible worlds" fantasy would be to sail and write in the summers, and teach and do o-chem in the winters. AND, what I hope you discover about o-chem is that you find it an environment in which you feel comfortable asking questions and that it is a fun and interesting learning experience. If there's anything I can do to make this come true, PLEASE let me know.
The views and opinions expressed in this page are strictly those of the page author. The contents of this page have not been reviewed or approved by the University of Minnesota.