Author Archives: alan

We’ve been drifting in the economic doldrums for the past few years. Wondering how to get ahead, or just stay even, many wonder if there is anything to be grateful for this holiday season. Everyone has to find their own … finish reading Thanksgiving & RFK

I just read Bill McKibben's article in Rolling Stone (2012 July 19): Global Warming's Terrifying New Math. According to Bill, fossil fuel companies have proven fuel reserves that would release 2795 gigatons of CO2 into the atmosphere were it… Continue reading →

España! España! España! My favorite game. My favorite team (after FC Barcelona, but so many players from FCB make it to the national squad, it seems silly to split hairs). And champions of the 2012 European Cup. What more… Continue reading →

"When fast and slow time meet, fast time wins. This is why one never gets the important things done because there is always something else one has to do first. Naturally, we will always tend to do the most… Continue reading →

This is a test. Please write down your answer and keep in mind that all Reed exams are governed by the Honor Principle…. Continue reading →

Prof. Gilbert Stork of Columbia University has enjoyed a lengthy and amazingly productive career as a synthetic organic chemist. It was my good fortune to spend a few minutes with him in spring 1976 when I was considering Columbia as… Continue reading →

A couple weeks ago I remarked on the steady climb in college tuition. An easy-to-use infographic, How Spending Has Changed, from Dr. Stephen J. Rose (The Atlantic, "The Money Report," April 2012) adds another perspective by comparing 2007 consumer spending… Continue reading →

Reed’s tuition for 2011-12 was only $42,540 (see Tuition, Fees, Room & Board History) so $100K tuition isn’t going to be a feature of campus life anytime soon. However, a front page article (“Ron Wyden puts a number to the… Continue reading →

As my colleagues, and most of my students, know, I have flipped back and forth between being an experimental chemist and a computational/theoretical chemist. Because I am currently on the computation/theory side of my orbit, I was hoping that this… Continue reading →