Saturday, July 12, 2025

 Meeting K. Barry Sharpless

In January 1986, I was working as a Post Doctoral Research Associate at the UM; go canes!  We were working on a project and a group from MIT invited our group to collaborate on some work on the development of titanium catalysts in the synthesis of several types of medication.   We were invited to go to MIT to present our findings. 

By the way MIT is in Boston, or a suburb of Boston.  It is really cold!!!  I had to borrow by brother in law’s winter jacket and his gloves.  I lost one of the gloves on the way back.  Did I say it was really cold in MIT?  It must have been evident since when I arrived all those present worried about the Cuban guy from Miami and asked how I felt.

Travelling has always been difficult for me.  I do not know if it is psychological.  When I was small the only goal was to travel to Miami and I guess I make it more difficult than it really is.  Also, Cristina was 3 and a half, it was not easy to find someone to take care of her even for a couple of days.  Elena was just about to arrive.   Lourdes was feeling very uncomfortable.

The project we were working on was very interesting. Imagine a group of 28 faculty and students discussing my work.  Some of these professors I had only read about   It really was exhilarating.

Professor Sharpless seemed like a very nice man.  He kind of looked like Tim Conway.  Apparently, he liked me since he really wanted his group and I to spend time together.  He showed me this new computer from Apple.  It was called a Macintosh.  They invited me to go sledding in the snow the next day.  I could not go. The group was intense in having me extend my stay.  I just could not.  I was not sure how Lourdes was going to feel; not about having me stay but being alone with one child, one on the way and doing her residency at Mt. Sinai.  She was already uncomfortable.  There were no cell phones then, I could not really speak to her. They offered me first class seats for the trip back if I would stay.  Professor Sharpless offered me a job. Again I declined.  To this day I have never seen snow; I have never gone sledding. I could not see myself establishing a home base in Boston with two young children without my mom’s help. I counted on her for everything.  He offered me a position at MIT as a post doctoral researcher.  Again, I turned it down.  I just could not do it. 

This was shortly before Lourdes’s due date.  My beautiful Elena was about to be born. Elena is a beautiful young woman now.  She is a physical therapist treating cerebral palsy patients at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital. Elena was born in March of that year.  Cristina is a speech therapist working in the neonatal ward in Children’s Hospital of Atlanta, I am very proud of both of them. 

I never thought much about MIT until 15 years later in 2001 when Barry Sharpless received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the work he was doing in 1986. You kind of look back and say… What if??

I have never regretted my decision.  I know who I am and what is important to me. I have told that story to my students as a way of letting them know that they have to live their life and their dream; not someone else’s.  Others might have taken a different turn at this point.

I had forgotten all about having had the opportunity to attend MIT and work with a future Nobel Prize winner.

Recently the Chemistry Nobel Prizes were announced.  Barry Sharpless was the winner of second Nobel Prize in chemistry. This is almost unheard of.  This time I did not ask what if?  I know who I am.

Be well my friends; Fight on. 

Moose

No comments: