July 18, 2005 - 7:04 p.m. I'm discovering that the most interesting part of research this summer has nothing to do with chemistry. My favorite parts of each day are the little interactions with all of the people I work with. We are a family, and as the newest member, I'm discovering that I belong. Each of the guys in my group are very different, though at first they seem the same. JMo (Justin) is my buddy and my champion. He took a shine to me early this summer and was really the first one I got close to. He seems to be the tough frat boy player on the outside, but--don't tell anyone--he's much softer than he seems. Rob is a harder nut to crack; he has a plethora of characteristic sayings ("sad face", "bad news bears", "cute") that make me laugh. Rob appears impenetrable, but I got to see him vulnerable and uncomfortable when we took him shopping. DRob (David) is our pack leader. He doesn't try; he's actually very quiet and quite shy, but he's honestly the most talented among us. I hardly know him, but I see that he is a kindred spirit. Ace (Ryan) is my lab partner and I dare not say anything much more about him for fear he will some day find this and misunderstand me. Ace and I make an excellent pair, but I think I might be the only member of the current group who can claim that. Lastly, Luay is our "orphan" as Dr. Purser calls him. A math major, he is just hanging out for the summer. It's nice to have someone around who knows just a little less than I do, that it may not be so obvious when I lag behind. He's a bona fide goofball and makes our group louder and more lighthearted. Two more notable characters are Kate and Jenny, the pre-freshman girls who work in other parts of the department. They are good friends and work out buddies and little sisters in a way. Both of them are rather far from home, and so it's nice to know that they are connected. In Purser's group, we are a family. Dr. Purser is our father, our brother, our friend, our teacher, and our coach. The guys are fast becoming my big huge protective older brothers. Only at a small university would I have the opportunity to become so close to faculty and even to other students with such different interests. I think the fact that I am so much more interested in the well-being of my new brothers than in our research is evidence that I am a people person before I am a scientist. I do not mind that my work does not consume me; my true work is people. ...before & after...