What I Learned

Corteva’s Vid Hegde explains the essential nature of on-the-job experiences

Dimi Katsoulis shares a wealth of key insights from his 33 years with Dow

Ruth Wexler, Bristol-Myers Squibb (retired), urges colleagues to focus on the team, the science, and mentoring

Jon Coffman, AstraZeneca, maintains there is a better way to evaluate talent

Michael Tunick knows a thing or two about cheese (and wrote a book about it)

Christopher Simone achieves success through collaboration and engagement with colleagues

Ghirardelli R&D Manager Sarah reflects on the challenges of constantly coming up with something new to tempt your sweet tooth

Michael Fuller, Senior Completions Subject Matter Expert, Chevron Technical Center, shares how he secured that first job out of graduate school, the current focus for the Chemical Sciences Roundtable (Mike is a member), and chemistry’s role in addressing oil production challenges

Mick Hurrey, InCarda’s VP, Product Development, shares his thoughts on why lifelong learning is so critical to career advancement at all levels, and why he thinks biopharma won’t necessarily burnish its reputation despite its stunning success developing COVID-19 vaccines

Sergio Nanita, a mass spectrometrist who recently joined International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) after a 15-year stint with DuPont, credits his university educators for launching his professional career, and his long and impressive body of volunteer work with ACS

Maria-Jesus Blanco, Head of Chemistry and Senior Director, Sage Therapeutics, explains why scientific literacy matters, how mentorships are key to advancing the principles of diversity, equity, inclusion and respect, and how early career chemists can build a career in medicinal chemistry.

Cargill’s Michelle Rogers reflects on joining a company at the start of the pandemic, how an ‘off-the-scale’ introvert has evolved in her reaction to the pandemic, and the importance of self-reflection to her career advancement

Kelly Brush, a research scientist at Ashland Specialty Chemicals, talks about what makes for a successful leader, and how to adapt to working for a new company

Check out the staff’s take on the fourteen most interesting questions and answers we published last year from our many What I Learned contributors. Dorothy Phillips, Chris Bodurow, Tom Lane, Kevin Edgar, Dawn Mason, Lisa Houston and eight others are back for an encore appearance

“How have your parents influenced your leadership style?” Tom Lane, Chris Bodurow, Richard Cobb, Kevin Edgar, Beth Lorsbach, and six others have interesting things to say on the topic