Behind the Test Tube: Q&A
Tom Driver—Professor of Chemistry
Where is home/Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Columbus, Indiana. Both of my parents were elementary school teachers (5th and 6th grade), and we spent the summers working on my grandparent’s farm (mom’s side) near Vallonia, Indiana.
Why did you choose chemistry as a career?
When I started at Indiana University, I thought I wanted to go to medical school, and I chose Biochemistry as a major. This aspiration lasted until my sophomore year when I had two fantastic professors—Bill Roush and Dave Williams and three great TAs-Sherry Chemler, Chad Bennett and Todd Brugel—who taught organic chemistry in such a fashion that it captured my heart and imagination. Because of them, I changed my major and joined the Montgomery research group, where I had an amazing experience working with Kyle Starkey and David Engel synthesizing sulfur-rich heterocycles to study their conducting properties. It was these experiences that made me want to become an organic chemist. The conversations that I had with Keith Woerpel—my PhD advisor—made me want to try and be a professor.
What is your proudest accomplishment while at the URochester?
So far, my proudest accomplishment is moving my fantastic graduate students from Chicago to Rochester with only a few hiccups. Ask me this question in a few more years!
What do you like to do when not in the department?
I have a couple of hobbies that I enjoy: bike rides/training/racing--especially at the velodrome are a ton of fun. Racing at the velodrome is awesome because each race has different rules and each night you get to race four times. (It’s really like playing 4 different games.) My favorite race is the Madison, and I am looking forward to racing this winter at the velodrome in Milton, which is just across the border. I also enjoy cooking with Laura. Our favorite food blogs are recipetineats and smittenkitchen. Both Nagi’s and Deb’s recipes always work. (Our current favorites are Nagi’s spicy Sichuan pork noodles, and Deb’s caccio e pepe.) We are always interested in hearing about everyone’s favorite recipes, new techniques, or secret ingredients to add a pop to an old standard.
A Rochester must?
Exploring the Finger Lakes.
Feast/meal of the times? Details, please!
Peking duck. One of the very few positives that came out of the pandemic was take home holiday meals from restaurants in Chicago that you would cook at home. We were very fortunate to cook an amazing thanksgiving meal from Duck Duck Goat. In 2022, their meal was a twist on Peking duck with smashed cucumbers, tortillas, and pickled salsa. It may have wrecked our oven but was worth every moment of cleaning it.
An inspiring book/movie /show? We are really curious as to why!
Inspiring might be a stretch…but favorite authors/books/movies/TV shows that I re-read/re-watch include Yoon Ha Lee, Tamsyn Muir, Mark Lawrence, Ann Leckie, Movies—anything directed by Christopher Nolan; TV shows…Battlestar Galactica (reboot), The Good Place, Severance, Justified, all BBC crime dramas (e.g. Broadchurch, Luther, Shetland…)
A holiday that rocks? Care to tell us why?
Halloween!
Care to share about a special tradition in your family/town/country?
Nothing really comes to mind. My family was definitely vanilla in terms of traditions.
Fun fact or quote:
Our sourdough starter is almost 10 years old.
Ask me about…
Liverpool FC
The goal of this initiative is to highlight the diversity of backgrounds and perspectives in the Department of Chemistry and help our community develop stronger connections and synergies. You can think of these spotlights as the beginning of a conversation that we very much hope you will continue in the corridors of Hutch and beyond.
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