Writing Science/Science Writing
Online
Blogging at Field of Science as The Culture of Chemistry
Media
• Coordinative bonding to carbon more nuanced than first thought,
interview with Kirsten Hall for Chemistry World.
• Unlocking the Mysteries of the Universe, interview with Ira Pastor
for ideaXme.
• Fueled By Climate Change, Hurricanes Are Causing Industrial
Accidents. Who's Liable?, NPR's Shortwave Podcast
• She left a can of dry shampoo in her car. It blasted a hole through the roof, interview with Lateshia Beachum for The Washington Post
• Contaminant found in marijuana vaping products linked to deadly lung illnesses, tests show, interview with Lene H. Sun for The Washington Post
• 150th Anniversary of the Periodic Table, radio interview with Roland Pease for Science in Action (BBC)
• Raw Water, interview with Lindsey Bever for The Washington Post
• Five Books: Chemistry, interview with Caspar Henderson
• The ‘extremely flammable’ chemical behind the fire in the flooded Texas plant, interview with Ben Guarino for The Washington Post
• What Does a Body Good?, radio interview with Bob Garfield at On the Media (APR/NPR)
• A modern twist to that old fashioned chemistry set, radio interview with Todd Bookman for The Pulse (WHYY/NPR)
Audiobooks
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Great Catholic Scientists: Discoveries and Lives of Faith with Guy Consolmagno, S.J., Learn 25 (Also available on Audible)
Essays
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Decentring the central science, Nature Chemistry, 15, 1319-1320 (2023).
Folding up the questions, PRRUCS Journal, 3, 129-133 (2023)
ChatGPT saves the day, Nature Chemistry, 14, 890-891 (2023)
Poster children, Nature Chemistry, 15, 1-2 (2023)
Heart of glass, Nature Chemistry, 14, 717-718 (2022).
Drawing conclusions, Nature Chemistry, 14, 1-2 (2022)
Molecular Backstories, Nature Chemistry, 13, 923-924 (2021)
Hearing Voices, Nature Chemistry, 13, 615–617 (2021)
Cabinet of curiosities, Nature Chemistry, 13, 294–295 (2021)
Poetic License, Nature Chemsitry, 13, 3-4 (2021)
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"From Permission to Poise," L.M. Balbes and M.M. Francl, in Addressing the Gender Gap in Science, ed. S. Azad, ACS Symposium Series #1354, (2020)
Unit of Revolution, Nature Chemistry, 12, 879-880 (2020)
The invisible college, Nature Chemistry, 12, 582-583 (2020)
A chemist’s cup of tea, Nature Chemistry, 12, 319-320 (2020)
Postcards from the past, Nature Chemistry, 12, 1-3 (2020)
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Sleeping with your Science, Nature Chemistry, 11, 863-864 (2019)
Double Vision, Nature Chemistry, 11, 596-598 (2019)
The Weight of Water, Nature Chemistry, 11, 284-285 (2019)
Isotopic Enrichment, Nature Chemistry, 11, 101-102 (2019)
Ephemeral Elements, Nature Chemistry, 11, 2-4 (2019)
It’s Alive, Nature Chemistry, 10, 993-994 (2018)
Talking to Pauling's ghost, Nature Chemistry, 10, 688-689 (2018)
Atomic women, Nature Chemistry, 10, 373-375 (2018)
Making molecular monsters, Nature Chemistry, 10, 1-2 (2018)
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Identity crisis, Nature Chemistry, 9, 606 (2017)
It figures, Nature Chemistry, 9, 501 (2017)
Chemists boldly go, Nature Chemistry, 9, 4-5 (2017) with Michael J. Donnay
A brief history of water, Nature Chemistry, 8, 897–898 (2016)
Strangers to Fiction, Nature Chemistry, 8, 637-290 (2016)
Chemistry by degrees, Nature Chemistry, 8, 289-290 (2016)
Through the eyes of a chemist, Nature Chemistry, 8, 1-2 (2016)
Hunting up the ghosts of elements, UN Year of Light, October 2015
The enlightenment of chemistry, Nature Chemistry, 7, 761-762 (2015)
Clickbait Chemistry, C&E News, 10 August 2015
Chemical doublespeak, Nature Chemistry, 7, 533-534 (2015)
Scents and sensibility, Nature Chemistry, 7, 265-266 (2015)
Are Corporations Putting Feathers in Your Food? Slate Magazine, 18 February 2015
A molecule with a ring to it, Nature Chemistry, 7, 6-7 (2015)
Border Crossing, Chemical Heritage Magazine, Fall 2014/Winter 2015
Seeding crystallography, Nature Chemistry, 6, 842-844 (2014)
The write stuff, Nature Chemistry, 6, 555-556 (2014)
Attack of the clones, Nature Chemistry, 6, 267-268 (2014)
Laughing Matter, Nature Chemistry, 6, 1-2 (2014)
Take a number, Nature Chemistry, 5, 725-726 (2013)
How to counteract chemophobia, Nature Chemistry, 5, 439-440 (2013)
Felony Science, Slate, 3 May 2013
Tangible Assets, Nature Chemistry, 5, 147-148 (2013)
Don't take medical advice from the New York Times Magazine, Slate, 7 February 2013
Writing Bug, Chemical Heritage Magazine, Fall 2013/Winter 2013
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Naming Names, Nature Chemistry, 4, 956-957 (2012)
Homemade Chemists, Nature Chemistry, 4, 687-688 (2012)
Chemical abstractions, Nature Chemistry, 4, 427-428 (2012)
Zen and the art of molecules, Nature Chemistry, 4, 142-144 (2012)
A quantum of history, Nature Chemistry, 3, 902-903 (2011)
Spellbound by books, Nature Chemistry, 3, 651-652 (2011)
Sex and the citadel of science, Nature Chemistry, 3, 670-673 (2011)
Neolexia, Nature Chemistry, 3, 417-418 (2011)
Blogging on the sidelines, Nature Chemistry, 3, 183-184 (2011)
Selling science, Nature Chemistry, 2, 999-1000 (2010)
Urban legends of chemistry, Nature Chemistry, 2, 600-601 (2010)
Staging science, Nature Chemistry, 2, 338-339 (2010)
Pressure to Preserve, in Open Laboratory 2009, B. Zivkovic and Scicurious, eds., 2010
Men of mystery, Nature Chemistry, 2, 68-70 (2010)
Back to basics, Nature Chemistry, 1, 681 (2009)
Mapping the two cultures, Nature Chemistry, 1, 591-592 (2009)
Stretching topology, Nature Chemistry, 1, 334-335 (2009)
Table manners, Nature Chemistry, 1, 97-98 (2009)
Elemental MoThEr. in Parenting and Professing: Balancing Family Work with an Academic Career, ed. Rachel Hile-Basset, Vanderbilt University Press, June 2005
Books
Contributed six entries to Oxford Companion to Sweets, D. Goldstein, ed., Oxford University Press, 2015: Starch, Colorings, Sugar of Lead, Biochemistry of Sugar, Yeast, Chemical Leaveners
Contributor to ACS Physical Chemistry Examination Study Guide, 2010, ACS Examinations Institute
A Survival Guide for Physical Chemistry, M.M. Francl, Physics Curriculum & Instruction Press, 2001
Other Media
Introduction to Quantum Chemistry (podcast)
Introduction to Quantum Chemistry (video casts and summaries of lectures)
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