The first year of graduate school, Tim knocked on Jess’s door in the MIT Ashdown House dorm and asked for all the metal cans in her recycling. Why? “I’m building a tiny nuclear reactor,” said Tim. The chemistry followed from there – literally. Jess would never have survived the merciless physical chemistry coursework if it weren’t for Tim’s assistance and near elation about some of the most fundamental (read: mundane) corners of their field.

This bond turned covalent over 5 years of co-residence in the four-person reaction flask that was 369 Cardinal Medeiros Avenue. The Cambridge police know them as the Incredibles after a heroic performance at The International House in Porter Square. Tim exposed Jess to the origins of her Vulcan tendencies by instigating Star Trek watch parties. Jess helped Tim realize just how flexible he is by dragging him to the chemistry yoga group she organized.

Tim is now applying his enthusiasm for science and skills in patience that he refined with Jess as an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Union College in Schenectady, New York.