THE SCIENTIST | Prof. William Dichtel Discusses New Uses for Covalent Organic Frameworks

It was 1995, and a young William Dichtel had finished taking all the science classes available in his small high school in Roanoke, Virginia. His chemistry teacher, who happened to have a Ph.D., tutored the budding scientist in organic chemistry. “I went to college, took more classes in chemistry, and the rest is history,” Dichtel says. Today, Prof. William Dichtel, chemistry, studies how to build new organic materials that may have promising use in our daily lives, from more efficient batteries to highly sensitive explosive detectors. Apart from research, he also teaches organic chemistry and is involved in efforts to improve undergraduate science education.