The Professor Wenthold's Avatar

The Professor Wenthold

@paulwenthold.bsky.social

Physical organic chemist (capital P little o), runner, father of two, husband of one; Rat whisperer and always on the lookout for another Boston terrier. Ask me about men's gymnastics, volleyball, wrestling, track or cross country.

45 Followers  |  43 Following  |  142 Posts  |  Joined: 12.11.2024
Posts Following

Posts by The Professor Wenthold (@paulwenthold.bsky.social)

Post image

I had a dream last night about this molecule. In the dream the question was what is the name, but it's got me fascinated because we are talking about carboxylic acid derivatives and this is a bicyclic lactate? Could it be synthesized from the alpha, omega amino acid? Should I put this on my exam?

02.03.2026 14:39 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
Preview
Postdoc Research Associate - Photochemistry Position Title: Postdoc Research Associate - Photochemistry Appointment Type: Post Doc/Trainee Job Description: Summary of Duties and Responsibilities: The Winter laboratory in the Department of Chemi...

We have a postdoc position available to study photoreaction mechanisms using femtosecond and nanosecond transient absorption spectroscopy: isu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/IowaStateJob... #chempostdocs #chemistryjobs #chemjobs

24.02.2026 15:28 — 👍 2    🔁 1    💬 0    📌 0

Seriously, how far off the rails does it have to be for them to rule against him? Of course, we knew it was going to come out that way which is why they sat on it a month instead of releasing it when it was done. They gave themselves time to figure out a way to make it work but couldn't

20.02.2026 22:27 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

I might be losing my perspective. Happy Friday! 4/4

20.02.2026 19:48 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

Some days I feel that way about my organic lecture. Today I talked about reducing your grandmother with LAH, laser tag in the woods at an ACSSA party and finished up sticking my tongue in a glass of Coke until it was numb (Coke/tongue challenge). 3/4

20.02.2026 19:48 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0

"The Producer said we had lost our perspective. I don't know, he may have been right. When we started, I was wearing a tux. By the end, I was wearing a kilt with tails, a football helmet, and a holster with a rubber chicken in it."

2/4

20.02.2026 19:48 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0

I remember seeing an interview with Chuck Barris a few years back talking about the Gong Show:

1/4

20.02.2026 19:48 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0

There's a reason why the Olympic Village has basically an unlimited supply of condoms. I haven't connected the dots exactly but i think it's related to your cimm

16.02.2026 01:15 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

You dont even need a ticket to board a train! Granted it might be an issue when the conductor comes by but you can even buy tickets from them often these days. You get on train, find a seat, when the conductor comes by you show them the ticket on your phone. Easy peasy.

12.02.2026 01:06 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

What I hear from Williamsburg is that it wasn't actually a goose (Canada or otherwise) but was actually a camcorder. If you watch the video of him getting on, it doesn't look like he has a camera but the thought it was one of the other passengers who got on with him

06.02.2026 20:17 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0

Got a random text this week asking if we would consider offers on our house. I told them we weren't looking to sell, but we'd take $10 mil (it's not worth that). They actually replied ("no worries") but no counter-offer. I told my wife, I'd could go as low as 5 mil....

01.02.2026 02:54 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

ChemEs!

01.02.2026 02:20 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0

Children's Literature
History of Math
The worst Electronics course ever (never really got past RC circuits - how can you take college Electronics and know nothing about how a transistor works or what it's used for?)
Complex Analysis (so cool)
Contemporary Political Problems (bad prof)

01.02.2026 00:53 — 👍 3    🔁 1    💬 0    📌 0

Except, of course, Quantitative Analysis. Of all things

31.01.2026 21:49 — 👍 2    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

I love cyclic allenes. Rich Johnson told us all about the bonding back in the 80s.

27.01.2026 13:28 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

Curse you Valentine's Day and your damned Cinnamon Jelly Hearts!

10.01.2026 15:33 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

Now I'm curious - which Nobel prize winners were Lewis students? I need to look into this

10.01.2026 02:31 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

Ooooo I like the Neptune fountain in Bologna. Probably my favorite in all Italy

02.01.2026 00:08 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0

I had a student who said I was like that "inconceivable" guy on The Princess Bride. He put it in the teaching evals and in RateMyProfessor

31.12.2025 02:17 — 👍 4    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

Picard maneuver?

31.12.2025 02:15 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
Department Head/Professor of Chemistry Department Head/Professor of Chemistry

Here's a job opportunity
careers.purdue.edu/job/Departme...

19.12.2025 23:42 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

I need to get back to NYC to hang out with these guys again...

18.12.2025 15:32 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

Man, I need my Atari 2600!!!!!

16.12.2025 03:01 — 👍 3    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

If we want evening exams we have to justify why we need 2hrs instead of 1 class period. For organic I always say that they use model kits and I want to assess them on how well they understand the material and not how fast they put models together

13.12.2025 17:08 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

eV

12.12.2025 21:18 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

But the EPA regulated only free phenol and not "things that decomposed to make phenol" so I didn't bother. I'm sure they were way over the phenol limit, but that's not what the law said to worry about

09.12.2025 22:54 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

A few years ago I was asked to analyze a polyphenol sample because there was a concern that the free phenol content exceeded EPA limits. It didn't, but there were a ton of phenol derivatives of all sorts in who knows what concentrations. Things like cresols and more.

09.12.2025 22:54 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0

"After considering the facts and a crash course in organic chemistry..." That's just classic.

What concerns me more is who was the person arguing that ethylene is a positional isomer of butylene?

I get that regulation of chemicals is hard, but this is a matter of what the statute says

09.12.2025 22:54 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 2    📌 0

Movie you’ve watched more than six times with a gif. Hard mode: no Stars (Wars nor Trek), LOTR, or Marvel, Disney Animated or Pixar.

08.12.2025 13:01 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

I wish my buddy Suzanne Bart was here....

06.12.2025 20:58 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0