Who are you? Where are you from?
Trevor: "I am Trevor A. Hamlin, where 'A' stands for Alexander. It is essential to choose your name carefully and maintain it throughout your academic career so that others can easily find you in relation to your publications. I was born in Fountain Valley, California, just outside Los Angeles, United States. In September 2015, my wife, Mary Kate Hamlin, and I moved to Amsterdam for my postdoctoral training, and we quickly fell in love with the country, the culture, and the cycling."
What is your area of expertise and why did you enter this field of research?
Trevor: "My specialization lies in theoretical chemistry, where I use computational methods to investigate molecular interactions and reactions. Initially trained in organic synthesis, I was always fascinated by how molecules encounter each other, react, and transform into more complex structures. This interest led me to shift my focus from synthetic to theoretical chemistry, where I study reaction mechanisms using tools such as density functional theory to understand reactivity and selectivity."
What inspired you to pursue a career in science, and how has that motivation evolved over time?
Trevor: "Since childhood, I've been fascinated by how things work and often took apart and reassembled toys. With a background in construction, I learned various building skills from my father, such as framing and installing doors and windows. During my studies, I also became interested in building on a smaller scale, such as constructing molecules with organic synthesis. Nowadays, my focus is on theoretical and computational chemistry, where our predictions are used to explain and justify experimental results."
What role do collaboration and interdisciplinary approaches play in your work?
Trevor: "I enjoy collaborating with experimental chemists. Often, they come to me with a novel chemical transformation and ask me to figure out the mechanistic steps involved in converting reactants to products. To understand this, we perform density functional theory calculations to unravel the mechanism of the transformation. With advanced tools, we can then develop elegant and simple models to explain why one product is formed over another."
What impact would you like to make on the world?
Trevor: "I aim to demonstrate how computational chemistry and density functional theory calculations can predict and explain real-world chemistry. With increasing computational power, we can design new reactions or catalysts through theory-driven experiments. Experimental chemists can use our design principles to develop new experiments. This approach has the potential to rapidly generate more efficient, selective, and high-yielding reactions with fewer byproducts, leading to minimized waste and more precise recipes for successful organic transformations."
Tell us something we don't know about you. Hobbies, interests...
Trevor: "My three-year-old daughter means everything to me. We enjoy doing active things together, like exploring the forest, observing insects, flowers, and plants, and digging in our garden. Our backyard is filled with various types of fruit such as raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, and red currants, along with flowering plants that provide color throughout the year.
Another hobby of mine is working out and weightlifting. Additionally, I volunteer with my neighborhood community group called 'Van brug tot brug' in Almere Kruidenwijk. We maintain flower beds, trees, and other plants in the area between the bridges, and we have established a communal herb garden with basil, coriander, thyme, and rosemary. This garden provides us with fresh herbs for several months of the year, which is a great alternative to frequent trips to Albert Heijn for herbs in plastic packaging. It is heartwarming to see the community come together, and during the warmer months, you can see children from the neighborhood picking berries straight from the bushes."Meer weten over Trevor A Hamlin?
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