Interview with Sam Kean, the author of “The Disappearing Spoon”, at Pacifichem 2015. In The Disappearing Spoon, Kean looked at every element on the Periodic Table and explains the role of each one in science, mythology, the arts, war, medicine, and other areas. Mario Müller talked with him in Hawaii for ChemistryViews.org about his fascination of science and what he wants to achieve with his stories.

Sam Kean is a writer in Washington, D.C, USA. He studied physics and English in Minnesota, USA.

His stories have appeared in The Best American Science and Nature Writing, The Atlantic, The New York Times Magazine, Mental Floss, Slate, and Psychology Today, among other places, and his work has been featured on “Radiolab” and NPR’s “All Things Considered,” among other shows. His books The Disappearing Spoon and The Violinist’s Thumb were US national bestsellers.

 

Selected Publications

• The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons: The History of the Human Brain as Revealed by True Stories of Trauma, Madness, and Recovery,
  Sam Kean,
  Little, Brown and Company, New York, 2014.
  ISBN: 9780316182348
• The Violinist’s Thumb: And Other Lost Tales of Love, War, and Genius, as Written by Our Genetic Code,
  Sam Kean,
  Little, Brown and Company, New York, 2012.
  ISBN: 978-0316182317
• The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements,
  Sam Keane,
  Little, Brown and Company, New York, 2010.
  ISBN: 9780316051644

 

Also from Pacifichem

• Video: Research and Innovation in Asia,
  Mario Müller,
  ChemistryViews.org 2015.
  Interview with Professor Andy Hor, University of Hong Kong and President of the Federation of Asian Chemical Societies (FACS)
• Snapshots from Pacifichem 2015

---

• Homepage of Sam Kean
• Recorded at Pacifichem 2015, the international chemical congress of pacific basin societies
• Event: Pacifichem 2015, Hawaii.