Scientist shares thrill of discovery

• Published date: 22 June 2022
• Publication title: Napier Courier, The

William Colenso College (WCC) community co-ordinator Sue Martin organised Amar Flood’s visit a couple of weeks ago

“It was a real pleasure to hear that Amar was visiting his whanau in Napier and agreed to generously take time out of his stay to talk to Year12 and 13 students at William Colenso College.”

Sue says Amar shared his journey through WCC and on to the US, where he conducts research and teaches chemistry at Indiana University.

“He talked fondly of the great teachers and classmates that he believes contributed to who he is today. He also believes that learning a range of subjects at school helped him become a more balanced person.”

Sue says Amar remembers WCC as a school that gave him free range to explore everything he wanted to learn.

“He recalls tramping around Mount Taranaki with his classmates and Mr Kay, who recently retired. He also enjoyed time helping his father build houses and this experience helped inform his approach to conducting research in chemistry.”

Amar explained to students that every molecule you design, make and use is like building a house. You have to design it to function, like a living room, but you have to make it first to really assess how well the living spaces function in reality. The same approach is required for the design of molecules, he says.

“He told us that initially he was more interested in maths, art and art history but once he got to Otago University, he pursued his science passion and achieved a BSc and PhD.”

Apart from being a scientist teaching chemistry at Indiana University, Amar is a professor working with a group of scientists-in-training...