Introducing Dr Hessam Mehr
Tell us about yourself
Growing up, I was always fascinated by the complex physical world around me on the one hand, and the space of information where ideas and algorithms can be created out of thin air on the other. Because few academic programmes covered both ends of this spectrum, my early trajectory involved quite a bit of going back and forth. Beginning with my love for programming, I then shifted my focus to chemistry in high school; studied electrical engineering for my undergrad; and switched back to chemistry for my PhD, where I would spend long hours doing manual chemistry in a fume hood every day.
By the end of my PhD, I was tired of the arbitrary boundaries between disciplines, and how they siloed ideas, techniques, and scientists. I came to Glasgow seeking a place where I could immerse myself in the sum-total of my interests freely. Following four years as a post-doctoral researcher in the Cronin Group, I was awarded an early career fellowship by the Leverhulme Trust, which has allowed me to develop an independent research programme, using the ARC as the base for my nascent research group.
How would you describe your research interests and current work to someone who is completely new to the subject area?
I like to see chemistry not as a rigid system of rules and laws, but a human endeavour to understand and control nature’s building blocks. The specific motivations (e.g. alchemy’s quest for turning metals to gold), people, ideas and discoveries that paved the way to modern chemistry have left a distinct “fingerprint” on the field and invisibly control what we as chemists consider possible or interesting today. My research is founded upon the idea that outside this historical trajectory, alternative chemical paradigms with unique new capabilities can be conceived using today’s tools like robotics and AI. For example, my group is exploring chemical reactions in mists of microscopic droplets, instead of the glassware typically used in chemistry labs. As a result, we can try millions of reactions using only a few drops of reagent and never have to worry about washing the dishes after an experiment.
What would you most like people to know about you?
That I am always curious, always up for an interdisciplinary challenge, and care deeply about making a positive contribution to the research environment and culture around me.
What do you like most about working in the ARC?
For much of my research journey, exploring interdisciplinary ideas felt like swimming against the current. The ARC is the ideal environment I was always looking for - a home for diverse ideas and collaboration regardless of field affiliations and discipline boundaries. On a typical day, I find myself advising physics students, asking a bioengineering colleague for feedback on a paper in progress, and sharing the table with epidemiologists and University spin-out employees at lunch.
