Funny...You Don't Look Like a Chemist!

If I had a dollar every time someone made that comment to me over the last thirty years, I'd have a lot of dollars!  Really!  It's true!  So what's a chemist (or any scientist for that matter) supposed to look like?  Oh-did I not mention that I'm a woman?  Maybe that's where the stereotypical confusion happens!  Lol!...as everyone says today!  As I racked my brain trying to conjure up a great first entry for this blog, I figured I'd open up with who I am and a bit of background.  What better way than to start off with what I've been  hearing since I started my science journey so many years ago.  So let me begin with some history, then I will explain what you can expect from this blog and what future postings might be about. 

My name is Anne-Marie Rossmeisl and I am a Consulting Chemist.  I am the owner of AM Rossmeisl Consulting in Pelham, New Hampshire, USA.  I decided to start a consulting business after being out of the workforce for about 15 years, but still had vast knowledge of chemistry and related sciences.  After graduating from college, I worked at DuPont for 14 years at one of their biotechnology/pharmaceutical products sites in the Boston, MA area.  I worked as a Senior Staff Chemist in the Radioiodination Dept. performing Custom Synthesis work for researchers in the pharmaceutical and medical industries who needed their compounds labeled with the isotopes of 125-I and 131-I.  This is a very unique niche in the biotechnology realm, but one that is very interesting.  I decided to be a Stay-At-Home Mom once I had my daughter, so I was out of the workforce for some time.  When she became a teenager, I began thinking of ways of how I could get back into the working world, but still be home to do "Mom" things.  That's where consulting became a great idea and option.  I could run this business out of my home with minimal travel time.
 
I may have been out of the workplace for awhile, but I still possessed the knowledge and expertise of how to perform radioiodinations and all the procedures and protocols that go along with these techniques.  I felt that I could provide a unique service to other scientists who would need advice and tips in this area of chemistry.

The business has been slow (launched in May 2015) but I am confident that eventually the right networking and "word of mouth" references will pay off.

I decided to start a blog so I could reach more people, provide articles on how-to's (tips if you will) of iodination techniques and have posts on unique perspectives in the science world.

The name of my blog, The Half Life, has a two-fold meaning.  As you have gathered, I come from the radiopharmaceutical industry.  Half-life meaning half the time it takes an isotope to decay.  The other meaning has to do with where I am in my life.  I'll be 53 in June, so maybe I'm halfway through my life?  Half-time?  Halfway mark?  I like to think of it as starting a second chapter.  In any event, I thought the title was witty and clever!

So maybe I'm not your traditional chemist as I stated at the beginning, but I do have expertise in my field and can be an asset to potential clients who may need my assistance.  I do have a unique perspective as a woman in this field (I have stories!), but I have never been discouraged even though some have tried to do that to me along the way.  Women in the sciences are a rare thing, but I have never let that prevent me from doing what I was interested in as a career.  What's a "woman" chemist supposed to look like?  Because I like to wear stylish clothes, fix my hair, wear make-up, and get my nails done, I can't be a chemist too?  With a brain?  And have expertise in certain areas?  Oh-no one told me that!  Lol, again!!!  But I digress.  More on women in the sciences at a later date, but you get a feel for how I perceive things.

For now, I'd like to leave you with where on social media you can find out more about me:
My website:  https://www.amrossmeisl.wix.com/amrossmeislconsult
Find me on LinkedIn:  Anne-Marie (Lemay) Rossmeisl
E-mail:  amrossmeisl@gmail.com for inquiries, questions, consulting services
Twitter:  @amrchemconsult
Facebook:  www.facebook.com/amrchemconsult My page is called AMRossmeisl Consulting
Connect with me on Google +: Anne-Marie Rossmeisl

Please stay tuned for future posts where I will discuss iodination techniques, related radioactivity/radiation topics and miscellaneous topics such as women in the sciences.
Hope you found this first entry interesting.  Until next time!  I'll leave you with this quote from Marie Curie which I find apropos:

"You must never be fearful about what you are doing when it's right."--Marie Curie