User:Benzene

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Greetings and welcome to my wiki page.

Contents 1 Name Etymology 2 Family and Origins 3 Degrees 4 Editing Notes 5 Technology 6 Entertainment 7 Publications 8 Miscellaneous/Trivia

[edit] Name Etymology

My "real" name is Elihu C. Ihms. I was named after the biblical Elihu, the third friend of Job. There are a surprising number of Elihu's that have wikipedia articles. My last name, I am told, is a derivative of "Ihm", the german masculine possive plural.

[edit] Family and Origins

My family line is almost exclusively Teutonic. My paternal side is almost exclusively germanic. My mother's family is related to Benjamin Franklin, and bears both english and germanic bloodlines.

My father holds a Ph.D in organic chemistry from the University of Missouri–Rolla, and my mother has a masters in ceramic engineering, also from UMR. My maternal grandfather was a graduate of Texas A&M, holding graduate degrees in both mathematics and physics. I have two sisters, one biological and one adopted from Thailand.

I am happily married. My wife is completing her B.S. in biology, with an eye to studies in Immunology and Veterinary medicine.

[edit] Degrees

I have a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from Indiana Wesleyan University, and am currently finishing my masters in Biochemistry/Biophysics from Texas A&M University. Currently I work in the lab of Andy LiWang, studying the properties of hydrogen bonds using NMR spectroscopy on small model molecules. I am also interested in various aspects of Computational Biology. I have done a fair amount of fluorescence spectroscopy, namely fluorescence anisotropy and single molecule fluorescence, although NMR is my specialty.

I've been lucky enough to have several excellent mentors throughout my educational career, and it is their influence that has greatly shaped my love for science.

[edit] Editing Notes

I'm a relatively new wiki editor, so if I make any errors please don't hesistate to call me on them. Please help me learn to improve!

I don't have lots of time to spend on anything other than my studies, so currently I just check spelling, punctuation, etc. If I ever get more time, I'd like to expand my role in the various wiki projects, as I think they're a great resource and use them frequently myself.

[edit] Technology

I'm an avid Apple Macintosh fan, but have also used various distributions of Linux, and have been forced against my will at times to use Microsoft Windows. Although I've not had the time to do any serious programming (see "Degrees" above), I used to write quite a bit in C, C++ and various BASIC flavors (when required). Several years ago I picked up PHP, and use that exclusively on my site. I've used Perl in the past, but don't have much use for it these days, other than the odd script or so.

I have worked various Helldesk positions at both Indiana Wesleyan University and Lincoln Land Community College. While at LLCC, I was a member of the Prominence solar car team that participated in Sunrayce '97 and '99 (the precursor to the American Solar Challenge.

[edit] Entertainment

When we have the time, my wife and I play Halo/Halo 2, as I have been a Bungie fan since Marathon. Most of the games I enjoy, however, are older games that concentrate more on gameplay and storyline rather than flashy graphics.

I am a great fan of books, currently possessing over 500 titles (nearly all of them read at least once), with designs on eventually amassing a great library. I collect old science textbooks, as they provide an entertaining look at the development of scientific thought and terminology. Favorite topics would be history and science, as I (generally) find novels a waste of time. It would be exceptionally hard for me to pick a favorite author.

Although not an anime fan, I enjoyed the Ghost in the Shell movies, as well as the Stand Alone Complex series. I wholeheartedly believe that a technological age similar in many ways to Masamune Shirow's vision will one day be upon us, and it will require answers to some very sticky questions. I am a moderate fan of CSI, and entertained by medical dramas like House, M.D. and Scrubs.

[edit] Publications

"Thermogravimetric Analysis as a Polymer Identification Technique in Forensic Applications", Journal of Forensic Science March 10, 2004

[edit] Miscellaneous/Trivia

My wife and I own two pets, a tuxedo tabby cat named "Mifkis", and a Boston Terrier ("Dueker"), who was named after my undergraduate physical chemistry professor.

It is my goal to eventually speak both Chinese and German fluently.