The Alchemy of Us: How Humans and Matter Transformed One Another

The Introduction describes Ramirez’s longstanding interest in science. Her inquisitive nature and popular television programs set her on a path toward a career in the sciences. The PBS show 3-2-1 Contact was particularly influential because it included a segment in which a Black girl solved problems, thereby providing Ramirez with a role model of the same sex and race.

Although dry introductory science courses in college nearly ended Ramirez’s career before it began, her interest was reignited when she discovered materials science. This field, which falls between chemistry and physics, focuses on the properties, composition, and structure of solid materials. Ramirez compares it to her home state of New Jersey, which is wedged between two well-known entities—Philadelphia and New York City: “If there were no City of Brotherly Love or Big Apple, New Jersey would have been a fine and respectable state […] But the Garden State is overshadowed by its overpowering neighbors. The same holds for materials science” (xii).

Ramirez focuses on little-known inventors—and on presenting well-known inventors in a new light: “I highlight ‘others’ to allow more people to see their reflection. I use storytelling with the hopes of bringing the wonder and fun of science to more people” (xv). The idea for The Alchemy of Us stems from a glassblowing class that Ramirez took. She realized that the glass was shaping her as much as she was shaping it. Glassblowing not only distracted her from her problems but also provided her with a deeper understanding and appreciation for the material.

In presenting materials science advancements, Ramirez places them alongside their historical context. For instance, she cites the music of Madonna, “an erudite twentieth-century sociologist” (xv) who—in her 1984 hit Material Girl sang about living in a material world. Ramirez recognizes the fundamental truth of Madonna’s song: “She was absolutely right. Everything around us is made of something. But not only do we live in a material world, we are in a dance with these materials, too. We form them, but they, in turn, shape us” (xv).