Resumen de Synthesizing a Life: An Interview with Carl Djerassi
In this interview, Carl Djerassi recalls his first years, from his pleasant childhood, to how he escaped the Nazi persecutions, to his college education in America. He remembers how with his research group he won the race for synthesis of cortisone, and how they then synthesized norethindrone, the active ingredient in oral contraceptives. Djerassi also discusses the sometimes-difficult relationship of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows with professors. This is also the subject of two of his “science-in-fiction” books. Djerassi shares his views about the careers of women in academia, and the interactions and the problems that can arise when a university professor accepts a position in industry. Beyond discussing human reproductive advances and feminist positions, as well as recurring themes in his second life as a successful writer, Djerassi shares his personal experience with sorrow and death.
