After some minor pieces of theoretical study that I worked on, a student in my statistical mechanics class brought to my attention a problem in polyelectrolytes.

My interest in the sciences started with mathematics in the very beginning, and later with chemistry in early high school and the proverbial home chemistry set.

Growing up, mostly in Montreal, I was an only child of loving parents.

Being exposed to theory, stimulated by a basic love of concepts and mathematics, was a marvelous experience.

My education at Baron Byng High School was excellent, with dedicated masters (boys and girls were separate).

About 1960, it became clear that it was best for me to bring the experimental part of my research program to a close - there was too much to do on the theoretical aspects - and I began the process of winding down the experiments.

After some minor pieces of theoretical study that I worked on, a student in my statistical mechanics class brought to my attention a problem in polyelectrolytes.