Chemistry and chemicals get a bad rap, but unfairly so. Certainly that’s the view of AP De Silva, someone who fell in love with the subject in his native Sri Lanka and who has continued a fruitful career in Northern Ireland.

We talked with him about his humble origins, the serendipity of moving to Queen’s University, Belfast and the spiritual side of understanding molecules. We also learned about the life of someone who has experienced civil wars in two different countries, and how his work may have had life-saving impacts, all thanks to a tiny device with 6 little dots.