Vivian Yam: ‘Teaching and research go hand in hand’

It’s a very colourful world. When I was a kid, I was fascinated by all the colours in the flowers and in the sky, but at that time I didn’t know it was related to chemistry. My first encounter with chemicals was probably in primary school, when I accidentally broke a thermometer. The mercury was flowing around, coalescing – it was so interesting. I actually kept the mercury in a small vial, and from time to time I took it out to play with. My mother didn’t know about it.

My first job was in a new department of applied science in a polytechnic. We had to go from scratch, ordering the first beaker in the lab, the first chemistry book for the library, the first chemical and the first equipment. There was nothing, really nothing. I learned a lot from those days. After that I would treasure and cherish what I had, and not take things for granted. When you work under hardship, then you appreciate how good it is when you have more resources.

I usually worked long hours, and I usually worked seven days a week. But I really enjoyed it. Afterwards, when I had kids, I usually stayed at home on Sundays.