For this episode I discuss my doctoral dissertation as an example of real research into surface chemistry in the early 1990s. We examine the structure of a germanium surface, and then see what happens when we add small molecules to that surface. I talk about the special apparatus required to observe a clean germanium surface, as well as what it means to get a Ph.D. in chemistry. Download a supplemental sheet with some images showing structures I discuss in this episode.Support the show Support my podcast at https://www.patreon.com/thehistoryofchemistry Tell me how your life relates to chemistry! E-mail me at steve@historyofchem.com Get my book, O Mg! How Chemistry Came to Be, from World Scientific Publishing, https://www.worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/12670#t=aboutBook