Atul Agarwal (Jun 1995 - Sep 1997) I spent a couple of years at Boehringer Ingelheim in Ridgefield, CT, before moving to MRI in 1995. Since departing from MRI in Sept of 1997, I have worked at (late) Metabasis Therapeutics in San Diego, and then (late) Wyeth Research in New York. Next, I was offered a position at Achillion Pharmaceuticals of New Haven, CT, in 2002, and have been working there. I have worked in several therapeutic areas, immunological diseases, metabolic disorders, oncology, CNS, infectious diseases, etc. I had started out as a computational chemist after my Ph.D. from University of Georgia in Computational and Synthetic Chemistry. But, over the years, I have added RDBMS, informatics, lab automation and translational science to my technical skill set. I have been putting these skills to use (directly or indirectly) in my current position and contributing to antiviral and antibacterial research.

Anubha and I got married while I was working at MRI. Our oldest son was born there as well. Ank is now a freshman in high school. Next, we were blessed with a daughter while in San Diego. Aakshi is a 7th grader now. Our youngest son was born in New York. Akshar is currently in 5th grade. While staying home and raising our children, despite her computer background, Anubha often found herself watching HGTV. Taking a cue from there, she has been working as a realtor since last three years. Anubha loves pets and we have two little dogs. Once children are out of the home, Anubha might be able to spend more time with pets.(updated 1/13/12).

Vilia Ann Payne (Sep 1997 - Mar 2000) I worked for Pharmacia and Lexicon Genetics after leaving MRI. She eventually got tired of research and decided to get a teaching certificate. She is currently teaching physics and chemistry in Bogata, Texas. She has one son, George W.S. Payne, adopted from the Republic of Kazakhstan in 2006. George is currently focusing on correctly printing the alphabet in his kindergarten class. FYI, George is the most awesome kid, ever. (updated 1/7/12).

David Woon (Oct 1994 - Oct 2006): After 12 years at MRI, I moved to Illinois to work again with Thom Dunning in the Chemistry Department at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where I am a Research Scientist. Our group has found a new angle on understanding hypervalency. This got us interested in how bonding is taught in General Chemistry, and we have NSF support to develop a new module on atoms, molecules, and bonding. I still have NASA funding to study astrochemistry, too, and continue to develop my Astrochymist website, which I started in 2003 when I was at MRI. On the personal side, I am currently dating an archaeologist named Laura, who is the curator for the Illinois State Archaeological Survey. Laura and I are getting married in June! Here's our website. (updated 4/27/12)