Sason Shaik is Director of the Lise Meitner Minerva Center for Computational Quantum Chemistry. In August the GDCh awarded him the August Wilhelm von Hofmann Medal in Prague. Nachrichten aus der Chemie asked him about non-mainstream ideas and what chemistry and poetry have in common. Nachrichten aus der Chemie: You have been awarded the August Wilhelm von Hofmann Medal, the most international award given by the German Chemical Society. Were you surprised? Sason Shaik: Surprised? No. But pleased? Yes. I made my career with theories that are not mainstream. I used valence bond theory, and in the beginning people thought ‘Who is this guy with th...