Sir Harry Kroto is the Francis Eppes Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Florida State University. He is also the co-discoverer of C60, the Buckminster fullerene molecule, which is a cage molecule with 60 carbon atoms. The discovery of these "Bucky balls" led to Kroto, Robert Curl, and Richard Smalley to win the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1996. Kroto explains how his research in interstellar carbon led to this discovery, and about his early beginnings in chemistry.
Aired Dec. 21, 2014.