Alternative Energy Expert Frances Arnold Profiled in the LA Times

For biochemist and chemical engineer Frances Arnold, the road to success has not been straight and narrow. In fact, she has often bucked the academic tradition of rigorous, time-consuming pre-experiment methodology for a more fast and furious approach to research.

"I said 'OK, if one experiment doesn't work I'm going to do a million experiments, and I don't care if 999,999 don't work. I'm going to find the one that does,'" said Arnold, the Dickinson Professor of Chemical Engineering, Bioengineering and Biochemistry at Caltech, in a profile published online and in the July 3 print edition of the Los Angeles Times.

Her unconventional approach has paid off. She is co-founder of a company that develops liquid fuel from plants and oversees a lab of 20 students and researchers dedicated to alternative energy.

To learn more about Arnold's career path, including a stint as a cab driver, read the full profile here.