IN THE EARLY DAYS OF HIS RESEARCH, JOHN POLANYI MADE MOVIES OF HIS WORK. He compiled them into what he calls "a lovely 40-minute film" in which the subjects "embrace and kiss." The image of lovers comes immediately to mind – but this is not the topic of John Polanyi’s tale of discovery. The passionate partners he speaks of are, in fact, molecules. And the discovery – which took shape in a broom closet-cum-laboratory in 1959 – is a technique called infrared chemiluminescence, a method for understanding how molecules are reborn in a chemical reaction. Not as sexy a story, but one that helped create an entirely new field of research in chemistry: reaction dynamics. Infrared chemiluminescence, which earned Polanyi the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1986, essentially illuminates molecules to show how they vibrate and rotate during a chemical reaction. In doing so, the technique gives scientists crucial information about how these reactions work. It’s ground-breaking stuff, and it set the stage for the development of some of the most powerful lasers in existence today. But it’s not the only thing that sets Polanyi apart. Equally interesting is what he has achieved outside the lab, shaping ideas and opinions on a range of issues in science and beyond. Influenced by an early family life in England filled with discussions about political and social issues, a young Polanyi believed strongly in the responsibility of scientists to contribute to the world outside the lab. And it was this conviction that would shape his career and broaden the impact he has had as a scientist. A graduate of the University of Manchester and a post-doctoral fellow at both Princeton University and the National Research Council of Canada, Polanyi joined U of T’s Department of Chemistry in 1956. It wouldn’t be long before the groundwork was laid for his Nobel Prize-winning discovery, but he had other things on his mind as well. Nuclear weapons had begun to cause alarm in various circles, including a group of scientists who gathered to discuss the issue in Pugwash, N.S. in 1957. This was the beginning of the now-famous Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs, attended by influential scholars, government officials and public figures from around the world. So successful are the Conferences that they were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1995. Polanyi became intensely involved in Pugwash in those early days, and in 1960 was the founding chairman of the Canadian Pugwash Group, one of over 30 national groups that rotate the work of hosting the conferences. So passionate was his involvement that during the Vietnam War, Polanyi managed to work his way into the offices of the Prime Minister and the ministers of defence and foreign affairs to convince them that the United States’ use of herbicides (Agent Orange) and tear gas was in contravention of the Geneva Protocol, which banned the use of chemical weapons. Ultimately, the Canadian government adopted this position publicly. Polanyi remains active in Pugwash, and over the years has written some 100 articles and spoken extensively about nuclear disarmament and related topics. Also a staunch advocate for basic science, Polanyi has engaged for decades in the Canadian debate around science policy. He continues to write and speak about the importance of what he calls "discovery-driven" over applications-driven research. His commentary on this subject, while not always the popular opinion, is ever eloquent and infused with wit, humour and style. Polanyi, now 72, has no time for talk of retirement; in fact, he’s fully immersed in a new research project. His current work, he says, is most easily described as the development of a "molecular printing press." Funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, the Canadian Institute for Photonic Innovations, Photonics Research Ontario, and the Ontario Research & Development Challenge Fund, this early-stage research is focused on imprinting molecular-sized shapes on a silicon surface using laser light. True to his position on science policy, Polanyi hesitates to speculate about the application of this work. It does, however, hold promise for developing new microelectronics applications for a wealth of industries. And his excitement for science is hardly on the wane. Relaxing on a couch in his office, dressed casually in jeans and a sweater, Polanyi speaks, almost romantically, about "tickling" molecules and watching with fascination as they "dance." Having marked the 15th anniversary of his Nobel Prize in 2001, Polanyi is reflective about a career that has spanned five decades and taken him down many paths. "Meeting different groups of people, active in various fields, has made for a very nice life. Does it help me in my work? Probably, by stretching my mind in different directions. But I’m sure it also hinders me by making me at times inattentive to my research." He insists he has yet to make a great discovery. And his colleagues, he claims, are doing much more difficult science than he is. At the end of the day, though, John Polanyi’s greatest achievement may have more to do with the zeal that infuses all that he does and captures the imagination of audiences the world over.