Julian R. Silverman
@manhattanscientist.bsky.social
⚗️ teaching science @ the Fashion Institute 🧼 researching waste-derived materials 🌈
Forthcoming from RSC Books: How and Why Soap Works
#pigments #inks #mordants #paper fan of #gardenindicators
https://sites.google.com/view/sustainable-materials-lab/home
Forthcoming from RSC Books: How and Why Soap Works
#pigments #inks #mordants #paper fan of #gardenindicators
https://sites.google.com/view/sustainable-materials-lab/home
Pinned
Saw some beautiful Stibnite minerals at the @brucemuseum.bsky.social in Westport CT.
While you could grind these into dust for kohl I’m glad they are safely behind glass.
While you could grind these into dust for kohl I’m glad they are safely behind glass.
It’s so cold I’ve become polylotion
February 9, 2026 at 2:09 AM
It’s so cold I’ve become polylotion
I wrote out the 45 minute talk, it feels long at 5300 words.
I am glad to have had the presentation put together first, it's interesting how by writing it out several slides got shuffled around (and some removed).
Now I realize that if I'm going to read it, I need to go practice...
I am glad to have had the presentation put together first, it's interesting how by writing it out several slides got shuffled around (and some removed).
Now I realize that if I'm going to read it, I need to go practice...
I'm interested to know if y'all script your talks/presentations before you give them?
Generally, I find in the sciences they are more improvisational, while in certain humanities fields (e.g. history) they are often written and read as papers.
Generally, I find in the sciences they are more improvisational, while in certain humanities fields (e.g. history) they are often written and read as papers.
February 8, 2026 at 9:57 PM
I wrote out the 45 minute talk, it feels long at 5300 words.
I am glad to have had the presentation put together first, it's interesting how by writing it out several slides got shuffled around (and some removed).
Now I realize that if I'm going to read it, I need to go practice...
I am glad to have had the presentation put together first, it's interesting how by writing it out several slides got shuffled around (and some removed).
Now I realize that if I'm going to read it, I need to go practice...
Trying the Substack thing:
open.substack.com/pub/julianfr...
A preview of Wednesdays talk exploring gilding and sputter coating.
open.substack.com/pub/julianfr...
A preview of Wednesdays talk exploring gilding and sputter coating.
February 8, 2026 at 12:51 PM
Trying the Substack thing:
open.substack.com/pub/julianfr...
A preview of Wednesdays talk exploring gilding and sputter coating.
open.substack.com/pub/julianfr...
A preview of Wednesdays talk exploring gilding and sputter coating.
When you're reviewing an article and there are really good references, and you get lost in the literature...
That's a good thing right?
That's a good thing right?
February 6, 2026 at 4:57 PM
When you're reviewing an article and there are really good references, and you get lost in the literature...
That's a good thing right?
That's a good thing right?
FIT has a fragrance lab.
It’s so clean and well organized when I pass it I get that uncanny valley feeling and think it’s staged for a photo op
It’s so clean and well organized when I pass it I get that uncanny valley feeling and think it’s staged for a photo op
February 5, 2026 at 12:25 PM
FIT has a fragrance lab.
It’s so clean and well organized when I pass it I get that uncanny valley feeling and think it’s staged for a photo op
It’s so clean and well organized when I pass it I get that uncanny valley feeling and think it’s staged for a photo op
I'm interested to know if y'all script your talks/presentations before you give them?
Generally, I find in the sciences they are more improvisational, while in certain humanities fields (e.g. history) they are often written and read as papers.
Generally, I find in the sciences they are more improvisational, while in certain humanities fields (e.g. history) they are often written and read as papers.
February 4, 2026 at 6:39 PM
I'm interested to know if y'all script your talks/presentations before you give them?
Generally, I find in the sciences they are more improvisational, while in certain humanities fields (e.g. history) they are often written and read as papers.
Generally, I find in the sciences they are more improvisational, while in certain humanities fields (e.g. history) they are often written and read as papers.
At the start of classes I ask my students if they have any good science jokes: I'd never heard this one before.
"Why do chemists like nitrates so much? They're cheaper than day rates."
"Why do chemists like nitrates so much? They're cheaper than day rates."
February 3, 2026 at 3:44 PM
At the start of classes I ask my students if they have any good science jokes: I'd never heard this one before.
"Why do chemists like nitrates so much? They're cheaper than day rates."
"Why do chemists like nitrates so much? They're cheaper than day rates."
Another plug for next week's virtual talk.
This one is for any artists or scientists interested in sustainability!
Come explore the Center for Book Art's Collections in scientific detail.
Wednesday 2/11 at 6 PM EST, and free!
shop.centerforbookarts.org/products/202...
This one is for any artists or scientists interested in sustainability!
Come explore the Center for Book Art's Collections in scientific detail.
Wednesday 2/11 at 6 PM EST, and free!
shop.centerforbookarts.org/products/202...
February 2, 2026 at 8:11 PM
Another plug for next week's virtual talk.
This one is for any artists or scientists interested in sustainability!
Come explore the Center for Book Art's Collections in scientific detail.
Wednesday 2/11 at 6 PM EST, and free!
shop.centerforbookarts.org/products/202...
This one is for any artists or scientists interested in sustainability!
Come explore the Center for Book Art's Collections in scientific detail.
Wednesday 2/11 at 6 PM EST, and free!
shop.centerforbookarts.org/products/202...
Toying with teas again.
Black tea, green tea
Hibiscus tea, tannic acid
Black tea, green tea
Hibiscus tea, tannic acid
February 2, 2026 at 1:21 AM
Toying with teas again.
Black tea, green tea
Hibiscus tea, tannic acid
Black tea, green tea
Hibiscus tea, tannic acid
I forget where this came from but I believe it was from 1921
January 31, 2026 at 3:14 PM
I forget where this came from but I believe it was from 1921
Growing up adults would tell stories of the Hudson River freezing over, and before the bridge you could drive across.
There was an old ice house in Nyack that had long been abandoned with graffiti on the fence which read “the iceman goeth”
This weather is worth getting to see all the ice!
There was an old ice house in Nyack that had long been abandoned with graffiti on the fence which read “the iceman goeth”
This weather is worth getting to see all the ice!
January 30, 2026 at 4:05 PM
Growing up adults would tell stories of the Hudson River freezing over, and before the bridge you could drive across.
There was an old ice house in Nyack that had long been abandoned with graffiti on the fence which read “the iceman goeth”
This weather is worth getting to see all the ice!
There was an old ice house in Nyack that had long been abandoned with graffiti on the fence which read “the iceman goeth”
This weather is worth getting to see all the ice!
Feeling motivated by John Warner's words in the recent @beyondbenign.bsky.social new's letter:
"Seeing the infinite, the minuscule, and everything in between is how we are going to pave the way to the future that our next generations deserve."
"Seeing the infinite, the minuscule, and everything in between is how we are going to pave the way to the future that our next generations deserve."
January 29, 2026 at 1:44 PM
Feeling motivated by John Warner's words in the recent @beyondbenign.bsky.social new's letter:
"Seeing the infinite, the minuscule, and everything in between is how we are going to pave the way to the future that our next generations deserve."
"Seeing the infinite, the minuscule, and everything in between is how we are going to pave the way to the future that our next generations deserve."
The Hulken bag has taken over Manhattan.
People usually leave theirs open and finally we get to see what people are hauling around.
People usually leave theirs open and finally we get to see what people are hauling around.
January 28, 2026 at 9:46 PM
The Hulken bag has taken over Manhattan.
People usually leave theirs open and finally we get to see what people are hauling around.
People usually leave theirs open and finally we get to see what people are hauling around.
In a few weeks I’ll give a talk on sustainability and artists books at the Center for Book Arts. Join us online for the discussion.
We will be exploring how science can support artists create artists books and zines that circulate across human and natural environments.
We will be exploring how science can support artists create artists books and zines that circulate across human and natural environments.
January 28, 2026 at 8:34 PM
In a few weeks I’ll give a talk on sustainability and artists books at the Center for Book Arts. Join us online for the discussion.
We will be exploring how science can support artists create artists books and zines that circulate across human and natural environments.
We will be exploring how science can support artists create artists books and zines that circulate across human and natural environments.
Back to school.
So glad to be at a place where there is diversity equity and inclusion at every level.
So glad to be at a place where there is diversity equity and inclusion at every level.
January 27, 2026 at 10:00 PM
Back to school.
So glad to be at a place where there is diversity equity and inclusion at every level.
So glad to be at a place where there is diversity equity and inclusion at every level.
The most important thing I learned in undergrad (in Canada) is to have an extra pair of shoes under your desk at work for snowy mushy winter days
January 27, 2026 at 1:23 PM
The most important thing I learned in undergrad (in Canada) is to have an extra pair of shoes under your desk at work for snowy mushy winter days
It’s a great day for Canadian geese in Central Park.
January 25, 2026 at 1:56 PM
It’s a great day for Canadian geese in Central Park.
The Westchester Science an Engineering Fair (WESEF) is looking for judges!
If you have a background in the sciences and are in the lower Hudson River Valley please think of joining for a day an supporting the students.
If you have a background in the sciences and are in the lower Hudson River Valley please think of joining for a day an supporting the students.
January 23, 2026 at 12:51 PM
The Westchester Science an Engineering Fair (WESEF) is looking for judges!
If you have a background in the sciences and are in the lower Hudson River Valley please think of joining for a day an supporting the students.
If you have a background in the sciences and are in the lower Hudson River Valley please think of joining for a day an supporting the students.
Fell in love with the Center for Book Arts newest addition to the collection.
What Makes a Photobook Sustainable with comprehensive sections on calculating carbon emissions.
What Makes a Photobook Sustainable with comprehensive sections on calculating carbon emissions.
January 22, 2026 at 10:31 PM
Fell in love with the Center for Book Arts newest addition to the collection.
What Makes a Photobook Sustainable with comprehensive sections on calculating carbon emissions.
What Makes a Photobook Sustainable with comprehensive sections on calculating carbon emissions.
I was today years old when I realized people bury (wrapped/sealed) things in dung hills for the warmth.
Is this the medieval incubator?
Is this the medieval incubator?
January 21, 2026 at 4:27 PM
I was today years old when I realized people bury (wrapped/sealed) things in dung hills for the warmth.
Is this the medieval incubator?
Is this the medieval incubator?
February 16th join me for the history and mysteries of everyday chemistry
urldefense.com/v3/__https:/...
urldefense.com/v3/__https:/...
January 20, 2026 at 12:31 PM
February 16th join me for the history and mysteries of everyday chemistry
urldefense.com/v3/__https:/...
urldefense.com/v3/__https:/...
January 19, 2026 at 2:34 PM
10 years since my PhD and 20 since I took AP Chem (below)
January 17, 2026 at 1:38 PM
10 years since my PhD and 20 since I took AP Chem (below)
I’ve been getting more into skincare and as a chemist it’s weird.
I can’t imagine rubbing reagents on the outside of an rbf everyday for a month and hoping it works… but I’m told it works
I can’t imagine rubbing reagents on the outside of an rbf everyday for a month and hoping it works… but I’m told it works
January 16, 2026 at 8:53 PM
I’ve been getting more into skincare and as a chemist it’s weird.
I can’t imagine rubbing reagents on the outside of an rbf everyday for a month and hoping it works… but I’m told it works
I can’t imagine rubbing reagents on the outside of an rbf everyday for a month and hoping it works… but I’m told it works
Using all my restraint not to rewrite my toxicology course to parallel V is for Venom. Next year for sure.
January 16, 2026 at 2:33 PM
Using all my restraint not to rewrite my toxicology course to parallel V is for Venom. Next year for sure.