Portland State Magazine Fall 2016

10 PORTLAND STATE MAGAZINE FALL 2016 Chemist Niles Lehman is searching for how it all began. T he way chemistry professor Niles Lehman sees it, life on Earth began somewhat like a tornado. The chemical soup that existed on the young planet four billion years ago was made up of simple structures that, alone, were devoid of life. But they found themselves drawn to other chemicals, forming networks that became increasingly complex and, ultimately, self-replicating. Like a tornado, the forces of attraction built on themselves to form something powerful.