Guido Machmueller. A brief, delightful, and sad interlude involving an enthusiastic young German chemist. Cut from "Writing."

But there were some bright spots. He got an email from a delightful young German student named Guido Machmueller:

Date: Tue, 14 Jan 1997
From: machmuel@mailgate.urz.uni-wuppertal.de
Subject: Request

Dear Mr. Turin, I'm a 25-year-old german organic chemist and have just finished my diploma thesis. When I heard about your current work on this topic, I couldn't sleep nearly the whole night, due to the multitude of ideas I had to prove (or disprove) to your model using different model substances... Of course, my first opinion on your model was: 'This man has definitely developed a non-working model'. But regarding the hints you've already found, I agree with you, absolutely, that there's a good chance that smelling works this way.

Would Turin agree to his writing his Ph.D. thesis on the Vibration theory?

I'm feeling absolutely equal to this challenge... My marks regarding my oral exams are excellent. Further, a current patent application is to be accepted by the german patent office, with me as one of three inventors of a novel way to synthesize sugar esters.

If you're interested in any way, please contact me and I would like to give you all the information you need about me and our working group. I'd be very happy to hear from you soon.

Yours Sincerly,

Guido Machmueller

(Vibration would also save him from a dismal fate: "P.S.: Please, affirm my request, due to me having to synthesize GPI anchors otherwise :).")

Turin of course happily agreed. But Guido soon wrote him, with palpable disappointment, that it was a no-go: His department head had dismissing Turin's Vibration theory and wouldn't allow him to pursue it.