On most days, Emory University chemistry professor James Kindt can be found in the lecture hall, teaching students about kinetics, thermodynamics and the various energy states associated with molecular motions.
Other days, Kindt can be found outside, capturing images of bees, butterflies and other bugs in the woodlands behind the Robert W. Woodruff Library and the sandy banks near Lullwater Tower.
Those days outside are his favorite.
“I’ve really been into insects since I was a young boy,” Kindt says. “I carried that in a low-key way throughout my whole life.”
Visitors to Kindt's office are greeted with sprawling posters of insects on the walls. By sharing his personal passion, Kindt has left a lasting impression on students while they learn foundational science about atomic structures.
For instance, senior student Sergio Solis recalls Kindt starting every Chemistry 150 and 202 class with photos of insects. In an online summer Chemistry 205 course, Kindt asked students to vote on their favorite creature, which Solis considers a reminder not to take the course too seriously.
“There’s more to life than just chemistry,” says Solis, a chemistry major with a minor in music. “There’s a whole world out there.”
From passion to practice
A specialist in physical chemistry and computational biophysical chemistry, Kindt has been at Emory since 2001. He ran an active research lab related to simulation and theory until 2020, when he cut back to serve as the chemistry department’s director of undergraduate studies.
In 2019, he spotted a news story about the iNaturalist social network and found an opportunity to put his passion into practice. The nonprofit platform functions like a social media site, allowing users to upload pictures and tag their location.
But unlike other social media platforms, iNaturalist shifts the spotlight to subjects that some may overlook, providing space to record observations of plants, animals and fungi. Researchers can then use the data to analyze population changes and observe evidence of disease. Ultimately, it reveals ecosystem struggles and can show areas in need of management, too, indirectly tracking the health of various organisms.
“It seemed like a neat thing to get involved in,” Kindt says.
He began taking pictures with his iPhone and found community within the iNaturalist network. Kindt referred to experts on the site to identify exactly what organisms frequented his home and other areas around Emory’s Atlanta campus.
“I looked for bees and any sort of bugs, and I learned so much in about two or three months of taking pictures and uploading them. I learned about so many sorts of insects and bugs that I never knew existed before, and it was just fascinating,” Kindt says.
The outbreak of COVID-19 gave Kindt more time to hone his photography skills. He soon purchased a macro lens for his phone — a tool that allowed him to take sharper images of fast-flying creatures like bees and wasps.
Kindt says the lens was an important investment to help him record more accurate observations.
“There are 70 different species of miner bees in Georgia. There are about 50 different species of leaf-cutter bees. There are 70 different species in one subgenus of sweat bee,” Kindt says.
“Researchers actually use this data, so it’s important to get the identifications correct.”
Bridging chemistry, climate and community
Kindt also has found ways to connect his scholarly background to his love for entomology. In 2023, a neighbor approached Kindt to inquire about a group of bees he had seen swarming around spilled herbicide in Florida.
“This was an interesting observation. This stuff was potentially poison,” Kindt says. “Why are [the bees] coming toward there?”
Kindt’s neighbor asked him to examine the chemical structure of the herbicide and why the bees appeared attracted to the substance.
Kindt carried out a quantitative comparison to floral oils the bees typically collect, and The Florida Entomologist published the results of their collaboration, which found that the herbicide was similar to the chemical bees collect for their courtship. There was no evidence that the herbicide harmed the bees.
“I was able to use my chemistry background and this connection that I made and contribute to something,” Kindt says. “I think people have been interested in those results.”
Teaching by example
Kindt’s passion has inspired students to act in and outside of his classroom.
Solis currently serves as president of Outdoor Emory, a club that encourages students to take a break from coursework and enjoy the fresh air. He credits his passion for the club to Kindt’s interest in insects and says he’s been inspired to try his own hand at photography.
“Seeing someone else be proud and passionate about their interest reassures you that it's okay to love something and share it with everybody else,” Solis says, adding, “Even if it's something kind of niche.”
Rosie Wu, a sophomore neuroscience and behavioral biology major who met Kindt in an introductory chemistry lecture, sent Kindt a special thank you card at the end of the semester: his face was atop a bee.
Wu made sure to use an image of a Nomia nortoni bee — Kindt’s favorite, because the insect can sometimes have blue stripes.
“Chem 150 was hard,” Wu says. “The way he was such an encouraging professor, and a validating professor, really helped me put in the effort I needed to learn, and then succeed, in ways that I didn’t think were possible for me.”
Kindt says he wants to remind students that it doesn’t take an expert to get involved in citizen science efforts and encourages them to continue looking closer at their communities.
“Regular people — with whatever sort of training — can make real contributions,” Kindt says.