Professor-turned-producer learns the...( Troy N.Y. It's not every day that ...)

Troy, N.Y. It's not every day that a research scientist and university professor gets to see his work on the silver screen.

But in just a few months, Richard W. Siegel will get to watch his name scroll down the giant screen of a darkened IMAX theater with a new title that seems light years away from laboratory benches and lecture halls: Executive Producer.

The film, "Molecules to the MAX," has been a three-year labor of love for Siegel. From securing funding and hiring a production company to negotiating post-production and distribution deals, Siegel has been a champion and a driving force behind the newest Molecularium movie. His enthusiasm and vision have touched nearly every aspect of the 40-minute film, which is set to be previewed for the first time this week.

"It's been quite a ride, and we're thrilled to introduce our new movie to the world," Siegel said.

A world-renowned nanotechnology pioneer, Siegel is the Robert W. Hunt Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, as well as director of the university's nanotechnology center. The unique perspective from the helm of the Molecularium project has put the lifelong researcher in the unlikely situation of vetting the precision and impact of this work not with journal editors and peer-reviewers, but with an even cannier audience his grandchildren.

And so far, the reception of Siegel's grandkids and the children of colleagues to the latest exploits of Oxy, Hydro, Hydra, and other Molecularium characters as they get an up-close-and-personal view of the molecular landscapes of snowflakes, chewing gum, a penny, among other environs, has been outstanding.

But a more rigorous test will show itself this winter, when the completed film version of "Molecules to the MAX" debuts, and Siegel's objective shifts from creating a memorable, entertaining, and engaging film based on scientifically accurate molecular model
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