not-yet-known not-yet-known not-yet-known unknown William Lijinsky (the Nitrosamine man) I have to say more about Willie Lijinsky, my husband of 3 decades, mentor, and lifetime companion. Being with him was a trip in all senses of the word. “Don’t go to medical school” , he said; “science is much more interesting” . We often had lunch together in the lab and talked science. He and I didn’t always agree but it was fun. As a lab leader at Oak Ridge National Labs and then at NCI-Frederick heading the Chemical Carcinogenesis Program, he worked in the lab himself every day. Among experiments he synthesized nitrosamines and made up all the solutions for his carcinogenicity experiments in animals. A technician administered the chemicals, generally in drinking water, but he said the most important thing was getting the dose right, so he made the solutions himself. As a consequence of growing up a Jewish child in war-torn England, he kept his overriding principles of doing what he thought was right, no matter the consequences, which could be substantial, including the loss of his lab. We spent sabbatical times in labs in Germany at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), and in Japan, where Willie was sponsored by the Japanese government with two prime minister Nakasone fellowships, to work in Tokyo and then Nagoya. I made many friends and found scientific colleagues in both places.