Asimov had a
Phd in chemistry.
The day that he sat his
viva the first question he
was asked by the examining board was about
The Endochronic Properties of Resublimated Thiotimoline.
Asimov writes that after this question he knew that
the viva would go well.
I got this piece of information from an interview that I read many years ago, source now out of mind.