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The Crossword Creator Scientist

Imagine spending your weekends solving The New York Times crossword and then thinking, “I could make one of these myself.” That’s exactly what Dr. Mark MacLachlan did, and now his puzzles appear in top newspapers like NYT, LAT, and WSJ.

By day, Dr. Mark MacLachlan is the Dean of Science and a chemistry professor at the University of British Columbia, researching complex “supramolecular materials” and running a busy faculty. By night (or sometimes mid-flight), he becomes a crossword puzzle maker, creating puzzles that test the minds of solvers across the globe.

His journey into crossword construction began years ago when he and his wife developed a weekend ritual of solving the New York Times crossword together. “At some point, I started thinking, somebody must create these puzzles,” he recalled. “So I made some, submitted them, and promptly had them rejected.”

He didn’t stop there. In 2016, one of his puzzles was finally accepted by the Los Angeles Times, and from that moment, he was hooked. Today, he estimates he’s made about 75 puzzles, roughly one every two months, each one designed with the same precision he brings to his chemistry research.

Making a crossword is not easy. First, Dr. Mark MacLachlan begins by choosing a theme, then designs a grid that fits the theme and fills it with words, adding black squares where needed and keeping the pattern balanced and symmetrical. “Making crosswords has a bit of science in it,” he says. “You need a logical and detail-oriented mind, almost like math, to make them work.” A single crossword can take up to 80 hours to complete, depending on the theme’s complexity.

There are a few rules he follows: the words can’t be too obscure, they can’t be repeated, and they should pass what he calls the “breakfast test,” meaning something you could enjoy over breakfast with your family.

While the pay isn’t much, weekday puzzles can bring in $50 to $300, and a large Sunday crossword up to $2,250, MacLachlan says that’s not what motivates him. “I certainly don’t do it for the money,” he said. “I do it because I love it.”

His passion for words started long before his career in science. As a child, he once won a local newspaper contest for catching the most typos in classified ads. In elementary school, he challenged his classmates to find as many anagrams as possible from the word “incubator.” “I think I found more than a hundred words in the end,” he recalls.

Now, when he’s not in the lab or the dean’s office, you might find him in a Vancouver cafe on a Saturday morning, working on a crossword, his “little addiction,” as he calls it, or drafting new puzzle ideas on a flight. In fact, airplanes have become his most productive “workshops.” On a long flight to Toronto, he dreamed up one of his favorite creations, a chemistry-themed crossword featuring the noble gases. Another memorable puzzle was a collaboration with his son, John MacLachlan, a UBC music student, built around the theme “musical turns of phrase.”

Dr. Mark MacLachlan’s puzzles have earned admiration, and occasional frustration, from his colleagues. Provost and Vice-President, Academic, Dr. Gage Averill remembers getting stuck on one of Mark’s tough compass-themed crosswords. Curious, he looked up who had made it and discovered it was Mark. Averill says, “Mark has a special knack for composing diabolically clever themed puzzles, precisely the kind that I find most satisfying to solve, and I really appreciate his frequent sly music references.”

Former Dean of Science, Dr. Simon Peacock, is also a fan. He has worked with Mark on several puzzles that haven’t been published yet. Reflecting on one tricky challenge from almost ten years ago, he said, “Mark is an expert crossword constructor. My favorite (and at the time, most frustrating) crossword puzzle was constructed by Mark nearly 10 years ago. Solving the puzzle, titled ??Aluminum Siding,’ required thinking outside the box, literally.”

Even with his demanding role leading UBC’s Faculty of Science, MacLachlan has no plans to stop. “Although it will be a busy term, I still plan to make time in the evenings and on weekends to construct new puzzles,” he said. He already has three submitted and a Sunday crossword awaiting publication in The New York Times.

Canadian Aerospace Student Publishes 10th Puzzle

Jeffrey Martinovic doing a puzzle.

Jeffrey Martinovic is a aerospace engineering student of Western University Ontario Canada. On his spare time he creates puzzles for the New York Times Crossword. While he has created many puzzles, it is the New York Times Crossword puzzles that can be considered his crown jewel. The engineering student has not published just one or two but 10 puzzles with the latest being the March 19, 2025

NYT Crossword Answers 03/19/25

But his road to puzzle stardom did not start off without its challenges. To get get his first puzzle accepted Martinovic had to submit no less 23 submissions which were rejected and helped him refine his art.

First Acccepted Puzzle

Jeffrey remembers the day he got the puzzle accepted, he says it was unlike anything he had experienced before and it actually came after a tiring at the university. He was surprised to get a first “approved” email from the Editors of the New York Times.

He would get that acceptance email many times afterwards and it really seems that Jeffrey has come a long way in his puzzle creating process although according to him each puzzle is very different than the previous.

He considers it an art rather than a science but in simple terms the process involves
Having an idea
Coming up with an inspiration for the theme
Going through the process of figuring out how to implement the theme
Filling in a full grid and expressing some creativity in writing the clues.

Sometimes he may seek help from a co author and submit the author with a friend or a colleague. For example the March 19 2025 puzzle was a collaboration between him and fellow student Evan Park.

How it started

Jeffrey remembers when his mom introduced him to the world of crossword at the age of 10, a little later he started playing with creating puzzles of his own.

Around the age of 12 he also published his own book Titled ‘The Chronicles of Time’ which also involves solving a mystery to save the world. ( read more : https://books.friesenpress.com/store/title/119734000043006145/Jeffrey-K.-Martinovic-The-Chronicles-of-Time)

He wanted to experiment with this creativity and wanted to test if he had the ability to make puzzles like other people did. And so he started, eventually this would become a lifelong quest that culminated in the New York Times. Jeffrey admits his talented in creating puzzles and not so much at solving them, he also shares some advice for people solving the NYT Crossword.

Future Plans

Solving is a different league game he ways and thinks the biggest struggle is learning the crossword language and terminologies, it is very much a sort of different branch on itself. To solve effectively he recommends playing mostly Monday/Tuesday puzzles to build up your crossword foundation words and get used in a smoothly to the crossword terminology.

Although his primary career will most likely always lean towards Aerospace Martinovic plans to keep his crossword creating passion alive for longer as it is an old hobby of him and the satisfaction of getting a puzzle acceptance letter is unmatchable.

Will Shortz’s Recipe for Post-Stroke Recovery

Table Tennis, Puzzles, and Physical Therapy are what Will Shortz is doing to recover.

The crossword legend suffered a stroke on Feb. 4, 2024, and is still piecing his life back together in the wake of his condition.

Will Shortz has been the editor of The New York Times crossword since 1993. In that time, he’s concocted thousands of puzzles while cementing his legacy among the elite crossword puzzlers of all time. However, for 2024, Shortz had to content with an issue that nearly 800,000 per year suffer. The man had a stroke.

Fortunately, Shortz recovered and has since done many interviews with publications like CNN and Brand and Life. During those interviews, Shortz recounts what it was like to have a stroke. On Feb. 4, 2024, Shortz was sitting at his desk when he leaned to his left and was unable to sit back up straight. Knowing that he was having a stroke, Shortz intended to change his clothes and use the restroom before heading to the hospital. It was in the bathroom when he collapsed.

Shortz would lay on the floor unsure of what to do before he wiggled his way back to his office “like a worm on my back,” he told CNN. From there, he called his partner who came to Shortz’s aid in under three minutes. Once at the hospital, the unthinkable happened. Shortz had a second, larger stroke while awaiting treatment at the hospital. After a treatment with intravenous thrombolytic medication, Shortz eventually recovered.

In the months since Shortz has been on track to recover. The stroke left Shortz with a barely functional left arm and leg along with slurred speech due to left-side weakness.

To combat this, Shortz started physical therapy immediately, which Shortz was happy with. “They get you feeling like you can walk again,” Shortz told Brain and Life. “I was so impressed with their encouragement and the therapy they gave me.”

However, one thing Shortz could not live without was table tennis. Until the stroke, Shortz boasted 4,141 consecutive days of ping pong, a streak his hospital stay broke. To accommodate the crossword legend, the recreation director at the Burke Rehabilitation Hospital had a special setup that used a regular table and books to replace the net so Shortz could continue to play while he worked on his rehab.

Shortz would move to an outpatient facility close to home in March where he continued to do physical therapy six days a week for two to three hours per day. In April, Shortz attended the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament in Stamford, CT in a wheelchair, where he received a standing ovation.

In the months since, Shortz has since ditched the wheelchair and can get around reasonably well with a cane. He’s even playing ping pong standing up, although he admits he needs a spotter to keep him from falling over. Recovery is progressing but it’s also slow, which has at times frustrated Shortz but he’s committed to keeping a positive attitude.

“It’s like any time you’re faced with a problem that seems insurmountable or seems very complex,” he told CNN. “The thing to do is just pick one small element of it and work at that. I have always kept working at this, and then I have a new breakthrough.”

Shortz also credits his partner, whom he married last August, for his support during Shortz’s recovery, stating that his partner was sleeping by his bedside nightly while Shortz was in the hospital and has supported the crossword legend during his recove

Mini Crossword on the Spot

New York Times Mini Crossword Creator Joel Fagliano Shows the Internet How Crosswords Are Born

The 17-year veteran of the publisher runs through the creation of a five-by-five crossword in the span of an Instagram Reel

The New York Times is known for its excellent writing, large fan base, and, of course, its crossword puzzle. There are entire books on how the NYT has done its crossword puzzle over its 82-year history, but few are more qualified to talk about it than the people who currently work there. Joel Fagliano, editor of the Mini Crossword, took to an Instagram Reel to show folks how he gets it done.

Fagliano starts his journey by using what he refers to as a “seed answer” that runs across the middle of the five-by-five puzzle. He says that this can be any word that the creator wants whether it’s a theme word or just a word they’ve never used before. In his example, Fagliano uses the word “viral.”

From there, he opts to black out a few squares to make things interesting. He says that the key is not blacking out squares that make your life more difficult. In the example, Joel says that blacking out the two squares under the letter V in viral forces him to come up with a three letter word that ends with the letter V. There aren’t a lot of those so he blacks out the blocks above the V instead.

“Now the thing we usually do when we’re making a puzzle is start with the most constrained areas,” explains Joel. He then creates the word “vow” off of “viral” before continuing onward. This is where things get a little complicated as Joel effortlessly finds a four-letter word starting with “O” and a four-letter word that includes the letters “IK” in the middle. He then repeats this process in the opposite corner.

“One thing that I’m doing that I’m not telling you about—but I’m doing it in my head—is that I’m alternating consonants and vowels,” Joel explains as he fills in the crossword. “That’s really helpful when making a crossword.” Moments later, Fagliano finishes the puzzle.

Four New York Times crosswords by the time he finished high school

Joel Fagliano is quite the puzzle creator. He’s already good enough to have his own Wikipedia page and he works under the legendary NYT Crossword Editor Will Shortz. Fagliano had his first crossword submission published by the Times when he was 17 and four were submitted and published by the time he finished high school. Fagliano would intern for Shortz for three summers before attending college and coming to work at the Times as the editor of the Mini Crossword. The Mini Crossword is featured in the NYT Games app and website along with Wordle, Strands, Spelling Bee, and the full-size crossword puzzle.

Nancy Schuster – A Puzzle Tester Pioneer

Nancy Schuster was a pioneering and passionate puzzle tester and creator who became a media sensation in the 1970s. She proved that anyone with a mind for puzzles and the right attitude can make a lifelong career in the industry – even a Queens housewife like her.

A lot of people will say they have been into puzzles all their life. But, few can compete with Nancy Schuster when it comes to life experience. This woman was a massive influence on the industry throughout her life and had a passion for puzzles from a very early age.

Nancy Jane Schuster was born on July 13th, 1933, in the Bronx. By the age of 9, she was helping her father complete the New York Times Crossword – unaware that she was later working on creating her own. Nancy was clearly a bright girl and attended both the Bronx High School of Science and Adelphi University on Long Island. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry in 1953 and soon became a research assistant in New York. In 1958, she gave that up to have her son, Gary.

First Champion of Crossword Puzzle Entertainment

The event that made Nancy a star was the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament. The first-ever contest took place in 1978, with a grand prize of $125. She would also take second place at the event the following year. At the time, Nancy downplayed her skills. She saw herself as just another housewife from Queens. This idea of an everyday New York woman making it through this difficult competition made her endearing. As soon as it was clear she was the front-runner, the media began showcasing her and covering her story from the Stamford hotel. It seems Nancy wanted to hide her skills somewhat – maybe out of modesty or maybe to stay under the radar – because she was already involved in the puzzle world, by this point. She was working freelance as a puzzle editor for Dell and had success as a puzzle creator.

From Creating Puzzles

In addition to her work with Dell, Nancy had been a puzzle creator for her son’s school PTA newspaper. This was her first time creating puzzles and not just solving them, and she became hooked instantly. She admits the first offering wasn’t great, but it lit a fire under her to create more and improve. She joked that the addiction was so strong that she ended up neglecting her duties as a housewife. All that paid off, however, once it came time to enter the competitor and start her new career. She also submitted puzzles to various outlets and saw an early puzzle in Harper’s Bazaar in 1969.

There were 12 New York Times crosswords in her name across her career. The first was in 1965 and the last in 1997, proving she never lost the gift in later life. She was also keen to support the next generations of puzzle enthusiasts and pass on her passion and knowledge. She would hold holiday gatherings at her home in Queens and encourage people to broaden their skills.

Ultimately, it didn’t matter how experienced or academic this Queens housewife was. People loved her and celebrated her victory over the other competitors. This apparent underdog soon became an inspiration for others. Women were smart and talented enough to be part of the industry, and if Nancy could win the national championship, so could they.

To Testing Puzzles

Following the 1978 competition, Nancy went on to compete in other competitions across the world. She took her skills and new-found fame all across Europe and even down to Brazil. Her relationship with Dell continued, as she was promoted to editor-in-chief for their puzzle section in 1988. She also continued to submit work to publications, such as the New York Times and became a tester for their puzzles.

Nancy stayed active in the world of puzzles throughout her life. She continued to test puzzles and answers with Will Shortz – legendary New York Times crossword creator – right up until her 90th birthday, she was also given a certificate of appreciation for participating 40 years on the tournament.

Take a look below at some other pictures of Nancy on various puzzle events.

Nancy and Will Shortz at Crossword Tournament 2015

She may have inspired generations of puzzle creators after her, but there will be no one else quite like her.