Newsletter May 2020

In this issue: President’s Welcome and Update Page 1: Update from the President Welcome to the May 2020 Issue of the ISGS Page 1: XX International Workshop - Spasi- Newsletter, which is the first of our new-format bo i do svidaniya newsletters edited by Professor John Bartlett, one of the most outstanding researchers in sol Page 3: In Memoriam: Professor John D. -gel science and technology. This first issue is Mackenzie also dedicated to the memory of Professor Page 4: Sol-Gel 2021—An Update from the Emeritus John D. Mackenzie, UCLA, one of the founders of the ISGS as well as one of the Chairman most important researchers within the sol-gel Page 5: 7th ISGS Online Summer School community. Page 6: IGSG Thesis Award 2020 We hope that you enjoy reading about what is happening within your society, and we particularly welcome your feedback Page 6: People in the spotlight - Dr Fran- on the new format, together with any ideas that you might have for people, cesca Tallia news and events that should be featured. Page 7: This month in sol-gel history This newsletter has been written at a time when the world is facing the chal- Page 7: Sol-gel careers lenges arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. However, in common with individuals and communities across the world, the ISGS continues to func- Page 7: Meetings and workshops - save the tion during these challenging times. Online technologies facilitate communi- dates cation, writing of articles, discussions, and ongoing reflection, although we are precluded from exploring and realising ideas in the laboratory environ- ment with our students and colleagues. In the meantime, we will all un- doubtedly continue to publish articles that have been stuck in our drawers for far too long, conceive and write project applications, and develop new ideas and approaches. We have slowed down the rhythm of our movement, but we have not slowed down our thoughts and ideas that can be finally conceived in this slow-moving world for implementation in the future. ISGS is the initiator of the Sol Gel Conferences, with the 21st meeting being co-organized with the University of Lyon and Professor Stéphane Parola as Conference Chairman. The shape and format of the Lyon meeting is, at present, uncertain due to the current situation. However, while the format of the meeting might well be different to that of the previous 20 meetings, we are committed to ensuring that the Conference in Lyon will proceed. We hope only that we will be able to shake hands with our colleagues, have discussions, meals and beer in safety and without large distances separating us! We know that the only truth of this world is that everything is changing and that we will never experience today the same world as yesterday, but we do not know yet what the world will be like after the coronavirus pandemic has passed. Above all else, stay safe and well!

The XX International Sol-Gel Conference St Petersburg, Russia. 25-30 August 2019

The 20th International Sol-Gel Conference took place at ITMO University, St. Peters- burg, Russia from August the 25th to 30th, 2019. This was the first time that this prestigious event has been held in Russia. The Interna- tional Sol-Gel Society (ISGS) and ITMO University joined forces to or- ganize the conference, with the local organizing committee consisting of Vladimir Vinogradov, Head of SCAMT Institute, ITMO University; David Avnir from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Vadim Kessler, from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences; and Daria Kozlo- va, ITMO’s Vice-Rector. More than 500 participants from 56 countries took part in the conference, where the 10 top participating countries were China, Russia, Japan, France, Germany, Spain, Korea, Poland, Italy, and Taiwan, all gathered in St. Petersburg to discuss the future of the field, share their experience, and explore promising develop- ments. The grand opening of the Sol-Gel Conference took place at the Royal Tovstonogov Bolshoi Drama Theatre. 1

The XX International Sol-Gel Conference St Petersburg, Russia. 25-30 August 2019

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The main theme of the conference was the focus on young researchers, represented by the motto "Next Genera- tion" of the Sol-Gel Conferences. Many special activities were devoted to the Next Generation, including the inaugural 10 minutes sol-gel science slam presentations, a panel discussing future career perspectives, various awards including the Ulrich Award and awards for PhD students, participation of the younger generation in all so- cial activities including the banquette, and substantial financial support and low or zero registration fees. The program underwent significant changes compared to previous years: All lectures were plenary or invited lectures, and all contributions were in the form of posters. This ensured that all oral lectures were of wide scope, ed- ucational, and with a broad overview. Also a “first” in this series of conferences was the method of selection of invited lectures: The members of the ISGS were asked to propose the lecturers, and this democratic procedure has worked very well, giving place to many new faces and new directions. The plenary reports were delivered by globally renowned, highly cited scientists, including, Peter Fratzl (Max Planck Institute, Germany), Eugenia Ku- macheva (University of Toronto), Aziz Muzafarov (the Russian Academy of Sciences), Frank Caruso (The Uni- versity of Melbourne), Andrey Rogach (City University of Hong Kong), Joanna Aizenberg (Harvard University), Kazuki Nakanishi (Kyoto University), Markus Niederberger (ETH Zurich), Mario Pagliaro (National Research Council), Mari-Ann Einarsrud (Norwegian University of Science and Technology), and Nicola Hüsing (University of Salzburg). The conference involved a wide variety of topics, including aerogels; chemistry and fundamentals of the sol-gel process; non-conventional synthesis methods; functional organic-inorganic hybrid materials; nano- and micro- structured materials; hierarchical structured materials; biomaterials, biohybrids, biomineralization, and bioinspired materials; carbon and hybrid carbon-based gels; protective and functional coatings and thin films; characteriza- tion and modeling techniques for sol-gel materials; catalysis and photo-catalysis; membranes; energy and envi- ronmental applications; health and medical applications including controlled drug release; electronic, magnetic and ferroelectric applications; sensors, optics, photonics and optoelectronics; insulation; industrialization of sol- gel science and technology and sol-gel alternatives to PVD and other conventional industrial processes. All of these have shown during the conference that sol-gel materials have entered every aspect of modern life, and that the future of this family of materials is very bright.

In Memoriam: Professor Emeritus John D. Mackenzie

John D. Mackenzie, a professor emeritus of materials science and engineering at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering who made pioneering contributions to glass and ceramics processing, passed away on Feb. 19, after a short illness. He was 94. Professor Mackenzie proposed the establishment of the International Sol-Gel Soci- ety at the sol-gel workshop in Padova in 2001, and the ISGS was formed in 2005.

Known to friends and colleagues as “Doug,” he joined the UCLA faculty in 1969 as a full professor, and was the inaugural holder of the Nippon Sheet Glass Company Chair in Materials Science.

Mackenzie earned his bachelor’s degree from Birkbeck College, in London, in 1952 and his doctorate from Impe- rial College London in 1954. He held post-doctoral and lecturer positions at Princeton University for two years, followed by another post-doctoral appointment at Cambridge University. He was a research scientist at General Electric Research Laboratory in Schenectady, New York from 1957 to 1963.

Mackenzie then turned to academia, joining Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, in Troy, New York, as a professor, staying until 1969 when he joined UCLA as a professor of engineering.

At UCLA, Mackenzie supervised 32 Ph.D. students, 51 master’s degree students, and some three dozen post-doctoral researchers and visiting scientists. He served as chair of the Materials Science and Engineering Depart- ment from 1979 to 1982.

Mackenzie retired from full-time teaching in 1994, but continued to conduct research and served for several years as an associate dean for research and planning.

He received numerous major international honors for his research, including election to the National Academy of Engineering in 1976 for “contributions to glass technology through application of principles of chemistry and physics” and the Centenary Award in 1991 from the Japanese Ceramics Society. Mac- kenzie was a fellow of the British Royal Socie- ty of Chemistry and the American Ceramic Society.

In addition to authoring more than 300 publi- cations, Mackenzie was co-editor of 10 books and was awarded 15 U.S. patents. He found- ed the Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids in 1969 and was its editor-in-chief for 20 years. He was the recipient of the 2019 L. David Pye Lifetime Achievement Award, from the American Ceramic Society, for his contributions to the field.

Mackenzie was preceded in death by his wife of 65 years, Jennifer, who passed on October 2, 2019. He is sur- vived by his children Timothy, Andrea and Peter; his grandchildren Jacqueline Mackenzie, Gwyneth Mackenzie, and Kiana Martin; his children’s spouses Liane Curtis, Jenni Martin and Loretta Mackenzie; as well as his brother Eric Mackenzie, and wife Genevieve Mackenzie.

Donations may be made to the Professor John D. Mackenzie Scholarship in Materials Science at UCLA.

An Update from the Chairman, Professor Stéphane Parola

Planning for Sol-Gel 2021, which will be held in the 2000-year-old UNESCO World Heritage city of Lyon, is now well underway. Led by Stéphane Parola (ENS Lyon, CNRS, University Lyon 1), Geneviève Chadeyron (ICCF, CNRS, University Clermont Auvergne, SIGMA Clermont) Xavier Cattoën (NÉEL Institute, CNRS, University Gre- noble Alpes), Philippe Belleville (CEA) and Clément Sanchez (Collège de France, Paris Sorbonne, French Acad- emy of Science), the 2021 meeting will continue the rich tradition established by the International Sol-Gel Confer- ence series that began in 1981, with the first such meeting in Padova, Italy. Since the inaugural workshop, the conference has now been held in 13 different countries, highlighting the remarkable cultural diversity of our international community. Every host city and nation over a period spanning 40 years has contributed its own unique “flavour” to the conference series, and the Lyon meeting is set to further enrich that compelling scientific and cultural tradition. It will gather many of the world’s leading experts in the fields of materials/nanomaterials, inorganics, hybrids and poly- mers prepared by soft-chemical routes. Academic and industrial aspects of sol-gel science and technology, from the laboratory to the marketplace, will be addressed in the heart of the French Chemistry Valley. Plenary speakers for the conference will include Professors Markus Antonietti (Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Potsdam, Germany); Bruce Dunn (UCLA, USA); Julia Greer (Caltech, USA); Krzysztof Matyjaszewski (Carnegie Mellon University, USA); and Dongyuan Zhao (Fudan University, Shanghai, China). For more details, please visit the conference website: http://solgel2021.fr. A short video is also available at: https://youtu.be/_6zphZfAjSo. The Organisers look forward to welcoming you to Lyon in 2021!

You are invited to participate in the 7th ISGS Online Summer School: Hybrid Materials: cutting-edge applications. It will take place on Wednesday 2nd and Thursday 3rd September 2020 at 12:00h UTC -14:00h CEST- Berlin-Paris.

Hybrid organic-inorganic materials are a hot topic and one of the areas most open to innovation and technology transfer. Hybrid materials, being at the interface of the organic, inorganic and biological realms, are highly versa- tile systems, offering a wide range of possibilities to elaborate tailor-made functional materials. Today, many hybrid materials are in the marketplace and they set to expand in the near future to meet new societal challenges.

This School will provide a multidisciplinary approach to different classes of Hybrid Materials (nanoparticles, films, aerogels, coatings, nanocomposites, etc), which are at the core of technologies that make a profound impact on our society.

The Online version of the ISGS Summer School will comprise two sessions on consecutive days. The Oral Ses- sions will consist of focused talks of 15 minutes duration by Invited Speakers, which will allow for a plethora of different perspectives on the topics to be covered. Discussion Panels and an ePoster Session will be included, in which scientists from various backgrounds will present and discuss their work.

In the ePoster Session, attendees and authors will be able to share their ideas and obtain feedback from their colleagues worldwide through a chatroom. All participants will be able to join and present their work. Due to the short format of the school, with only invited speakers, we encourage senior researchers to present ePosters, and of course, we expect enthusiastic participation from junior researchers.

Submit an ePoster and win one of the prizes sponsored by the ISGS, Springer and Real Sociedad Española de Química (RSEQ: GEQI and QES groups).

For more details about Speakers, Regis- tration and Deadlines, visit our website: www.nanoge.org/ISGS_School20/home

Our aim is to provide a platform for scientists and professionals to share their research globally, thus inspiring new research ideas among the speakers and the Organiser Co-organiser audience alike, from which innovative new approaches to known problems and collab- Dr Beatriz Julian-Lopez Prof. Verónica de Zea Bermudez orations across all sub-fields will arise. Universitat Jaume I University of Trás os Montes INAM, Institute of Advanced e Alto Douro (UTAD), Join us in this exciting School!!! Materials, Castelló - Spain Vila-real, Portugal

SPONSORS

PhD Thesis Award

The ISGS PhD Thesis Award, first awarded in 2018, was created to recognise PhD theses representing outstanding contributions to scientific and/or technological knowledge in sol-gel chemistry and related fields. The ISGS PhD Thesis Award Committee for the 2019 competition was composed of Professors Massimo Gug- lielmi (Chair), Galo Soler-Illia, Julien Jones, Markus Niederberger, and Rui Manuel Amaral de Almeida. The Committee received seven applications, which were judged on the basis of the novelty of the science; impact on sol-gel science and technology; quality/sophistication of the experimentation; contextual positioning of the subject; clarity and readability; and scope of the work. All applications received were of extremely high quality. While the top three were very close, there was unanimous agreement that the thesis award for 2019 be awarded to Dr Valentin Smeets. Drs Albane Birault and Junho Jang were awarded second and third places, respectively.

Valentin’s thesis, entitled “New synthetic approaches to efficient Ti–SiO2 epoxidation catalysts”, is focused on the synthesis of mesoporous mixed oxides through soft routes involving phase separation or templating, with applications in the cata- lysed epoxidation of olefins. The committee indicated that Valentin’s application demonstrated an excellent ability to describe his work in a very clear and effective way. His ability to dissemi- nate the results obtained in his PhD work is well demonstrated by the six papers published as first author and his five oral presentations delivered at international conferences. As winner of the PhD Thesis Award 2019, Valentin will receive a diploma, a two- year ISGS membership, and prize money. He will also contribute a paper to the Journal of Sol-Gel Science and Technology, the official journal of ISGS. The Board of Directors of the ISGS and the ISGS PhD Thesis Award Committee warmly congratulate all candidates, in particular the awardees Valentin Smeets, Albane Birault and Junho Jang.

People in the spotlight - Dr Francesca Tallia I am a post-doctoral researcher in the group of Professor Julian Jones at Imperial College London and winner of the ISGS PhD Thesis Award in 2018 for my PhD thesis entitled “3-D printed flexible hybrids for tissue regeneration”. My thesis was focused on the development of a new sol-gel silica/PTHF/PCL hybrid material system with an unprecedented combination of properties, including the ability to: bounce (elasticity and recovery); take cyclic loads under dry and wet conditions; and self-heal intrinsically and autonomously while being optically clear and biodegradable. The new hybrid can be used as an “ink” for direct 3D printing, without the use of binders. As an example of potential applications, the resulting 3D printed scaffolds can stimulate cartilage regeneration and mimic its mechanical properties. The synthesis process (i.e. combination of sol-gel process and in situ cationic ring-opening polymerisation) and the hybrid materials obtained were patented. Since then, my post-doctoral research has been focused on the translation of this hybrid material into a 3D device for the regeneration of articular cartilage. This device involves a combination of a 3D porous scaffold and a bearing surface, fused together by exploiting the gelation inherent in the sol-gel process. Complete characterisation of the device has been car- ried out and currently in vivo studies in sheep are on-going…fingers crossed they will give the results that we hope for! We have a patent application pending. Given the novelty and the versatility of this hybrid material, other PhD students in Jones’ group have been investigating other aspects and possible applications. These include a modification of the chemical composition of the inorganic part in order to impart bioactivity for use in bone regeneration, and the design of a structure with graded mechanical properties to be used as an interver- tebral disc replacement. Furthermore, the innovative synthesis can be applied to other suitable monomers, paving the way to a new class of sol-gel hybrid materials impos- sible to achieve by other means.

This Month in Sol-Gel (and Materials Chemistry) History Roy J. Plunkett (Died 12 May 1994, aged 83): American chemist and inventor of Teflon at DuPont. His discovery was accidental. In 1938, Plunkett found that a tank of CF2CF2 had polymerized to a white powder and a patent was filed in 1941. DuPont released its trademarked Teflon coated nonstick cookware in 1960. (Source: https://todayinsci.com/6/6_26.htm)

Erika Cremer (Born 20 May 1900): German physical chemist who is regarded as one of the most important pio- neers in gas chromatography, a technique that she conceived in 1944. Her teachers at the University of Berlin included Fritz Haber, Walther Nernst, Max Planck, Max Von Laue and Albert Einstein. (Source: (https:// web.lemoyne.edu/~giunta/week.html; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erika_Cremer).

François Auguste Victor Grignard (Born 6 May 1871): French chemist known for the discovery of the Grignard reaction. The significance of his achievement was recognised by the award of France’s Cahours prize in 1901 and the French Academy of Sciences’ Berthelot medal in 1902. In 1912, Grignard shared the Nobel prize for chemistry with Paul Sabatier. (Source: https://www.chemistryworld.com/features/a-reluctant- chemist/4993.article).

Mary Kies (Born 1752): American inventor, who received the first patent granted to a woman by the US Patents and Trademark Office on 5 May 1809 for the invention of a new technique for weaving straw with silk or thread. By 1840, around 20 patents had been issued to women. Even today, only around 12 % of all patent applications include a female inventor. (Source: https://lemelson.mit.edu/resources/mary-kies).

Sol-Gel Careers In the June 2020 (and subsequent) Edition of the ISGS Newsletter, we plan to feature career opportunities that are available within our community, particularly for PhD students and Early-Career researchers, in Industry and Academia. We would welcome information about any such positions currently being advertised that could be included in the ISGS Newsletter.

Meetings and Workshops—Save the Date If there are any conference or events that you wish to have advertised in the ISGS Newsletter, please pass on details of the event to the ISGS Newsletter Editor. 2020: 2 to 3 September: 7th ISGS Summer School, Castelló, Spain (see https://www.nanoge.org/ ISGS_School20/home) 2021: 4 to 9 July: 19th International Symposium on Silicon Chemistry, Toulouse, France (see http:// isos2020.enscm.fr/). 2021: 22 to 27 August: Sol-Gel 2021, Lyon, France (see http://solgel2021.fr/fr).

Contact the ISGS Board: Newsletter Editor: President: Professor Aleksandra Lobnik Professor John Bartlett Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Web: http://www.isgs.org We welcome any suggestions for stories or other content for inclusion in the ISGS Newsletter. Become a member of the ISGS:

See: https://www.isgs.org/subscription-plan/