Issue 6 | Spring 2017 ResonanceThe University of Sheffield’s Chemistry News Team

Nobel Prize in From Mars to the Departmental History Chemistry Stars Resonance The University of Sheffield’s Chemistry News Team

Resonance is a biannual newsletter produced by chemistry Editor Resonance Beth Crowston students at the University of Sheffield. It aims to provide insights into unheard stories from the Department and to engage you with issues in the wider scientific world. Design Editor Joseph Clarke

Social Media Coordinator Editorial Helen Elmes Hello and welcome to Resonance Issue 6! Whether you’re a seasoned reader, or you’re picking Contributing Authors up a copy for the first time, I’d like to thank you all for your continued support as without you Joseph Clarke Resonance would not exist. Beth Crowston Dr Julie Hyde This is my first issue taking over from Zoe as the editor and I’d just like to Dan Jenkinson commend her on the amazing job she did with the previous two editions. Jing Jing She made the job seem much easier than it is! I’m fortunate that I’ve had Rachel Mowll excellent support from Joe Clarke and would like to thank him for all his Amelia Newman help in putting this issue together. With his wise input and the creativity Zoe Smallwood of all of those who have contributed to this issue, I feel that we’ve made a t Kayleigh Wilkinson sleek, informative newsletter that I hope you enjoy reading.

When the opportunity to take over as editor of Resonance was offered Copy Editors to me, I was pleased to accept the role as for me it holds some good memories. Back in 2012, I was a member of the first group of students, Joseph Clarke tutored by Prof. Simon Jones to produce a departmental newsletter as Beth Crowston part of our “Skills for Success” project. One of my collaborators was Dr Grant Hill Alex Stockham, who went on to set up Resonance, and another was Dr Anthony J. H. M. Meijer Jenna Spencer-Briggs, who took over from Alex as the editor for issue Prof. Mike Ward three. I’m in awe at the initial hard work it must have taken to set up Resonance, and I’m proud to build upon the excellent foundations that they created. Front Design Dr Will Cullen This issue sees us celebrating one of our famous alumni, Prof. Fraser Stoddart, who was recently honoured with a Nobel Prize in Chemistry Email alongside Jean-Pierre Sauvage and Ben Feringa, for their work in the [email protected] “design and synthesis of molecular machines”. We take a look at their work and also delve into the supramolecular chemistry currently taking place in our very own department. For those curious about our department’s history take a look at our feature on pages 13 and 14, and for those Printers international readers over in Nanjing, we have a special article written by Print and Design Solutions one of our colleagues about her experiences in Sheffield so far. Bolsover Street Sheffield Happy reading. S3 7NA Beth Crowston Contents On the Cover In This Issue Editorial 1

7 Chemistry: The Science Around Us 3

Chemistry 2051 3

Soft Matter AnalyticaL Laboratory 4

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2016 New Members of Staff 5-6

The field of Supramolecular Chemistry has recently The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2016 7-8 been awarded the highest accolade. We discuss the reseach behind the award and interview Prof. Mike Supramolecular Research 9-12 Ward and Prof. Jim Thomas on their contributions to the field. Elemental Factfile: Iron 10

Departmental History 13-14 13 The Journey to Mars 15 Extraterrestrial Life 16

Experiences of Life In Sheffield 17

10th Biennial Undergraduate 17 Chemistry Laboratory Tournament Departmental History Zoe Smallwood discusses the changing face and Resonance Recommends 18 facilities of the department in the first of a two-part feature. Social Media

@resonancenews 15 @SheffieldChem @sheffield.chem

Image courtesy of NASA of courtesy Image The University of Sheffield

From Mars to the Stars @Resonance_Sheff The wide variety of chemical instrumentation on @SheffieldChem board NASAs Curiosity Rover is discussed as well as the potential of extraterrestrial life [email protected]

The University of Sheffield || Resonance Issue 6 2 Conferences

Chemistry: TheBy DanScience Jenkinson Around Us he summer of 2016 was Over 110 researchers from around Tdrawn to a close with an event the United Kingdom registered to organised by a group of PhD hear how chemistry can be applied students working at The University to physics, medicine, dentistry, and of Sheffield when they decided to carbon capture, as well as viewing host their own event to celebrate the posters with a similarly diverse work done by chemists that work outlook. Talks from academics across disciplines. The organisers and shorter talks from early felt that they were not given the career researchers entertained the opportunities to present their audience, with Seb Spain, Dan interdisciplinary work at other Jenkinson and Jamie Wright from

symposiums that focus on small, Sheffield each giving a talk on Spey © Sharon specialised areas of chemistry. the day. Other speakers included Merck), representatives of which © Sharon Spey Natalia Sergeeva from Leeds, were present on the day. Prizes for Carmen Galan from Bristol, and the best poster and best early career Duncan Graham from Strathclyde. researcher were kindly provided by The University of Sheffield Polymer The event could not have gone Centre and went to Ben Allen and ahead without the generous Vanessa Marcos respectively. backing of the sponsors, which came from the Royal Society of Overall, the event was a massive Chemistry (both the Small Grants success and a group of PhD students for Scientific Activities committee, from The University of Leeds and the Sheffield and District expressed an interest in hosting The event speakers: (L to R) Seb Spain, Elen Everett, Dan Jenkinson, Daniel Richards, Jamie Wright, Carmen Galan, local committee), and industrial the event next year, so keep an eye Natalia Sergeeva, Vanessa Marcos, Duncan Graham sponsors (StarLab, Fisher Scientific, on your inbox for news of the next Fluorochem, Asynt, TCI and event! Chemistry 2051 The face of chemical research changes with scientific progression and advancing technology. By the year 2051 how will we, as chemists, have adapted and solved some of the problems that are currently being faced by the scientific community? A recent symposium invited Prof. Chick Wilson from the University of Bath and several undergraduate students and postgraduate researchers to discuss some of these challenges and potential solutions. Organised by students with Dr Jonathan Foster, the event showcased a wide variety of opportunities for chemical reasearch in the future. Among the topics discussed by Prof. Wilson, the most interesting advance was amassing a database of material properties which could be used to adapt to multiple environments. For example, materials which are light and strong will be useful in a whole host of situations. One of the more abstract ideas for these materials is in the so-called “Space Elevator”. This idea is to create a lift which will launch materials into a geostationary orbit. However, to achieve this we need materials which are strong, flexible and dense enough for the elevator. The most promising area of research is in the field of carbon nanontubes and nanoparticle research. The symposium gave undergraduates the opportunity to speak about research they had undertaken into a particular field. Toby Clarke spoke about some of the research he performed as part of a summer research project at the University of Nottingham into light-catalysed synthesis. Elliot Denton talked about the uses of environmentally-friendly solvent-free synthesis. Finally, Josh Lawlor spoke about the dangers of chemical weapons and some of the ways of combatting the toxins.

Also see http://bit.ly/2hagYeI 3 Resonance Issue 6 || Spring 2017 News

SoftThe MatterUniversity of Sheffield’s AnalyticaL brand new laboratory for categorising Laboratory materials opened its doors in October 2016, Joseph Clarke brings you some of the details of this new laboratory. hose students currently at without having to move them Tthe University might have into destructive media. noticed the redevelopment that has taken place around Mass The experimental setup in SMALL Spectrometry on B-floor. Now is highly adaptable overcoming it is home to the newest piece some of the challenges of studying of analytical equipment and a thin films. The main challenge new laboratory specifically built is the small surface available to to image soft matter. Welcome image. Built-in to the apparatus to the Soft Matter AnalyticaL is the ability to rotate any sample Laboratory, also referred to as from a perpendicular path to a SMALL. © Sharon Spey parallel pathway. This will skim the top of any surface resulting in The new laboratory is the result of a The principal focus of the laboratory is a better scattering pattern. £2 million investment, part funded the characterisation of materials. This by the Engineering and Physical includes polymers, colloids, films and Investment at this level is needed Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). proteins. From a chemical perspective in this field. Measurements of this The project was completed in May one of the main uses will be in the type were previously only possible at 2016 and was officially opened at study of polymers. The random order synchrotrons. This made it a lengthy a dedicated symposium on the 7th of polymeric chains leads to difficulties and time-consuming process, since of October 2016. The symposium in characterisation. SAXS experiments there are only a handful of these featured guest lectures from leading can be performed on these disordered throughout Europe. Performing these researchers in the field and a speech systems making it appropriate for measurements in-house will remove from the Pro-Vice Chancellor. structure investigation. this barrier allowing characterisation in a fraction of the time. At the heart of the new laboratory is Furthermore, biological materials the new Small Angle X-ray Scattering, can be studied. Using SAXS and a The first results obtained from SAXS, instrument. The machine is the combination of other crystallographic the laboratory have already been first of its kind in the UK, equipped techniques, protein structure and, published. The paper appeared in with a liquid gallium MetalJet importantly, protein shape can be September 2016 as a collaborative X-ray source purposely built for the deduced. The advantage of using study between Dr Mykhaylyk and university by the French company SAXS is that analysis is performed in Prof. Armes. Xenocs. In addition to SAXS, the situ, meaning proteins are analysed laboratory is also equipped to perform P. Yang, O. Mykhaylyk, E. Jones, and S. Armes Macromolecules, 2016, 49, 6731–6742 rheology measurements, in which the flow of materials is studied.

A heBrief study of chemistry Introduction typically In SAXS, tocollimated SAXS. X-rays are Trests on the visualisation of directed at a sample. The angle at matter which cannot be viewed by the which this X-ray beam is scattered is naked eye. Instead we use techniques subsequently measured by a detector. to provide information which can This angle is often very small. aid in the interpretation of what the Therefore, powerful machines are structure is. For most undergraduates, needed to detect the defracted pattern. this is limited to NMR, IR, and The mesurements generate a scattering mass spectrometry from which curve, which is later interpreted to characteristic peaks provide indirect reveal information about the structure evidence for a molecular structure. of the sample including its shape, However in addition to these, one can its electron density and its internal use Small Angle X-ray Scattering to morphology. characterise materials in the range of -9 nanometers (10 m) to submicrons. Spey © Sharon Also see http://bit.ly/2hagYeI The University of Sheffield || Resonance Issue 6 4 Interview ResonanceBeth Crowston Welcomes and Joseph Clarke both had the opportunity the r at the University of Bristol. After D BEN PARTRIDGE this, Ben was encouraged to take up new, sustainable, catalytic methods by a postdoctoral position with one of bringing them together with his work the world leaders in transition-metal which takes advantage of frustrated catalysis, Prof. John Hartwig, at the Lewis pairs (FLPs). This approach has University of California, Berkeley. potential to make chemistry greener Upon his return to the UK, Ben worked and more sustainable, as the FLP with Prof. Hon Wai Lam at both the catalysts would be made from elements University of Edinburgh and then at (e.g. boron, nitrogen, and carbon) the University of Nottingham. which are more abundant, cheaper and more environmentally friendly than Outside of chemistry Ben is a keen their transition metal counterparts. cyclist. When he finally moves to Sheffield he wants to buy himself a © Sharon Spey © Sharon Ben accredits his interest in chemistry new road bike to take advantage of Dr Ben Partridge joined the chemistry to the fun experiments he carried out the city’s close proximity to the Peak department in June 2016, having taken at home when he was younger, and District. Currently, he still commutes up the position of Lecturer in Organic to a particularly memorable teacher to work from Nottingham and has Chemistry. For Ben, the broad range of who demonstrated the technique of only seen the sights between the train research conducted in the department distillation to him when he was 11. station and the department. However, made the decision to make the move He thought that it was “really cool” to he hopes that he will have plenty of to Sheffield easier, as he feels that his see black goo be purified into clean, years here in Sheffield to explore the work on new catalytic methods for colourless fractions and wanted to city and the surrounding area. Ben the synthesis of organic molecules learn more. After continuing to enjoy also likes to cook for his friends and will complement it well. Currently, the subject at school, and then at family but feels this doesn’t count organoboron chemistry and catalysis degree level, his passion for chemistry as a hobby as it is “basically organic are two separate research areas in his motivated him to undertake a Ph.D. synthesis” just in the kitchen rather group. However, Ben hopes to develop with Prof. Varinder Aggarwal FRS than the lab. Dr TIM CRAGGS Jane Grasby and through networking FRET machine, with the help of his at conferences. His decision to move to level 4 masters students, with the hope Sheffield was influenced by its strong of first measurements by Easter. performance as well as collaborations with the physics department. A strong As well as an interest in biological incentive was Imagine: Imaging chemistry, Tim is also a keen musician. Research,1 a group of researchers who In fact, he said that playing the violin specialise in biological imaging, which in orchestras and string quartets fits well with Tim’s own research helped to fund the final year of his goals. This working environment Ph.D. studies. He also said he enjoyed as well as collaborations between singing and rowing during his time in departments, Tim tells us, is necessary Cambridge. Like a lot of academics for progression in his field. Tim cycles to the University, with Sheffield’s hilly landscape presenting © Sharon Spey © Sharon more of a challenge than Bristol. Drawn towards academic science Dr Craggs’ research focuses on single from a young age by a strong scientific molecule FRET (Förster Resonance 1. http://bit.ly/2lIcNXU family background, Dr Tim Craggs Energy Transfer) which is used as an Did you Know has recently been appointed as experimental ruler in molecules, and is FRET is a mechanism of measurement Lecturer in Biological Chemistry at the of particular use in the field of protein involving light-sensitive molecules University of Sheffield. After studying studies. Studying single molecules called fluorophores. An excited donor undergraduate Natural Sciences and a overcomes some of the averaging fluorophore transfers energy in a Ph.D. at Cambridge University, he had inherent to ensemble measurements radiationless process to an acceptor a series of domestic and international (that typically involve many millions fluorophore. The efficiency of this postdoctoral positions at Oxford, Yale of molecules) and is performed transfer is dependent on the distance and Bristol before moving to Sheffield. by using minute concentrations. between the two fluorophores. Dr Measuring single molecules means Craggs has developed this technique Tim’s first contact with Sheffield came different configurations can be for protein structure measurements. through a collaboration with Prof. identified. He is currently building his

5 Resonance Issue 6 || Spring 2017 Interview Newto discuss their interestsMembers in research and outside ofof chemistry. Staff r three-dimensional discrete structures D JONATHAN FOSTER is that the sheets have a very large He credits his secondary school teacher surface area consisting of a tuneable, with sparking his initial interest in periodic array of binding sites. This chemistry as he would impress the potentially allows you to do new class with exciting demonstrations – things with these materials that you “blown up watermelons, screaming can’t do with discrete molecules. For jelly babies, and purple volcanoes all example, the group are interested in certainly got my attention.” developing them for a diverse range of applications such as creating new However, it is the creative aspect of sensors to diagnose disease; more chemistry that keeps Jona fascinated efficient catalysts for green synthesis; as “it allows you to design new porous membranes for cleaning water molecules and materials that have and air, and new flexible solar panels. © Sharon Spey © Sharon never existed before,” which in fact he Dr Jonathan Foster joined the now does on a daily basis as part of his Jona felt that joining the department department in 2015 after being awarded research. a Ramsay Fellowship and a Sheffield here in Sheffield would benefit his research interests as it is very friendly Vice Chancellor’s Fellowship. Prior to His group are developing a new class and supportive, and is furnished with this he worked at the University of of graphene-like two-dimensional the equipment and expertise he needs. Durham, where he completed both nanomaterials called metal-organic As a keen climber, he claims that the his undergraduate studies and then nanosheets. Unlike graphene which is proximity of the Peak District didn’t gained his Ph.D. under Prof. Jonathan just made of carbon, these nanosheets influence his decision to come to Steed and Prof. Judith Howard FRS. can be assembled in a modular Sheffield. However, as he and his wife He then moved to the University of fashion using different combinations recently had their first baby, his son Cambridge to take up postdoctoral of organic ligands bolted together by has become a pretty all-consuming positions with Prof. Jonathan Nitschke metal-ions. The advantage of creating ‘hobby’ for the last 6 months instead. and Prof. Anthony Cheetham FRS. these two-dimensional sheets over

-18 r the atto second timescale (10 s) D ADRIEN CHAUVET commonplace, where the process of His main research interest lies in electron transfer will be easily viewed. the area of biological chemistry, To research proteins effectively, specifically, understanding thespectroscopy at or beyond the pico (10- function and behaviour of proteins 12 s) timescale is needed. This requires along the pathway of photosynthesis. very sensitive instrumentation which Achieving a thorough understanding is currently not very common. of the background of photosynthesis was a driving-force for the application A major incentive for Adrien to move to of laser physics to the fields of Sheffield was the investment in the new biological chemistry, as Adrien says: laser facility, and the freedom to pursue “Nature saw the perfection of his own interests. However, Adrien also praised the people of Sheffield,

© Sharon Spey © Sharon one molecule to perform multiple processes. Learning from Nature particularly their friendliness and Moving from laser physics to chemical can lead to advances in current openness in welcoming him to the city. spectroscopy, Dr Adrien Chauvet has t e c h n o l o g y.” recently been appointed as Lecturer in Outside of chemistry Dr Chauvet Physical Chemistry. Adrien studied His current focus is on cytochromes, says nature is his hobby as well as his Materials Science and then obtained an electron transport protein. job, noting it was necessary when he a Ph.D. in biophysics, at Purdue Cytochromes work within the cell worked in Switzerland to get out and University, USA, in 2012. He was then membrane as both an electron and about as much as possible. Naturally, awarded a postdoctoral fellowship at proton pump. This effectively turns he has been enjoying the Peak District the Polytechnical Federal School of the cell into a “chemical battery” with where he cycles and walks, while also Lausanne, in Switzerland followed by a positive and negative side. Even taking in the rich history. His office a senior postdoctoral position at the though, research in this field is still in contains a plethora of plants and University of Geneva. It was from this its early days, advancing technology also a rather beautiful picture of the position that he was hired to Sheffield. will soon make spectroscopy on mountains of Switzerland.

The University of Sheffield || Resonance Issue 6 6 News The Nobel Prize The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2016 Jean-Pierre Sauvage, Sir J. Fraser “The design and synthesis

Sir Fraser Stoddart becoming a Lecturer of Chemistry, was awarded a third share of the Nobel and eventually being promoted Prize in Chemistry for his research to Reader in 1982. He finally left in supramolecular chemistry. Sir the University in 1990 to take up Fraser has now become the fourth a position at the University of Nobel Prize Laureate associated with Birmingham before moving to the the department joining previous USA where he is currently Professor scientists Lord George Porter (1967); of Chemistry at Northwestern Prof. Sir Richard Roberts (1993) and University in Evanston, Illanois. Prof. Sir Harry Kroto (1996). However, it was work that was performed in Sheffield that laid Sir Fraser joined the department the foundations of research which

Famous Alumni Famous as a research fellow in 1970 before would lead to his Nobel Prize award.

The specific rotaxane that Sir Fraser synthesised relied Research into Rotaxanes on the stacking of aromatic rings along a linking Work conducted by Sir Fraser and the Sheffield chain. A ring closing reaction was performed which research group in 1991 was cited and praised in trapped the ring on the axle. Sterically bulky groups, 1 the Nobel Prize announcement. This work was on in this case Si(CHMe2)3 ‘stoppers’ at the end of the the synthesis of molecules which would become chain prevented the newly formed ring from escaping. known as rotaxanes. These are molecules where a molecular ring is closed around or threaded through The exciting aspect of rotaxanes is the potential a mechanical axle. The synthesis of rotaxanes often shuttling motion that can occur if there are multiple relies on intermolecular interactions, which drive the sites of interaction. This is an example of early work reaction, the most common of which is the stacking of into the production of a molecular motor. Further aromatic rings. research adapted this by changing the heteroatom to create systems where electrochemical oxidation or reduction, or even a pH-change, could lead to the ring ‘moving’ from one phenyl group to another.

MeCN AgPF 6 Further research into rotaxanes led to several RT, 7 days 32 % interesting features. These included the synthesis of a “molecular elevator” where the rise or fall of the rotaxane could be controlled; a molecular actuator which resembled muscle; and finally in 2007 of a rotaxane-based device with memory function. These devices used the fundamentals that were established in Sir Fraser’s 1991 paper. This single paper has led to the construction of tiny molecular based machines which have the potential to revolutionise technology in the future. 1. Stoddart et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc, 1991, 113, 5131-5133. The full paper can be viewed at: http://bit.ly/2kmazAJ

7 Resonance Issue 6 || Spring 2017 For more information visit the Nobel Prize News in Chemistry 2016: was awarded on the 5th of October to Stoddart and Bernard L. Feringa for of molecular machines”

Jean-Pierre Sauvage’s contribution Through collaborations with the Stoddart group, can be considered to be the lynchpin to the ‘design work into developing these impressive structures and synthesis of molecular machines’. Although into molecular machines quickly advanced. It was rotaxanes and catenanes – two or more macrocycles found that using electro- or photochemistry could interlocked – were already known structures, it wasn’t control the rotational and translational motion of until Sauvage’s involvement in 1983 that they could the machines. However, Sauvage’s most impressive be synthesised in any meaningful quantity. Whilst contribution to the field was perhaps the development working on a complex consisting of two crescent- of a daisy-chain structure which mimicked the action shaped ligands entwined around a central Cu(I) atom, of muscles in a living system. Two entangled rotaxane Sauvage noticed the resemblance the structure had structures were shown to expand and contract over a to a non-cyclised catenane. By connecting the open distance of ca. 2 nm by chemical manipulation. ends of the ligands and removing the metal ion, he successfully pioneered the templating approach to Sauvage’s work continues to influence young chemists synthesising mechanically, interlocked machines. today, with many research groups around the world Many complex and intricate entities were to follow dependent on using his templating approach. Without after this breakthrough, including trefoil knots and his input the field of ‘molecular machines’ would not Solomon links. have evolved to be the dynamic area of research it is today. Ben Feringa built on Stoddart and Sauvage’s blade. Over the years astounding progress has been work by demonstrating the first example of controlled made by the Feringa group, with the fastest rotational unidirectional motion similar to that seen in a rotary frequency achieved so far being a staggering 12 motor device. million revolutions per second.

The first device was based on a light-activated molecular Taking their “molecular machines” even further into switch, in which a molecule with isomerisable double the realms of Nobel-prize-worthy work, the group bonds would alter its configuration when exposed to have demonstrated that they can use their motors UV light, and then return to its original form upon to move a microscopic object 10,000 times its size. thermal relaxation (as shown below) . The compound Astoundingly, this movement can even be seen by can be thought of as consisting of two “blades”, and the naked eye. The group has even designed and each irradiation-relaxation cycle would effectively manufactured a “nanocar”; a structure comprised of rotate the “blades” by 180°. By preventing this four motor components that can be driven along a rotation from reversing, the compound’s movements surface. were essentially shown to mimic those of a propeller With the field of “molecular machines” flourishing,

UV-light scientists now look to the future and speculate just CH3 H3C how the ingenious field of molecular nanotechnology H3C H3C can be translated into real-world applications. With plenty of ambitious ideas currently being pursued, the Heat Heat one certain thing is that Stoddart, Sauvage and Feringa definitely deserve to share this prestigious accolade CH 3 H3C for the endless inspiration they have for tomorrow’s H C UV-light 3 H3C scientists.

announcement at http://bit.ly/2cSwZR8 The University of Sheffield || Resonance Issue 6 8 Feature Supramolecular Research

Supramolecular chemistry is reasearched extensively at the University of Sheffield. With applications to biological and drug development, Amelia Newman spoke to Prof. Jim Thomas about his research.

What drew you to the field of supramolecular transcription factor proteins involved in recognising chemistry? DNA. I thought, this is like genuinely synthetic biology, making something that’s completely abiotic I was doing a PhD at the University of Birmingham, but functions in a way natural systems do. when the head of department was Fraser Stoddart, who won the Nobel prize a few weeks ago. We used to We started looking at DNA binding and found that get quite a lot of people coming to visit Fraser so we had this macrocyclic structure binds to DNA on the a lot of seminars about supramolecular chemistry. My outside in precisely the same way a transcription PhD was vaguely in the area and I just sort of thought factor called the TATA-box binding protein does. This I’d really like to pursue it. I applied for a position with protein is unique in that the whole thing binds on the people that were working in that area and I was lucky outside of DNA. What piqued my interest was the enough to get into a lab with Jean-Marie Lehn, who fact that the emission properties of these macrocycles co-founded the area of supramolecular chemistry. change when they bind to DNA, meaning you can One of the co-winners of the Nobel prize this year is probe DNA binding. What made it really interesting an ex-PhD and post doc of Jean-Marie, Jean-Pierre was the observation that these large molecules do go Sauvage, who Prof Mike Ward worked for. into cells. We found that when the compound went into cells, under the influence of light and oxygen, the cells died.

To cut a long story short, the compounds turned out to be sensitizers for photodynamic therapy. The building blocks that these compounds are made from are efficient at creating singlet oxygen on photoexcitation, but they don’t go into cells. The macrocycles we form from the building blocks do go into cells, functioning as a phototherapeutic. I was pleased to see that something that started off as a speculative thing has ended up having some possible future therapeutic leads.

Could you tell me about your recent research or a recent publication? I’ve got two interests really. One is to do with therapeutics, imaging and biological things. The other is trying to do self-assembly with building blocks which are in themselves interesting, either for photochemistry or electrochemistry.1 The last publication we had fused both. We made a variety of macrocyclic structures from building blocks; one in particular has a ruthenium centre. The final assembly has four metals in it, two of which are ruthenium, two of which are rhenium ion “connectors”. The interesting thing is they have a photo-excited state and so they’re luminescent. The thing that started me RNA rich structures (nucleoli) found in the nuclei of human breast cancer cells, working on these systems was that they look like some imaged using a probe developed by the Thomas group.

9 Resonance Issue 6 || Spring 2017 Feature

Could you tell us a bit about what your future What would you say was the catalyst for the research plans are? exponential growth in the field of supramolecular An ex-PhD student of mine contacted me and asked if chemistry over the last 50 years? it was possible to collaborate and carry on looking at I think the Nobel committee hit the nail on the the compounds he developed during his PhD. This is head when they awarded this current Nobel prize quite unusual and obviously I was interested to work for molecular machines. Within the media it’s with an oncologist, who is his current boss in Oxford, been covered as nanotechnology, but really it’s a and their studies have now got to the point where two development of supramolecular chemistry. I think of our therapeutic lead compounds are now being put Jean-Marie had the kind of vision to advance the field into mice. and the three people that they have selected are the people that took that baton and moved it forward. Within Sheffield, through collaborations with biomedical science and the medical school, we’ve got Jean-Marie is still publishing a lot of work in the area on another set of systems which are getting to the point devices, but certainly the three people the committee where they will be looked at as cancer therapeutics selected have started producing materials that could that will hopefully work by a different route to the have real applications, in particular Fraser’s work in traditional therapeutics. Theoretically they should getting working memory devices on a molecular scale. work against cell lines that are resistant to normal I think the way forward now is to push that further. So therapeutics. There’s still a long way to go, but when I for instance, I think over the next twenty years you started this twelve years ago I never thought we’d get might see molecular scale memory for computers. to this point. 1. Thomas et al., Chem Eur J, 2016, 17, 5996-6000.

ElementalBy RachelFactfile: Mowll Iron versatile material used in countless It is well known that iron plays applications. There are manyan important role in biological ron is the fourth most abundant different types of steel depending systems and that it is important Ielement in the earth’s crust. It on the application and these to get enough iron from dietary also makes up a large proportion contain small amounts of other sources. This is because many of the earth’s core, although the metals, for example chromium and proteins contain iron coordination exact composition of the core is nickel in stainless steel which of sites. The most famous of these unknown. In its elemental form course was developed in Sheffield is haemoglobin. Haemoglobin iron is a grey metal, however it by Harry Brearley. is responsible for the essential is most commonly found as the process of transporting oxygen mineral haematite (Fe2O3). It has Iron is also used as a catalyst in some around the body in red blood cells. been used by humanity since essential industrial processes. These In mammals it is most commonly prehistoric times. Iron played include the Haber-Bosch process, made up of four protein subunits, a large part in the industrial forming ammonia from nitrogen each of which contains one heme revolution with many innovations and hydrogen, and the Fischer- group, a porphyrin ring with an dating from this time such as the Tropsch process which converts iron ion coordinated in the centre. pudding and rolling techniques syngas (hydrogen and carbon The iron centre in each heme unit which allowed impurities to be monoxide) into hydrocarbon fuels. coordinates one oxygen molecule removed and led to much larger Different metals can be used as for transport around the body. scale production. The building catalysts for the Fischer-Tropsch process but iron is relatively cheap of the railways in Britain in the Sheffield Steel: http://bit.ly/1I16YZn early 19th century caused the so it is often used and is particularly RSC factfile: http://rsc.li/1aJFfPg effective for certain types of syngas WebElements http://bit.ly/2iN3Xpy demand for iron to skyrocket. The Fischer-Tropsch http://bit.ly/2hCuHNn addition of carbon allowed steel which contain a higher proportion to be created which is a hugely of carbon monoxide.

The University of Sheffield || Resonance Issue 6 10 Feature

Amelia Newman also spoke to Prof. Mike Ward to discuss his research and his recent publications. Prof. Ward joined the department in 2003 and is currently Head of Department. His research investigates the self-assembly of molecular cages and associated host-guest chemistry. © Sharon Spey © Sharon What drew you to the field of supramolecular Could you give me a brief summary of your recent chemistry? work? I started during my PhD exploring the coordination There is a recent paper, that I’m sort of pleased with.1 chemistry of long polypyridines. We made some compounds and got some crystal structures, which We use the trick of self-assembly to make hollow turned out to be very exciting! These were some of capsules. Eight metal ions and twelve ligands the first examples of what we call double helicates. spontaneously assemble to form a cube. You have a These structures have two metals in a central spine, metal ion at every corner and a bridging ligand along and two ligand strands that coordinate around this every edge. It’s a nice example of self-assembly. Twenty spine and it looks like DNA and I thought, “well that’s components just zip themselves up to give a single cool”. This research generated some quite high impact structure because all the bits are complementary. It’s papers because they were amongst the first examples like putting a bunch of jigsaw pieces in a bag, giving of what we now call self-assembly: the ability of them a shake, and finding the completed picture. simple components, given the right conditions and geometric information, to come together into It turns out that these hollow cages bind molecules elaborate complexes under their own steam. in the central cavity. This cage has a water soluble exterior, but the interior is hydrophobic. This means There are two approaches to synthesis, really. that, in water, anything that is hydrophobic will bind Conventional covalent bond synthesis is all about tightly in the cavity, size depending. For example, look controlling covalent bonds. You can do a coupling here, at the crystal structure (see the structure on the left)

an elimination there, an SN2 here, you can visualise a of a cage/guest complex, with benzisoxazole sitting molecule and build it with complete certainty in lots nicely in the cavity of the cage. of steps. What we found in collaboration with Nick Williams, At the other end of the scale biology does interesting and this was really nice, is that the bound guest things with self-assembly. You can take very simple undergoes a reaction with base – the Kemp components, sit back and let them sort themselves out elimination. It’s not a particularly interesting reaction into remarkably elaborate structures. All of biology on its own, except that when performed in the cavity of relies on self-assembly. It is a completely different the cage it’s accelerated by a factor of almost 1,000,000, approach to synthesis. So, it struck me as an interesting which is a rate enhancement similar to what enzymes area and I’ve been playing with it ever since. can do. It turns out this increased reactivity is related to the charge on the cage.

This cage has 8 Co (II) ions, so it has a charge of 16+. In solution under weakly basic conditions, it ion pairs very strongly, meaning the cage is completely surrounded by hydroxide ions. This means that from the point of view of the guest in the cavity the local pH is 14, even when a pH meter is telling you that the pH is 8. This strong ion pairing effect accelerates the reaction by providing a very high local concentration of anions. It is also potentially very general, because you can put a wide range of guests in the cavity of the cage and different ions around the surface of the cage. What we’re looking at is developing this as a general way to catalyse the reaction of any organic electrophile that binds in the cavity, with any anion you like! That’s a very exciting possibility. 11 Resonance Issue 6 || Spring 2017 Feature What kind of applications does it have? With the mimicking biology path, has a motive Potentially very general catalysis. The high positive charge also been a push toward green chemistry? will hoover up anions around the cage surface, so you can When you start talking about the environment, it boils bring together any electrophile and any nucleophile in down to energy. Here’s a statistic that might surprise close proximity, and the reactions will work in water, you: enough sunlight hits the surface of the earth in which is environmentally friendly. If that works, it’s very 1 hour to provide mankind’s energy needs for a year. exciting, and Nick and I will be famous (hahaha). The Why are we short of energy?! What are we doing?! The field has changed a lot since Sir Fraser published his answer is that we’re not as clever as biology. We can’t do paper that led to him winning the Nobel prize. photosynthesis in the way that biological systems do- it’s hard! Reducing CO2 back to some form in which you can burn it again, whether it’s glucose if you’re a plant or methanol if you’re Julia Weinstein, is basically the way to reverse the destruction of the fossil fuel reserves. Biology does that using a very complicated supramolecular assembly – the photosynthetic assembly. There’s a huge drive across chemistry and all the physical sciences to see if we can find ways to do the same thing. Harvest CO2, shine light on it, reduce it to MeOH, you’d certainly get a Nobel prize for that. Then you’ve got a portable, carbon-neutral fuel based on harvesting the energy of the sun. But a lot of the interest in supramolecular chemistry is curiosity driven, it’s just fun! These are cute things, they’re clever, so there’s a lot of intellectual satisfaction in it. Being able to understand how molecules can What would you say has been the driving force manipulate themselves, and exploit the way in which behind the changes or the biggest change? they come together, is very satisfying. There are two things. One is the drive toward being Where do you see the field going in the next 25 able to mimic what biology does. Biology is just really years? clever chemistry. Cytochrome P450, for example can take a hydrocarbon and selectively oxidise it to an There are many people interested in these self- alcohol in aqueous conditions, at 1 atm pressure, at assembled cages and other groups have shown pH 7. About the only thing we can do with hexane catalysis in the cavities. The direction it is moving is set it on fire! That controlled reactivity under mild in now is towards light harvesting. In my cage there conditions happens because enzymes are exquisitely are 12 naphthalene groups in the cage. If you put selective and facilitate a particular reaction pathway. an electron deficient molecule next to normally The fact that biology can do it means it is chemically fluorescent naphthalene it will transfer an electron possible. We’ve just got to catch up on 4 billion years to it, quenching the fluorescence. Suppose you put of evolution! in the cage cavity an electron deficient molecule like We’re just beginning to understand this complexity CO2. You’ve surrounded it with an array of 12 electron and we can make self-assembled systems that can start donors. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could get multiple to mimic what biology does. In fact, a million-fold electron transfers to reduce CO2. We’ve shown rate enhancement, isn’t far off what enzymes can do. that if you put simple quinones in there you do get electron transfer. Next is to do it with two electrons The other impetus, and this is where the Nobel prize simultaneously; reducing something by 2 electrons is team came in, is towards completely artificial things. much harder, because it must happen simultaneously. Never mind biology, we want to do things that don’t If you’ve got everything pre-organised so the electron exist in the real world. Feringa’s clever chiral molecule donors are spatially close then you’ve got the possibility undergoes a rotational conformation under the of multiple electron transfer to a guest handcuffed in influence of light that allows it to actually walk across the cavity. That’s where we want to take it and some a surface. That’s completely unnatural, but what fun! other people are doing similar things in the US and You can use the tricks of supramolecular chemistry to Japan as well. make molecules do functions that biology and nature 1. Ward et al. Nature Chemistry, 2016, 8, 231-236. have never dreamed of. The University of Sheffield || Resonance Issue 6 12 Feature The History of It’s probably one of the most asked questions within 1 and 6 are, but where are the others? Did they ever aside, the department has an extremely rich history 1954 delved into the history books to see The Beginnings of the Dainton Building 1 Before the chemistry department was even formed, the university had to be established! In the late 1800’s, there were several precursors to the university in the form of the Sheffield School of Medicine, Sheffield Technical School and Firth College, opened in 1828, 1884 and 1879, respectively. Firth College was founded and named after Mark Firth, the owner of a local steel business. © Ian Spooner © Ian However, the situation at the School of Medicine The official opening of the university in 1905. was not good, and it faced closure. It was at this 2 The ceremonial opening point that the city of Sheffield decided a university of the Dainton Building was needed, for the city to compete with others in in lecture theatre 1 of the Main Centre Block, the UK. The case was put forward to citizens in opened by the Earl of the form of a poster, asking people to contribute a Scarborough.

penny towards the establishment of a new university Reproduced with the for the city. The people of Sheffield responded, and permission of the £50,000 later (approximately £15 million in today’s Sheffield Star. money!) a campus was built on Western Bank for Arts, Science and Medicine. In 1905, the University 3 of Sheffield was opened by King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra (see picture 1).1

Construction of the The Department of Chemistry was initially located Main Centre Block of the Dainton building taken a few hundred metres up the road, in the grounds in February 1950. of Firth Court (again named after Mark Firth, who founded Firth College). It was in no way the department we know today with chemicals being stored in air-raid shelters which had remained in the grounds following the World War II. It was later decided that a new venue was needed for 4 5 the chemists, so what is now called the Dainton Building (the grey/white part that houses the foyer of the building we know today) was built. This was opened in the 1950s by the Duke of Scarborough, in a ceremony that took place in lecture theatre 1 and covered by the Sheffield Star newspaper(photo 2). The building was later named after Frederick Dainton, a chemist who was the Chancellor of the The Duke of Edinburghs visit to the department in 1971 to formally open the teaching labs. 4) meeting University between 1978-1997. a student in the teaching laboratory. 5) Entering the department, notice all of the students on the 1. www.sheffield.ac.uk/about/history stairwells in the East Wing, now known as the Richard Roberts building. 13 Resonance Issue 6 || Spring 2017 Feature the Department the department. Everyone knows where lecture theatre exist, and where did they go? Mystery lecture theatres which dates back over 100 years. Zoe Smallwood how our department used to be. 2017 Dainton Building Renovations 6 The Dainton building has continued to evolve over the past seventy years. The Main Centre Blcok was quickly added to in subsequent years. First the East wing was built, in 1961, followed by the West wing, (also known as the Haworth wing) in 1964, which is the section of the department that backs onto the Arts Tower car park. The North Wing, also known as the Beaumont wing, quickly followed in the 1968. This block now contains the undergraduate Excerpts from two prospectuses in the early 90s. The cover from 1992 (Left) and a description teaching laboratories. As can be seen in photo 3, with a few familiar names (Top) Mike Morris, construction was not subject to the health and Barry Pickup and Mark Winter! safety regulations we know of today.

7 The East Wing housed a library (where the entrance Floor plan of the to the academic corridor is now), teaching labs and department. The North wing now houses the teaching some research labs at the very end of the building, laboratories, the Main as well as some lecture theatres. The East Wing Centre Block contains the foyer and lecture theatre 1 was host to a visit from the Duke of Edinburgh in and the East Wing has now 1971, whose visit resulted in crowds of people on been renamed The Richard Roberts Building. the stairwell to try and get a glimpse of royalty. [as shown in picture 5]. © George Dosworth © George 8 In 2005 the East Wing underwent an extensive refurbishment. During this time, the teaching labs were moved to their current position in the Nobel prize North Wing, and the Richard Roberts Auditorium laureate Prof. Sir Richard Roberts replaced the smaller lecture theatres. In addition, officially opening the East Wing was renamed after Richard Roberts, the Richard Roberts Building in a Nobel prize-winning chemist who studied for his 2005. degree and PhD in the department.(photo 8) © Barry Evans

The next issue of Resonance will discuss some of the history of our department focusing on what happened to lecture theatres 2-5; the changing community in our department and finally the experiences of a past member of staff.

Zoe and Resonance wish to thank everyone who helped provide information, pictures, and memories of the department history, including: Elaine Frary, Richard Wilkinson, Prof. Mark Winter, Dr David Williams, Dr Sandra Van Meurs, Stephen Atkin, George Dodsworth, David Towers, Dr Catherine Smith and Dr Craig Roberts. The University of Sheffield || Resonance Issue 6 14 Research The Journey to Mars

By Kayleigh Wilkinson

ASA has over 50 years of successful robotic missions to Mars and we are now perhaps as little as 15 Nyears away from the first human mission. With increasing technological advances, we are able to send sophisticated spacecraft that can travel great distances, to learn and build on our knowledge of this distant red planet so that we can plan and pave our way to a new world.

One of the most famous robotic wavelengths. As each element has CheMin prepares samples by firstly missions is the Mars Curiosity Rover. a “finger print” emission, the on- drilling the rock it collects and then This travelling laboratory’s mission is board spectrometer will determine sieving powder into sample holders. to determine the planet’s habitability the composition of the plasma and X-rays are directed into the rock by analysing the Martian surface. One the abundance of elements within it. sample which will then interact, thing that NASA are hoping to detect ChemCam can also recognise crystal re-emit or fluoresce at energies that are the building blocks of life. structures such as ice and minerals, are characteristic of a particular and assist in drilling of rock cores. This element. X-rays are diffracted Mars Curiosity Rover has a number technique allows Curiosity to take as by minerals in a characteristic of instruments on board to analyse many as a dozen measurements from pattern, with this and the X-ray samples on-the-go to achieve its goal. the rocks it encounters, per day, with emissions, scientists can identify Of the spectrometers it carries, one of no physical contact. the composition of the crystalline the most fundamental is ChemCam structures of the samples that are (Chemistry and Camera). To analyse collected on Mars’ surface. the composition of the rocks on Mars, Curiosity Facts ChemCam fires a laser in a series of 1. Launched 15.02 pm (GMT) on One of the minerals studied is pulses that vaporises an area between 26/11/2011. basalt. In particular there are two 1 mm and 7 m away. Atoms and ions 2. Landed 5.32 am (GMT) on primary minerals within basalt within the resulting gas are electronically 6/08/2012. that form when lava solidifies; excited, meaning that super-heated 3. Powered by the heat generated olivine and pyroxene, both of plasma will emit light as the atoms/ from the radioactive decay of which have been detected by molecules return to the ground state. plutonium-238. CheMin. Jarosite mineral was also ChemCam will detect these emissions found within sedimentary rock by and send the light through a fiber- 4. Provides a mission lifespan of 687 NASA’s Opportunity Rover, which optic link to the body of the unit and Earth days. Although it is still indicates an oxidizing and acidic then to the spectrometer. The plasma functional today. environment. light is then split into its constituent 5. Aged exposed surface rock as 4.2 billion years old. Human missions to Mars seem a To determine whether Mars has the distant dream, yet we are closer potential to sustain life, further study of than ever to populating a new the role water played in the formation planet. Our scientific endeavours, of the minerals on Mars must be to colonise new land or grow established. CheMin (Chemistry and islands in oceans seems to be Minerology), a mineralogy instrument almost within touching distance. on Curiosity, identifies the minerals Human capabilities seem to have and their abundance. Certain minerals no boundaries given enough time are linked to different environmental and who knows we may end up on conditions that existed when they were Mars someday. formed and with this, and by making Curiosity factsheet: http://go.nasa.gov/2j1KN0I comparison to our own planet, it Mission Overview: http://go.nasa.gov/1cx7cGB NASA image bank: http://go.nasa.gov/1KX0iyQ can be determined if Mars bears any NASA spectrometer: http://go.nasa.gov/1U22F7m resemblance to our own planet at the ChemCam: http://bit.ly/1MnYL3i early stages of its formation. http://bit.ly/2j7oIj2

Images provided byNASA and NSSDCA 15 Resonance Issue 6 || Spring 2017 Research Extraterrestrial Life By Rachel Mowll ave you ever looked up This is the ideal distance from a star In addition, the Drake Hto the night sky and that a planet should be to have the equation, which can be used wondered, are we alone in the potential to support life. He extended to calculate the number of universe? As part of ChemSoc’s this idea to discuss the different zones detectable alien civilisations guest lecture series, Professor of a galaxy that are most suitable for in the galaxy, was discussed. Brad Gibson from the University habitable planets. Too close to the This equation includes two of Hull visited the department to centre of the galaxy and the planet types of unknowns: those that give a lecture entitled Searching would be bombarded with radiation can be currently estimated or for Extra-terrestrials. Professor too strong for life as we know it to calculated effectively and those Gibson is the director of the E.A. exist. One must also account for the that are more philosophical. Milne Centre for Astrophysics. possibility of catastrophic events, such This is a research institute as supernovae.2 The factors that can be that “pursues explanations for calculated form part of the the wonders of the Universe” It seems for the research that takes place at the through academic research. time being, extra- E.A. Milne Centre and other It also offers extensive public terrestrial life is similar institutions around the engagement. world. The more philosophical confined to the parameters, on the other hand, Professor Gibson spoke about realms of science can easily be debated and the desire many of us share to find are currently little more than evidence for extra-terrestrial life. fiction. guesses. As part of the lecture, There are several examples from Prof. Gibson entered reasonable the past that people have taken There are other factors that must be estimates of the unknowns into as possible evidence, the most considered for a planet to be a suitable the equation. The resulting famous of which is the Wow! environment for life to develop, aside number of civilisations in the signal from 1977.1 from the obvious question: does it Milky Way galaxy was just 2.3 have water? For instance, consider Therefore, it seems for the time Professor Gibson went on the composition of the rocky crust of being, extra-terrestrial life is to discuss the well-known the planet. What effect will a different sadly confined to the realms of “Goldilocks Zone” for planets. composition ratio of minerals common science fiction.

in our crust have on the potential for 1. http://bit.ly/1KfWOEv life? Fascinating questions and yet 2. http://go.nasa.gov/2hsjkD currently there are not many answers. 3. http://bit.ly/2ibO6oj

The Drake Equation

N=R*f p*N e*f l*f i*f c*L N ”Lifetime” of communicating civilizations

R Rate of formation of suitable stars in our galaxy Percentage of those stars with planets fp Number of planets per star that could sustain life like earth Ne Percentage of planets where life actually develops fl Percentage of planets from f with intelligent life fi l Percentage of planets from f where technology develops fc i L ”Lifetime” of communicating civilizations

The University of Sheffield || Resonance Issue 6 16 Photographs courtesy of Sheffield City Council Nanjing Experiences of Life in Sheffield Third Year undergraduate Jing Jing tells Resonance about her experiences adapting to British life in Sheffield as part of the 3+1 joint programme between the University of Sheffield and Nanjing Tech University. The Christmas lights and markets are also struggled with cooking. But my the advert and design of the final everywhere in this city. I am walking roommates have helped me and I have poster. My fellow students strengths around in the city center with mixed learnt many new delicious recipes. played into my own weaknesses. They feelings about the future. were able to perform the tasks that Like China, most courses in Sheffield were communication heavy such as, I never regretted the decision to join are taught primarily through lectures. collecting information on researchers, the 3+1 joint program between the But, some projects require both contacting interviewees, writing text University of Sheffield and Nanjing individual and group contributions. and editing videos. Tech University upon graduating from For example, as part of the “Skills for high school. After finishing the three Success” project in Level 3, I chose to Studying at university are the most years of courses taught by the Chinese be a part of the Chemistry Publicity important years in my life, especially teachers and Sheffield professors, I Team. It was a challenging and the year abroad. It is at university that finally came to Sheffield this August wonderful experience for me where I I truly discovered what learning is full of excitement and expectation. grew up fast. It was in the first group about. I believe that the material taught meeting, I met the biggest difficulty- isn’t as important as the ability to learn Before going abroad, my classmates the language barrier. I was the only one a new subject, and the experience and I searched for some suitable from China in the group and, since it analyzing and tackling new problems. accomodation. I thought it was more was my first year studying in the UK, it It is also important to ask questions. convenient and safe to live with people was a little hard for me to keep up with The teachers were always telling us not I was familiar with. In hindsight, it my peers when they spoke quickly. To to be shy and if we have any questions would have been beneficial to choose overcome this, I participated in the to ask. roommates from different countries interviews to enhance my listening to experience diverse cultures and to and speaking abilities. Life in Sheffield is challenging and improve my command of the English “The biggest advantage exciting. Fortunately, I have the help language. of many people, like my Chinese and of studying overseas is Sheffield classmates, and my personal Undoubtedly, moving to the UK to experience a different tutor and supervisor. There is no has been full of challenges. The first doubt that the biggest advantage of problem I needed to overcome was culture and country that studying abroad is to experience a adapting to the British lifestyle and will help you to build a different culture and country that will learn to live alone. This is the first help you to build a brand new outlook time without my parents and deal brand new outlook of of the world. Studying abroad expands with everything by myself. Luckily, the world.” our horizons and enriches our life my classmates and I are a collective Fortunately, my workmates were so experiences, and also makes us more community who can help each other. kind and were able to help me. I was independent and enterprising. It is given the opportunity to demonstrate inevitable to encounter problems, I also encountered difficulties opening my individual strengths. I am skilled but learning from the experience is a bank account. It is clear that British in graphic design and have some something to treasure for the future. banks are more careful checking experience in publicity, so I put the information more rigorously as forward the idea of using posters Christmas is coming. I miss my family I had to wait for them to post the as advertisement. I was mainly but I am looking forward to the new cards and important information. I responsible for the photography of semester and the future. 10th biennial National Undergraduate Chemistry Laboratory Tournament By Dr Julie Hyde Tournament. This was a special mystery practical experiment, with honour and wonderful opportunity all students receiving a medal and a In July 2016, Dr Julie Hyde took a for them all, considering only two certificate for taking part. The students team of Level 2 students consisting of international universities were invited commented that it was “a fantastic Amy Smith, Daniel Reader and Jack to take part. experience”, and allowed them all to Watson to Nanjing University, China, appreciate education in chemistry in to participate in the 10th National The competition consisted of both a an international setting. Undergraduate Chemistry Laboratory practical-related written exam and a

17 Resonance Issue 6 || Spring 2017 Photographs courtesy of Sheffield City Council

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Chemistry Ball April 29th ResonanceResonance Recommends Our favourite sources of scientific communication. tuff to Blow Your Mind is a great Spodcast that discusses some fascinating topics relating to all disciplines of science and science fiction. It is produced by How Stuff Works who also have several other Various nights out, guest lectures podcasts that discuss different things like and non-alcoholic socials how phenomenon work, such as radiation sickness and other to be confirmed. interesting facts. It’s well researched and my personal favourites are those that discussed the moons of Jupiter and Saturn and also the Ig Nobel More details can be found at: Prizes, prizes that celebrate the more unusual research. It is well www.sheffield.ac.uk/chemistry/events worth downloading a podcast or two! www.howstuffworks.com/ www.stufftoblowyourmind.com/ This Semester in Pictures

With contributions from: James Williams, Kittie Royle, Joshua Swift, Sharon Spey, Jo Buckley, Grant Hill, Sara Bacon, Tim Manning and Joseph Clarke