Summer 2013

Science day: illuminating chemistry Data, calculation and experiment Athena Swan accreditation achieved Keeping the IT systems operational As I see it...

Tim Dickens leads the IT team within the chemistry department, having joined from GlaxoSmithKline five years ago. He tells Sarah Houlton about the problems the computer officers face, some of the current projects they’re working on – and what they do all day!

A large and complex department rewriting War and Peace , the support like chemistry must have huge IT request should include all the relevant demands. Can you give us some information. You’d be amazed how numbers? often we get requests that simply say, For starters, we have about 800 users on ‘My computer doesn’t work!’. A site, plus at least 700 other collaborators description of a few symptoms go a with IT access. All take up disk space and long way to helping us diagnose the support resources, generating work for problem. Also, please don’t put multiple the Computer Officer (CO) team. We requests on the same ticket as they may have 100TB of secure storage, replicated need to go to different people and thus in two different locations, to ensure that might get lost in the system, and for any we don’t lose important data if a disk particular problem please keep replying fails, and then back-up to a safe third to the same ticket with follow-up infor - location. That’s on top of more than 200 mation to keep it all together. servers in house. We encourage people not store criti - t t

We’re supporting several different cal data on their local machine. The file i P

operating systems – four versions of server is the place to store this informa - n a h Windows, various Mac OSs plus Linux, tion. While we can be very sympathetic t a N and then there’s the phone system, which if your laptop is lost, or stolen from the : o t is internet-based. People are also, increas - Panton Arms, there’s not much we can o h ingly, using mobile devices such as iPads do if you haven’t kept an up-to-date P and Android phones, and we need to thousands of pounds– or more – to copy of your data on a server. boost our wireless capabilities. Last year replace. That can be challenging. we received 3700 support requests, or What about the department- tickets, and we’re always particularly How do you know if there’s a specific applications – what do busy at the start of the academic year. problem? these include? We’ve also disposed of 15 tonnes of We’ve implemented a system we call There is a departmental system built on obsolete IT equipment in the past year, Hobbit that electronically monitors IT a relational database, so every piece of and upgraded much of the department’s components – there’s even a website data is ‘atomic’ for storing most of our networking infrastructure, mostly at where people can check it out themselves administration data. If you change a weekends and early in the morning to the status of the key services that we offer. telephone number in one place, it will avoid inconveniencing people. The aim is to gain a good insight into change everywhere, and if someone how everything is working. For example, changes their name after they get mar - What’s involved in keeping the if the network routing wasn’t working or ried, say, that will change everywhere, infrastructure running? the department firewall was out, they too. We use a very similar technology for One aspect is ensuring all the backups would go red on the Hobbit system. We exam marks processing, and the depart - happen overnight and, if they don’t, fol - can then look into the situation, and find mental website also picks up informa - low up to find out what happened. We out what is making the item fail. We want tion directly from the admin database. manage more than 1000 desktop com - to detect any service-threatening events We have recently developed a bench puters on top of those 200 servers, so before they become service-affecting. list manager for managing desk space that’s a lot of software updates to apply! We have done our best to configure and fume hoods, which is currently We’ve built several automated installa - the whole IT infrastructure in a resilient being populated with data, and an in- tion systems so we can install software manner, so if a service fails on one house ‘dropbox’ service so important much more quickly with less interven - machine it can be moved over to another data isn’t backed up and shared on tion by the computer officers, and also machine, either automatically or manu - potentially risky external cloud services. set machines in a consistent fashion. We ally, to keep the service running. It’s a bit This is a service we hope to launch to also respond to hardware failures. like a duck on a pond – it may look users later this year. A problem we’ve faced quite a bit in serene but underneath the surface there is the past couple of years is responding to a lot going on, and when there’s a system I’ve seen your project planning power glitches. We get a lot of these, one failure the computer officers paddle hard system with all its post-it notes – way or another, and it can lead to com - to keep everything working and avoid it’s not very hi-tech! What’s puters overheating and failing, and we users being impacted. it for? may have to replace disk drives or even As well as the day-to-day support and motherboards as a result. Every time What about the support system? upkeep of the systems, we work on there is a power failure we can lose a Well, when people send a ticket to many other projects, and the way we week or more of project work recover - [email protected], it is queued up keep track of them is by moving ing from the mess it generates! Hence in and triaged by Dave Pratt, who moves it coloured post-it notes from the list of the last 12 months we have invested in into the right queue so the best person everything we want to do into the pri - the intallation of uninterruptable power to solve that problem will receive it. The ority list, and then into the ‘done’ sec - supply infrastructure for our most criti - centralised system is much more effec - tion when they’re finished. Once a year cal systems. tive than everyone sending emails to we have a ritual clearing of the board We also have to maintain some very individuals. Avoiding the ticket system and start again. It’s amazing how much old and obsolete computers, required to won’t move your problem to the front we take off the done side! ­ run instruments that would cost tens of of the queue! Importantly, without continued on page 12

2 Chem@Cam Summer 2013 Reluctant reactions Letters

Glowing chemistry a Yale professor who had been looking for evi - dence of some kind of evolution of eChem@Cam Dear Editor, DNA/RNA in primitive life forms investigated The cover picture on the Spring 2013 issue of a rare sponge, Cryptotethia crypta , and discov - Chem@Cam is now being sent out by email to Chem@Cam reminded me of my school days ered unusual materials he could not identify those who have asked for a pdf version rather at the Royal Grammar School in Newcastle, but named ‘spongouridine’ and ‘spongo - than a hard copy in the mail. where we used similar chemicals to produce a thymidine’ on the basis of their UV If you would like to swap your paper magazine blue colour – but the solutions ran through spectra. By good fortune, the spongo uridine for an e-version, then please send an email with three (parallel) paths through the letters ‘RGS’ sample he sent to Alex Todd proved to be the subject line ‘eChem@Cam’ to to produce a beautiful effect most of the time. identical to a product which Dan had recently [email protected], and we’ll start to send you It was, however, a pain to set up, as all of the made in a failed attempt to convert uridine to the mag electronically from the next issue. Don’t individual flows had to be adjusted so you got deoxyuridine. He had inverted the 2’- forget to tell us your postal address so we can three blue letters, not just a bright blue sink! hydroxyl group and made uracil arabinoside. check that the correct person is being removed David Thompson Werner was delighted to get an immediate from the mailing list for the paper magazine. positive identification and begged Alex to send If you’re not sure what it will look like, you can Of Brown and Todd him ‘one of his bright young postdocs’ to check out e-back issues at www.ch.cam.ac.uk work with him. Rather to my surprise, I was Dear Editor, chosen with the ‘warning’ that I would have to There I taught chemistry for nine years and When I read in your last issue about the death be prepared to spend a month or two each was then invited to become the senior tutor of Dan Brown (which sadly I had not heard of year collecting sponges in the Caribbean! (with a limited teaching load) and, after a fur - earlier), a flood of reminiscences of my six Tragically, Werner, who had been unwell ther 12 years, university registrar. years at Cambridge (1953 –59) was and was on sick leave when I arrived, had a During my teaching period, Dan Brown evoked. Although Alex Todd was my research heart attack and died about a month after my acted as external examiner for one of my stu - supervisor, I saw as much of Dan as of Alex starting work and finding two ‘new’ nucleo - dents, and a few years later he asked me to be and, in the period after Alex’s Nobel Prize was sides. Then another scarcely credible event led external examiner for one of his students. announced, rather more. to the work being abandoned; the Yale lab Sincerely yours, It was Dan who proposed that I should syn - cleaners clearing out Werner’s lab/office David Cohen thesise some diazoketones in an attempt to incinerated a pile of what appeared to be stu - make 2-ketoesters of DNA in order to split the dent exam booklets but which, in fact, Werner Digital trickery polymer with mild alkali in the same way as had used as his research notebooks. None of with RNA and avoid the tedious enzymatic his postdocs from previous years knew how Dear Editor, route which, in those days, was the only way to the material had been extracted, despite my Charming though the ultrarealistic-looking get significant quantities of deoxy-nucleosides. spending a great deal of time and money picture of Jeremy Sanders on his bike in the Although I was fully informed about the phoning them in the US and round the world. Antarctic looks, it sets a bad precedent. Digital dangers of diazomethane and had heard the Unexpectedly, I was then invited to join the manipulation of images (and other data) is all (possibly apocryphal) account of the fatal Yale Faculty as an Instructor, primarily to too easy in science nowadays, as the egregious experience of the Oxford chemists who had teach pre-med students. Later, Harry Schön, Batlogg et al. case showed all too well. left some ham sandwiches in the fume cup - Wasserman, who was on sabbatical leave at It would be as well if we maintained a strict board they were producing the gas in, I nev - the time, asked me if I would like to collabo - distance from it, certainly in anything touch - ertheless, managed to inhale a minute quan - rate with him on an idea which he had of ing (as does, of course, Chem@Cam ), even tity which led within a half hour to my col - using ethoxyacetylene to synthesise polynu - slightly, our scientific work. lapsing in my room. After a further hour or cleotides ,rather like the DCC which Gob Jeremy Ramsden so, I staggered to Addenbrooke’s where I was Khorana was then successfully using. Fitzwilliam 1974 given oxygen and discharged. To this day, I Naturally, I accepted and found myself follow - We’ll have to disagree on this one. Had there been remain acutely sensitive to diazomethane and ing up work begun at Cambridge! any pretence of realism, however remote, I’d have can always tell if there is the minutest trace in After two fascinating years at Yale, I was agreed. However, it is so clearly a ‘joke’ photo the air. offered a post as assistant lecturer at Keele (then there is surely no risk of confusion. What do In my penultimate year, Werner Berg mann, the University College of North Staffordshire). readers think? – Ed.

Cover This newsletter is published three times a year by the University of Cambridge Chemistry Department. Opinions are not necessarily those of the editor, the department, or the university. Editor-in-Chief: Steve Ley Contents Editor: Sarah Houlton Photographers: News 4 Nathan Pitt, Caroline Hancox Editorial Board: Research 7 Brian Crysell, Bill Jones, Jonathan Goodman, Science day 10 Rosemary Ley, Jeremy Sanders Let there be light: Peter Wothers’ Alumni 12 science day lecture illuminates the BMS lecture theatre with a Address: Chat lines 13 hydrogen –oxygen flame front Chem@Cam, Department of Chemistry, rapidly moving through several University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road Puzzle corner 14 hundred metres of tubing Cambridge CB2 1EW Phone: 01223 763865 Photograph: Nathan Pitt Heroes & mentors 15 email: [email protected] website: www.ch.cam.ac.uk

Chem@Cam Summer 2013 3 News Rewarding green-ness Castrol surface science lab opens

The new Castrol Surface Science lab was input adds a different perspective to officially opened at the end of May. the research.’ Under the auspices of Paul Davies and The sponsorship from BP subsidiary Mike Casford, research in the laboratory Castrol over the next eight years will will investigate the surface behaviour of support a senior postdoc, plus state-of- lubricating oil additives in situ using a the-art laser equipment. ‘We have range of techniques, notably infra-red intense but informal meetings about and sum frequency generation spec - four times a year at which we review troscopy, plus atomic force microscopy progress and flesh out new goals and and calorimetry. topics,’ Paul adds. ‘Sometimes this ‘Castrol are interested in getting a requires additional funding which is better understanding of how lubricating usually forthcoming. Bureaucracy is kept oil works at the molecular level,’ Paul to an absolute minimum, which is a explains. ‘Our main contacts at Castrol great strength of the collaboration. This are mechanical engineers, and their is how research should be!’

Pictured are the The department has won a bronze Pictured receiving department’s award in the university’s Green Impact the award from Stuart Clarke environmental awareness scheme, Jeremy Sanders are (second left), Mike designed to support and encourage Xin Yang with Casford and Paul departments in the university to reduce fellow committee Davies (third and their environmental impacts. Our team members Michelle second right) with was set up in December, with 15 mem - Cain, Antara BP representatives bers including academics, postdocs and Banerjee and (from the left) PhD students. Sarah Connors. Rachel Fort, Gareth It took five months to work through Brachi, Dave Hall, all 20 criteria in the online workbook Daniel Carlisle and that are required to achieve a bronze Tony Smith award, and we are now half-way to x o

gaining silver. ‘Thanks to the hard work c n undertaken by team members and non- a H

e

team members, we gained a bronze n i l o award at our first attempt,’ says team r a C

leader Xin Yang. ‘We are optimistic that : o t we will also achieve a silver award later o h this year. P

Academic Athena SWAN bronze awarded promotions Joe Farman The department’s recent application for progress in our action plan. However, This year’s aca - an Athena SWAN bronze award was suc - simply retaining bronze will not suit demic promo - cessful, following a large amount of our ambitions, Jane says – silver should tions have been work put in by Jane Clarke and the rest be possible if we fulfill our action plan. announced. of the Athena SWAN committee. The ‘We are delighted that all our hard awards are designed to encourage and work resulted in a bronze award,' she Stuart Althorpe recognise the commitment of higher says. ‘But it’s not the end of the process and David Spring education institutions to addressing gen - – we must continue to work hard to are to become der inequalities and improving career ensure the department has a supportive professors, and n progression for female academics. and welcoming environment for every - Stuart Clarke a m l

and Tuomas o

The award has to be renewed in three one, and help people reach their poten - H

Knowles are pro - n years’ time, when we must show tial. Next stop, silver!’ h o

moted to reader. J

: o t

Pictured with In addition, o h the award are a Oren Scherman P delighted Amanda has been made We are sad to report the death of Joe Maycock, Jane director of Farman, the man who discovered the Clarke and the Melville ozone hole. Since his retirement from Richard Turner laboratory. the British Antarctic Survey more than Congratulations 20 years ago, he has had an office in the to all! European Ozone Research Coordinating Unit within the department. His work on the ozone hole has had an impact on the work of generations of atmospheric scientists – he understood how the stratosphere works. For a man who avoided the limelight, his policy work was both brave and hugely influential.

4 Chem@Cam Summer 2013 www.ch.cam.ac.uk

Fellowships & honours Supporting the next generation of chemists Two of our aca - It is now 10 years since the department for synthetic chemistry. These only came to provide early-career research fellows demic staff have launched its highly successful Next about because we had the flexibility to with unrestricted funding during the been awarded Generation Fellowship (NGF) scheme, take a bit of a long shot on an idea I crucial first years of their post. prestigious fel - which provides our brilliant young scien - wasn’t sure would work.’ ‘I wanted to lead this initiative because lowships. Jane tists with unrestricted research funding Building on this enormously success - my own experience shows the enormous Clarke has been made a fellow of over a period of five years. This enables ful initiative, the department has devel - impact that investment in this stage of a the Academy of newly appointed university lecturers to oped a strategy to support and develop scientist’s career can make,’ she says. ‘All Medical Science, expand and develop their teams in a flex - all of its young scientists, from PhD stu - too often, the pressure young scientists while Chris ible way, empowering them to pursue dents through to newly appointed uni - are under to secure funding leads them to Dobson is now a exciting discoveries as they emerge. versity lecturers. pursue incremental changes within foreign associate Sophie Jackson was the first NGF in ‘Our successful research is strongly established fields. Research Springboards of the US 2003, and Matt Gaunt, Oren Scherman, supported by industry, government and will enable our research fellows to pursue National Academy David Spring, Carol Robinson, Jonathan other funding agencies,’ says head of their best ideas, rather than their safest.’ of Science. Nitschke, David Klenerman and Tuomas department Daan Frenkel. ‘However, in Rather than directly funding research And Jacek Knowles have all been similarly supported the current financial climate, it is much activity, Next Generation Studentships Klinowski has by generous donations as they started harder to support blue-sky research that and Next Generation Lectureships aim been made an their independent scientific careers. will lead to the next revolution. My great to provide new posts in exciting fields. honorary profes - sor at his alma Matt Gaunt, who was awarded his concern is for my younger colleagues, ‘Research Council funding is extremely mater , Jagiel- NGF in 2006, believes the funding has the stars of the next generation, who important but it is increasingly targeted lonian University had a huge impact on his research. should be given the opportunity to towards specific areas, explains Isabelle in Krakow, 'Support that allows you to explore sci - realise their brilliant, audacious ideas. de Wouters, the department’s research Poland. Founded entific questions that you don’t know Our aim is to ensure that the department facilitator. ‘For example, there has been a in 1364, it is one the answer to, but you have a hunch continues to be a breeding ground for real drop in the number of flexibly of the oldest could be really exciting, makes such a innovation and discovery.’ funded studentships awarded in the past universities in difference,’ he says. ‘The award of a As well as NGFs, this strategy consists five years. If a world-leading researcher Europe. Philip and Patricia Brown Next of three new initiatives: Next Generation wants to explore a new area, we want to Generation Fellowship transformed the Student ships, Research Springboards be able to support them. Our new strat - potential for my team to develop and and Next Generation Lectureships. Each egy will help to ensure that we can.’ grow. It allowed us to explore new areas programme is being championed by an To find out more about the depart - of research that were not funded academic from the department. For ment’s strategy to support the next gen - through other mechanisms, which led example, Melinda Duer is championing eration of world-leading chemists, to discoveries with major implications the Research Springboards, which seek email Isabelle at [email protected]

Spin-out company Aqdot and its founders have received several prizes in Entrepreneurial wins recent months. The company, set up to x o

c commercialise a novel one-step ‘shrink n a wrap’ approach to microencapsulation H e

n developed by Cambridge chemists, won i l o r the first Royal Society of Chemistry a C

: Emerging Technologies competition. o t y r o

This was organised by the RSC to t h s i P

identify research-intensive small enter - m e In June, Nobel chemistry laureate Ada prises with significant potential impact h C

f

Yonath (above) of the Weizmann Institute o on the UK economy, and support them y t

of Science in Israel received an honorary e

on the path to commercialise their tech - i c doctor of science degree from the nology. Aqdot was chosen after a pres - o S

l

university. While in Cambridge, she visited a

entation to a panel, including represen - y o R

the department to give a talk, entitled tatives of private-sector companies, by : o ‘What was first: the genetic code or its t founders Jing Zhang from Chris Abell’s o h

products?’ Another visitor is pictured below group, and Roger Coulston from Oren P – Melville lecturer Jeffrey Moore of the Scherman’s group. It will help Aqdot and private sponsors, and the majority RSC prize University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, work with industry partners, and access of the 250-plus judges come from the presentation, from speaking about mechano responsive further investment from members of investment sector. The team presented to the left: RSC chief materials and self-healing systems the selection panel. more than 500 investors and entrepre - executive Robert Both Jing and Aqdot were also suc - neurs at the event in Houston, Texas. Parker, Roger cessful in the Rice Business Plan compe - I A second chemistry department Coulston and Jing tition, with Jing winning the Woman spin-out, Sphere Fluidics, has won an Zhang from Aqdot, Entrepreneur Award and Aqdot reaching academic enterprise award for the best and David Willetts, the final and being placed fifth. European life sciences company. Now in the UK minister for The competition is the world’s richest its fifth year, this is the only pan- universities and and largest graduate-level business plan European award for academic spin-outs. science t t i competition, with 42 teams from The finalists make ‘Dragon’s Den’ style P

n around the world competing for $1.3 presentations to a judging panel plus an a h t million in cash and prizes. In 2013, audience of 200 delegates at a confer - a N

: more than 600 applications were sub - ence in Brussels in June debating the o t o mitted to the competition, which is importance of linking research, innova - h P supported by more than 130 corporate tion and entrepreneurship.

Chem@Cam Summer 2013 5 News

We finally have a new chemical waste store to replace the old one, which was Winning ways simply not up to the task any more. The old store is now gone, and the new one is It’s prize season again, and once more nearby, in the Union Road car park. It we have a bumper crop to report. First includes a fume cupboard, as well as up, a swathe of awards from the Royal x o bunded shelves for users to place their

c Society of Chemistry. In alphabetical n a waste on for disposal. Pictured is one of its order… Jane Clarke received the H

e first users, Simon Chapman who works in n Interdisciplinary Prize; Matt Gaunt won i l o r the Part 1B teaching lab the Corday Morgan prize; Jonathan a C

: Goodman received the Bader award; o t o and Steve Ley was given the Longstaff h P prize. Oren Scherman received two awards: the Hickinbottom award, and also the RSC/SCI joint colloids group’s istry, and molecular and cell biology, McBain medal, while Michele ERC grant success together with genomics. Vendruscolo won the Soft Matter & The European Research Council hands ERC starter grants have gone to Biophysical Chemistry award. Last but out substantial grants every year to both Andreas Bender and Tuomas Knowles, not least, Peter Wothers has been given established and new academics around both amounting to about €1.5 million. the Nyholm prize for education. the EU, and three Cambridge chemists Andreas’ grant will help him in his Many other bodies have also recog - have received them this year. research into the effects that combina - nised the excellence of Cambridge Shankar Balasubramanian has been tions of chemicals may have in the chemistry recently. Clare Grey has won awarded an ERC advanced grant to study human body, while Tuomas is studying two prizes: the International Battery the existence and biological function of the physical properties of heteroge - Association’s research award, and the RNA G-quadruplexes, via an integrated, neous protein complexes by developing Günther Laukien prize. Shankar Bala- interdisciplinary approach that com - new microfluidic chip architectures to subramanian, meanwhile, has won the bines chemical biology, synthetic chem - measure the key physical properties. Tetrahedron Prize for creativity in organic and biomedicinal chemistry, and Steve Ley the 2013 French–British Prize by the Société Chimique de Forum engages academia and industry France. And Gonçalo Bernades has been The latest in a series of Chemistry – at about 500, this is not an insignifi - given the European Federation of Industry Engagement Forums took place cant offer! – and to provide funds for Medicinal Chemistry’s prize for a young in July, under the auspices of Cambridge more prizes for undergraduate students. medicinal chemist in academia. Enterprise. This time, Cambridge aca - In addition, Pfizer Neusentis has for A couple of recent PhD students have demics, postdocs and students met with the past two summers (and the plan is also won RSC prizes. Eric Appel received a group of Pfizer scientists, with discus - to continue in the future) delivered a the Macro Group’s John Weaver PhD sions covering ion channels, solid forms lecture course and workshop on medic - prize for best thesis in macromolecular for drug development, understanding inal chemistry in the department, which chemistry. And Rebecca Melen, now a chemical space and deconvoluting data has gone down very well indeed. It is postdoc in Canada, won the Dalton from phenotypic screens. also sponsoring a graduate symposium, Young Researcher award. The aims of these IEFs are to encour - which will be held in the department age PhD students and postdocs to think on Friday 1 November, with a mix of more broadly about the potential wider graduate students young academics and New appointments benefits of their research interests, and a Pfizer representative speaking. The department has appointed three how they might increase industrial col - I The department is currently devel - new lecturers: Andreas Bender, George laboration. They also enable commercial oping its graduate lecture series year on Booth and Lucy Colwell. Andreas was companies to meet Cambridge research year, and one area we are very keen to previously a fixed-term lecturer in leaders, and PIs in various departments develop is first-hand knowledge of a molecular informatics, and is now a per - to get a better idea of research topics variety of potential career pathways for The forum gave manent member of staff. His research that interest the company. both postdocs and PhD students that are university scientists focuses on combining algorithm devel - ‘Overall, the forums might provide a already tried and tested by our alumni. from various opment, implementation and validation platform to identify areas of common If you are willing to come back during disciplines the in the area of computational methods. interest that may lead to research collab - April or May 2014 to talk to our current opportunity to George Booth is a three-year fixed- orations, studentships or placements cohort about your own career choices interact with a term lecturer in theoretical chemistry. He being arranged,’ explains Deborah and answer their questions, please email group of scientists was a research fellow at Trinity, working Longbottom, the IEF contact in the Deborah at [email protected] from Pfizer in Ali Alavi’s group developing stochastic department. ‘Even in the absence of methods, and specialises in computa - these outcomes, they are an excellent tional electronic structure theory. opportunity to foster communication The third new appointment is univer - between academia and industry.’ sity lecturer Lucy Colwell. Her science Having already held a forum with BP focuses on data analytics, particularly as

e earlier this year, funding remains for applied to biological or medical sys - s i r

p two more, which Deborah hopes will be tems. A Cambridge maths graduate, she r e t held within the next 12 months. If any obtained her PhD at Harvard. n E

I

e company is interested in participating in Peter Braesicke is leaving us. After g d i a future forum, then contact Deborah at 14 years in the department, he is to r b

m [email protected]. become professor of theoretical atmos - a C

: There have been bonus effects from pheric physics at KIT in Karlsruhe, o t o the forums, too. BP has offered to pro - Germany, heading up the atmospheric h P vide lab coats for all our first year intake modelling group at the IMK-ASF.

6 Chem@Cam Summer 2013 Research

uous flow synthesis line via standard Molecular trigger for In-line evaporation connectors on either end. This evaporator was used in the syn - Alzheimer’s identified The latest development from Steve Ley’s thesis of the neurotensin receptor-1 Innovative Technology Centre in the antagonist meclinertant. ‘It enabled sev - Cambridge chemists have made a basement is a prototype device that eral steps of the synthesis to be tele - breakthrough in understanding the facilitates the reduction of solvent con - scoped, shortening the overall process,’ onset of Alzheimer’s disease. Tuomas sumption during reactions, and which Claudio says. ‘No detailed synthetic Knowles, Chris Dobson and colleagues can also be used to recycle solvents. It is route to this molecule has ever been have identified the pathway by which designed to be used as part of a contin - described in the literature.’ the aberrant proteins that cause uous flow reaction train, where In a second paper published recently Alzheimer’s are formed. reagents are pumped in at one end, and by the ITC group, this machine-assisted Misfolded proteins can catch normal reactions are carried out sequentially as continuous flow synthesis is compared proteins, clumping together into amy - the chemicals pass through the different to a more conventional batch mode loid fibrils, which may contain millions modules, before emerging at the other synthesis. ‘Batch chemistry has been of non-functioning protein molecules. end, transformed. around for centuries and we all know These fibrils can continue to grow, ‘We’re interested in the development the power of the flask!,’ Claudio says. forming the plaques that are found in and integration of new technologies for ‘Our work clearly shows that the use of the brains of Alzheimer’s patients. the implementation of sustainable enabling methodologies can accelerate Until now, the mechanism by which processes,’ explains postdoc Claudio the elaboration of a complex molecule.’ the plaques formed was unknown. Work Battilocchio. Flow chemistry devices like Meclinertant was obtained using an in Cambridge chemistry, much of it car - this evaporator, described in a recent eight-stage machine-assisted protocol ried out by PhD student Samuel Cohen, paper in Green Chemistry , offer real pos - with no need for chromatography, and shows that once a small but critical level sibilities for more efficient and more sus - the process reduced the consumption of of malfunctioning protein clumps has tainable syntheses, via lower usage of var - reagents and solvents compared to the formed, a runaway chain reaction is ious resources, from solvents to energy. batchwise synthesis. The integration of triggered. This multiplies exponentially The device is an in-line evaporator, solid supported reagents and scavengers the number of protein composites. consisting of a series of concentric minimised the handling of materials A secondary nucleation process leads stainless steel tubes which sends a fine and downstream processing. ‘Machine- to the formation of more small clusters spray of the solution to be evaporated assisted processes, if properly designed, of a few protein molecules. These toxic into a glass column. This acts as an evap - can represent a big advantage over batch oligomers travel dangerously around oration chamber, and can be heated. The mode synthesis, especially on scale,’ the brain cells, killing neurons and, ulti - solvent vapours are collected and con - Claudio says. mately, causing loss of memory and the densed, while the concentrated solution B.J. Deadman et al. Green Chem . other symptoms of dementia. passes through the column. It is 2013, 15 , 2050; C. Battilocchio et al. ‘We are essentially using both physi - designed to be integrated into a contin - Chem. Eur. J. 2013, 19 , 7917 cal and chemical methods to address a biomolecular problem, mapping out the networks of processes and domi - nant mechanisms to recreate the crime Reaction catalysis by containment? scene at the molecular root of Alzheimer’s disease,’ Tuomas says. Reaction catalysts typically bring reac - The illustration, ‘Increasingly, using quantitative tants together in the right way through used on the experimental tools and rigorous theo - coordination. But what if the catalyst section cover in retical analysis to understand complex were able to hold the reagents in place the journal, uses biological processes are leading to by containing them instead? This is the fish to illustrate exciting and game-changing results. idea behind a project in Jonathan how large With a disease like Alzheimer’s you have Nitschke’s group, as postdoc Jeanne molecules get to intervene in a highly specific manner Bolliger explains. trapped inside the to prevent the formation of the toxic ‘We have made a range of cage-like cages. If they agents. Now that we’ve found how the molecules via self-assembly, and in the cleave into smaller oligomers are created, we know what middle is a cavity that can be used for fragments, these process we need to turn off.’ various purposes, such as encapsulation escape, giving back S.J.A. Cohen et al. Proc. Natl Acad. or chiral recognition,’ she says. ‘We also the empty cage Sci. 2013, 110 , 9758 thought it might be possible to catalyse ready for the next reactions within the cavity.’ catalytic cycle. It’s very simple – the self-assembling This escape is UK government’s Defence Science and molecules are dropped into water, important, as Technology Lab on this as the gases are where they cluster together, forming a otherwise the too dangerous to work with in the hydrophobic cavity in the centre. If system would department.’ hydrophobic molecules are added in suffer from Something that can be done in the too, they can become trapped inside, water soluble,’ she says. product inhibition Lensfield Road labs is to extend the cage where they are able to react. Numerous A good example of the technique’s further to give larger cavities, while examples have been carried out success - potential is the insecticide dichlorvos, remaining water soluble. ‘I hope to be fully, particularly hydrolysis reactions. which is extremely toxic, and will able to get several molecules inside to Even if the cage is very big, the reac - hydrolyse within the cavity to less toxic carry out chemical reactions, using the tions still run in water, Jeanne says. ‘We compounds. ‘This has possibilities in the cage like a mini reaction vessel,’ she says. have done a lot of work in the group on area of chemical warfare, as it could be ‘Of course, the larger they are, the more self-assembling cages, and I wanted to possible to “deactivate” phosphate- challenging the synthesis of the com - extend the idea by making larger cages, based nerve gases, which are chemically pounds that make up the cage will be.’ and also adding hydrophilic groups similar to dichlorvos,’ Jeanne explains. J.L. Bolliger et al. Angew. Chem. Intl such as glyceryl to make the assembly ‘We’re hoping to collaborate with the Ed. 2013, 52 , 7958

Chem@Cam Summer 2013 7 Research Models + experiments = data

Information in this experimental system, with about action: Jonathan 40 examples, and the ‘sketch’ technique in the library worked for all bar three. ‘We thought that was a pretty good hit rate, but it wasn’t enough!’ Jonathan says. ‘We looked more closely at those three, and one was simply an error in the paper, with the starting materials having been inverted; a second was based on a liter - ature example that was incorrect; and we repeated the third experiment and found that, using modern chirality determination techniques, historical data they’d used was wrong and it also fitted our model.’

SYNTHETIC PREDICTIONS Individual reactions are one thing, but t t i what about complex synthetic routes? If P

n a computer model could predict the a h t

a best way to carry out the total synthesis N

: of a natural product, it would save a o t o

h huge amount of time and effort. It’s P early days for this, but they do now have an example of such a ‘calculomimetic’ synthesis, carried out by PhD student Computers have made huge inroads into chemistry, to Russell Currie. predict what will happen in experiments, and to mine The molecule, dolabriferol, which is and manage data. Jonathan Goodman does both extracted from the sea hare Dolabrifera dolabrifera , has two carbon chains joined by an ester and eight of its 21 carbon Wouldn’t it be good if one could predict carried out a series of calculations on atoms are chiral. Various groups had tried exactly what was going to happen in a reactions using these catalysts to try and the obvious synthetic strategy – making chemical reaction before getting the find out why sometimes it gives an R two fragments and forming an ester round-bottomed flasks out? Avoiding product, and sometimes an S. And it between them. It had proved extremely trial and error could save a huge amount worked – it told us we had to look at the challenging – the ester is both crowded of time, effort and resources. While for catalyst differently.’ and fragile. However, calculations sug - many reactions, the chemist’s knowl - Drawn on a sheet of paper, the binop gested a single long chain of carbon edge will tell them what will probably looks completely flat. But looking at a atoms, with an acid catalyst, might roll- happen, in the real world they know it 3D structure sideways-on, it becomes up, break in half and form dolabriferol. might do something else entirely. The clear that it’s actually bent – shaped a lit - ‘The reactions needed for our calcu - answer may lie in computer models, and tle like a roof. ‘If you look at it from just lomimetic synthesis are all in the sec - that’s one focus of Jonathan Goodman’s the right direction, some aspects of the ond year undergraduate chemistry research – developing models and then shape suddenly become clear,’ he says. course, so there’s nothing particularly testing how good the predictions are by ‘Calculations also told us that much subtle going on,’ he says. ‘However, running the experiments. of the structural information can be dis - there are hundreds of competing path - ‘Molecular informatics helps us think regarded, which simplifies the picture ways, all of which look pretty reason - about computational data, experimental further. There is a chiral pocket below the able mechanistically, so the number of data, and how they fit together,’ he says. “roof” where the reagents interact dur - possible products of that reaction is ‘But the qualities of the information in ing the reaction. It’s then fairly straight - enormous! We did the calculations for the two types of dataset are very differ - forward to work out which way round all of them and found that one is more ent, which makes the process of fitting the reagents will fit in to the pocket, favourable energetically than all of the them together very interesting.’ which will give you an idea of the chi - others – and that’s the one that leads to A great example involves chiral binop rality of the final product. This is a pic - the natural product.’ ligands. These comprise a binaphthyl diol ture you can – and should! – draw on He adds that it was pretty nerve- (or binol) attached to a phosphate group; your fume cupboard. It gives the same Binop may look wracking to carry out that final step. they are chiral, and binop-based catalysts answer as the calculations, but of course flat, but from ‘The precursor wasn’t trivial to make, are designed to give chiral induction in was only possible because those calcula - sideways-on it’s and then to take the molecule you’ve the reactions they facilitate. However, it tions told us what information we could anything but spent months making and, potentially, has been impossible to predict from the safely ignore. Otherwise, there are too destroy it, was a little alarming. ‘I some - structure or the chirality of the binop much data to comprehend; this reduces times wondered if Russell’s ambition which chiral form will preferentially be it to the key interactions. Of course, look - was to prove me wrong! But I had made in the reaction – just looking at the ing at it now, it seems obvious!’ absolute confidence that it would work structure left you no closer to the answer Clearly, they needed to test it against – and it did.’ than a straight 50:50 guess. a number of different experiments to Another aspect of Jonathan’s model - ‘We really wanted to understand check it wasn’t just a one-off. PhD stu - ling work involves wider database inter - what was going on,’ Jonathan says. ‘We dent Matt Grayson found a paper on just rogation. ‘A real problem in chemistry

8 Chem@Cam Summer 2013 www.ch.cam.ac.uk

is working out whether you have the Jonathan is now working with IUPAC on molecule you think you have,’ he says. an extension to this – the reaction InChI, ‘Part of this is checking whether the or RInChI, which enables reaction literature is correct, and we have schemes to be encoded in a way that worked with the Royal Society of makes them searchable by computer. Chemistry over the years helping to ‘Reactions are much more compli - y make sure data published in RSC jour - cated than single structures, and if you h p a nals are correct. Anyone who publishes included every single piece of informa - r g o in one of these journals will have their tion, they would be impossibly large,’ t o h P

analytical data tested by a programme he says. ‘We want to throw away all the e t we wrote, and chemistry worldwide is information that’s not really required, t e y a improving as a result.’ He likens the pulling out the key concepts of a reac - f a L

programme to a spellchecker, high - tion. That way two people working in : o t lighting things that look suspicious. ‘If different continents who do the same o h the data were all checked manually it reaction should come up with the P would be more accurate, but this would alternative is much higher than you’d Don’t they scrub up same RInChI.’ take an unfeasibly long time,’ he says. ‘It expect for any of the more traditional well?! Back row, The main issue is trying to work out can be done much, much more quickly ways of comparing them. Using CP3, left to right: Jack which information is important, and via computer.’ you can often be more than 95% certain Gibb, Mike Porter, what constitutes a substantive differ - However, he had his sights set higher that you have chosen the right one, Paul Wolstenholme- ence between two sets of reaction con - Hogg, Tim Allen, than just data checking – perhaps it which is enormously useful, particularly Russell Currie, ditions. If they use a similar but slightly might be possible to extract additional when you are trying to identify which Matthew Grayson, different solvent, is that the same reac - information from the data? A good diastereomer a reaction has made.’ Andrew Dominey, tion? What about a 10° temperature dif - example is the structure determination There’s now a CP3 applet on Jonathan’s Bruno Falcone, ference? Or 1.1eq of a reagent com - of natural products. Often, these are iso - departmental website where calculated Matthew Morton, pared to 1.2eq? Where does a reaction lated in minuscule amounts from scarce and experimental spectral data can be Edward Makiyi; start to be different? ‘We really don’t sources, and there are many examples entered to give a probability of accuracy. front row, left to know the answer to this, but the RInChI of total syntheses being published of If both experimental and calculated right: Chad Allen, throws away almost everything except structures that proved to be incorrect. spectra are not available, another algo - Guy Naylor, Lois the key reagents,’ he says. ‘So, for exam - Overvoorde, In collaboration with Jonathan Burton rithm, DP4, can still calculate probabili - Jonathan, Alethea ple, NaOH and KOH are different, – at Oxford, they looked at the natural ties. ‘As only one set of spectral data is Peters, David unless they are simply recorded as OH .’ product elatenyne. The structure that was being inputted, it will provide less infor - Ponting, Yi Luo The concept is now being tested with originally proposed mation, but what it does the RSC’s chemical database, Chem - involved two fused produce is still very use - Spider. ‘This reaction capability will be pyran rings; however, ful,’ he says. ‘For exam - released later this year, but there’s cur - dozens of alternative ple, in one molecule Left: dolabriferol, as rently a trial website we’re working structures are possible, with 64 possible diaster - made by calculo- with to test reaction searching,’ he says. both in terms of the eo mers, while other mimetic synthesis ‘There are now a quarter of a million carbon skeleton and the configuration of tech niques do predict the correct struc - reactions in the database, and it can be the numerous chiral centres. ture is the most likely, the highest proba - searched for, say, reactions using the ‘We calculated the NMR spectra for bility for any of these is about 45%. DP4 same starting materials that gave differ - all the possible isomers and diastere - was 100% certain that it would be one ent products. omers, but the problem is that many of diastereomer – and it was correct. Again, ‘Long-term, we should be able to use the spectra are so similar, the error in this dramatically reduces the number of chemical informatics tools to look for the calculations makes it difficult to sep - lab experiments that need to be done.’ patterns in reactions, and get a better arate them and identify the best match Similar techniques are also being idea of what has and hasn’t worked in for the experimental NMR,’ he says. applied to other knotty problems, such the past for key transformations. In a way, ‘We calculated the spectra for 34 dif - as predicting toxicology, polymerisation it’s an answer looking for a question, but ferent structures, and four were good and solubility properties. ‘If you can I believe it is an extremely exciting step matches for the experimental spectrum. draw the structure, theoretically you forward in checking and improving One of these was the most likely, we ought to be able to get all the informa - chemical databases, and identifying what thought, but we couldn’t be completely tion about the molecule and its proper - is already known. We look forward to sure on the basis of the data. This was ties, because you’ve defined exactly finding out what it can do.’ published in 2008, and last year Jon - what it is,’ he says. ‘Calculating NMR athan Burton’s group made this isomer – spectra is a step towards that, but there Born: Thornbury, near Bristol, and grew up in n which has two linked furan rings instead is still a very long way to go.’ Middlesbrough, near Yorkshire a of the originally proposed fused pyrans – m and our “best guess” was correct. COMPUTER-FRIENDLY DATA Education: Natural Sciences here at Cambridge was d followed by a PhD with Ian Paterson and a postdoc o Importantly, our calculations greatly With so much chemical information out o

with Clark Still at Columbia University in New York. G reduced the number of possibilities, and there in the literature, finding useful the amount of synthetic effort required, data can be extremely challenging and Career: He returned to Cambridge as a college n research fellow at Clare. He’s now reader in chemistry, a as the odds were biased in their favour.’ time-consuming, if not impossible. A h The comparison process has now great step forward was made with the and admissions tutor and director of studies for t a

been improved further, thanks to an development of the IUPAC International chemistry at Clare n algorithm, called CP3, which was devel - Chemical Identifier, or InChI, a decade Status: Married to Victoria. They have two children: o J oped by PhD student Steven Smith. ‘The ago. Computers aren’t particularly good Mahoney and Edmund. calculated and experimental data are so at reading pictures, and this is a way of Interests: Listening to his children singing similar it is often difficult to tell,’ translating the features in a chemical Did you know? Three generations of chemistry: our V Jonathan says. ‘CP3 gives a probability structure into a string of characters that C for all the different possibilities, and the are machine-readable (and, with prac - department library contains articles by Jonathan, his probability of pinning down the correct tice, can be decoded by humans). father, and also his grandfather!

Chem@Cam Summer 2013 9 Science day The excitement of chemistry

One of the highlights of the year is the department open day, when hundreds of kids flock to the department to find out how much fun chemistry is. Nathan Pitt and Caroline Hancox photographed it all

About two thousand happy punters Facility for Airborne Atmospheric flocked to the department for this year’s Measurements also had a display, open day, part of the university’s Science explaining what it’s like to work in Festival in March. The enthusiastic Antarctica, and how we can learn about crowd of budding scientists were eager our climate and how it has changed. to try their hands at extracting DNA, ‘It is difficult to overstate the impor - investigating the properties of ferroflu - tance of this activity, not just for the ids, or experiencing the unusual proper - department, but for society,’ says head of ties of cornflour and water in large department Daan Frenkel. ‘Demon strat- quantities. A special mention must go to ing the excitement and relevance of sci - the team who managed to contain the ence in general, and chemistry in partic - cornflour – it has a rather bad habit of ular, to young people is of absolutely going everywhere! crucial importance for the future.’ Peter Wothers’ demonstration lecture As always, such a big endeavour recreated some of the highlights of the would not have been possible without Royal Institution Christmas Lectures he the help of the very many staff and stu - gave last year. As the Modern Alchemist, dent volunteers to run the experiments he unpicked the chemistry of the world and make the day run smoothly. around us, looking at air, water and Particular thanks go to Emma Powney earth, the original ancient Greek ‘ele - and Emma Graham for their sterling ments that tantalised alchemists for cen - organisational efforts, Pat Chapman, the turies – complete with plenty of explo - ‘powerhouse’ in the Part 1A lab, and sions and loud bangs. Peter Wothers’ team in the lecture the - The Centre for Atmospheric Science, atre, Chrs Brackstone, Mark Hudson and the British Antarctic Survey and the Mykola Karabyn.

10 Chem@Cam Summer 2013 www.ch.cam.ac.uk t t i P

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Chem@Cam Summer 2013 11 Alumni A return to the Pembroke Street lab to name a few – and, particularly, Hugh Forrest continues to reminiscence about his time Howard Temin, who won the prize for reverse transcriptase. He had been a grad in Cambridge chemistry, and some of his colleagues student at CalTech, and had worked briefly in my lab. Later, after the Nobel As I mentioned in my reminiscences anol-oxidising bacteria; I had a vague prize, he told me I had taught him bio - about Herchel Smith in the last issue, idea that it was a nucleotide. It took chemistry, and how to do research. I was the lab I worked in in the early 1950s another year or two to establish that flattered and, of course, humbled. was mostly inhabited by postdocs, structure, and to name the coenzyme, All of them had that capacity for including Len Haynes, Grant Buchanan, methoxatin (sometimes intenseness of purpose. On Charles Dalgliesh, Herchel Smith, Dan called PQQ). It was not a the other hand, the bright - Gobind Khorana: Brown, myself, two Kiwis, Ted Harvey nucleotide! est and most intelligent later to win a and Ted Corbett, and Gobind Khorana Gob was not really man I ever met was a lec - Nobel Prize (We called him Gob, but later he went interested in the prob - turer in genetics here at the by the more dignified Gobind). lem. His whole focus was University of Texas at Physically, Gob was a small man, but in synthesising RNA, Austin, Alexander Fabergé- one day, in a discussion on body with huge intensity. I grandson of the ‘egg’ strength, he marginalised his size, and to once asked him why he Fabergeé. His travels from prove his point, he picked me up – and had moved from Wis - Russia through France and I’m 6'4" – and carried me around the consin, where he had, England to the US are an lab! I have always thought that should be essentially, had his own epic in their own right! worth a line in my CV (‘Hand-delivered institute, to MIT and He never got a Nobel by a Nobel Prize winner’, or something Boston. His answer? prize – I guess his ‘prob - like that) but it never got in there! Anonimity! In the big lem’ was that every last I once visited Gob in Wiscosin and city he was unknown; in Madison, a detail had to be proved completely experienced some of the travails of a small town, he was confronted on a before he would move beyond the cur - Nobelist. Dinner at his house was con - continuing basis, not only as described rent theory. There’s a lesson there, of stantly interrupted by the ringing of the above but also even by the Wisconsin course, but I won’t belabour it. phone with a person at the other end legislature with the constant query, ‘hy Obviously I moved well beyond demanding to know the secret of life... are we paying this guy so much?!’ chemistry in my career, into biology and Later, I worked in his lab at MIT for Gob’s concentration on the task was genetics – a little too early, as it turned six months, having been awarded a US awesome. I have known (more or less) a out, as is obvious from the contents of public health fellowship to try to deter - fair number of Nobel prize winners: Sir Chem@Cam which now are as likely to mine the structure of the coenzyme of John Cornforth, Lord Todd, of course, be of biological interest as anything else. methanol dehydrogenase from meth- G.W. Beadle, C.S.Lewis and Jim Watson Chemistry is still the backbone!

­ Some of this is the routine replace - ing is if we need to physically go and working on a complicated project we ment of equipment – when it gets past change a broken disk, for example. might go and find somewhere quiet to its useful life it has to be upgraded. But Another project involves implementing work where we’re not going to be inter - there are other, one-off projects. For energy saving processes, such as sending rupted. We spend as little time as possi - example, we aim to make the entire machines to sleep or even switching them ble in meetings, and those of us who do department WiFi enabled. This will off automatically if they’re not being supervisions more than make up for the involve the installation of at least 120 used. This may sound trivial, but how do limited amount of time that takes with wireless points throughout the building. we handle all the PCs that run lab equip - the work we do out of hours. If only we Each has to be connected back to a net - ment, for example? We’ve already imple - were just sitting around waiting for the work point, so that’s a lot of work! We’ve mented a shutdown policy on all the next issue to arise… also implemented Eduroam, which shared PWF computers. We’re also look - Our computer officers are hardwork - means that anyone visiting from another ing at selectively switching off parts of the ing, very committed, work cohesively, are participating university can plug their high performance computing clusters if always prepared to support each other computer into our network and gain they are not fully loaded. and generally open to new ideas and con - access to the outside world. sidering fresh approaches to the way they We will soon be back into G30 after And the million-dollar question – work. The overwhelming number of our the asbestos removal process is com - why can’t I find a computer users are a pleasure to work with as they pleted, and will refresh all the PCs in officer when I want one? work in a collaborative fashion! there at the same time; we’ve already Because we’re busy! There are nine peo - Over the five years I’ve been here, I’ve updated the PWF machines in the ple in the team, and we are hoping to seen a massive growth in the reliance on library, 154 and the CyberCafé. We’ve take on a sandwich student from Anglia IT and people’s expectations of its relia - also installed several new high perform - Ruskin university to help provide extra bility. IT has become more and more ance clusters, the latest of which is for frontline support. This could be an important to chemistry, as people Stuart Althorpe and Clare Grey, which is excellent model for the department – increasingly simulate experiments and currently undergoing acceptance testing. and also Anglia Ruskin, as their com - construct computational models. This, and two other clusters, have been puter science students can’t get jobs Half a century ago, there would have installed over in the engineering depart - because they don’t have experience, and been several glassblowers in the depart - ment as we’ve run out of space in chem - they can’t get experience because they ment; now there is just one. The way the istry, but by using console management don’t have a job! team of computer officers is growing is systems we can support them remotely. We have to do a lot of work out of the an interesting reflection on the way The only time we need to visit engineer - way in machine rooms, and if we’re chemistry is changing.

12 Chem@Cam Summer 2013 Chat lines Science made fun for Ghanaian schoolkids

In July, postdoc Yalda Javadi and PhD Bridge building at beach resort, they headed up country to student Elin Sivertsson from Laura the Immaculate Bedomase, a rural village near Kumasi. Itzhaki’s group spent a couple of weeks Heart Roman The next few days were spent running on a science roadshow in Ghana, volun - Catholic School classes at two local schools, all leading teering for the Lightyear Foundation. in North Accra up to the last day of the trip, the local The foundation’s aim is to promote community show, where the children practical science classes using low-cost had the opportunity to show what materials in Ghanaian schools. they’d learnt in the Lightyear classes. The roadshow visits both state and One school group explained about private schools in both big cities and the importance of clean water, and per - rural areas, teaching kids at all levels formed a dance to show how alum is from primary to senior high school. used for coagulation and sedimentation ‘While the Ghanaian national curricu - in water purification. A second group lum does include science, lessons are showed what they’d learnt in the sport almost exclusively taught by writing on science classes. ‘It was so rewarding to the board for pupils to copy,’ Elin says. see the students, and the whole com - ‘It’s a very poor country, and schools munity, get excited about science,’ the rarely have enough money for a lab, and girls explain. the few schools lucky enough to have footballs using elastic bands to make ‘We had a truly fulfilling time in one feel the equipment is too expensive them go further!’ Ghana,’ Yalda says. ‘Some of the kids to use in everyday lessons!’ The next two days were spent in Yalda (in blue) and even told us they wanted careers in sci - The aim of Lightyear is to make sci - another Accra school, the Street Elin (in orange) ence and technology when they were ence come alive through engaging, Academy, where many of the children with students from older. It is amazing to think that we hands-on experiments using materials are from incredibly poor backgrounds, Bedomase District helped to inspire children in this way.’ easily available in the developing world. and often end up working with their Assembly School, You can find out more about the ‘The children learnt about forces while parents at the expense of schooling. The just before the Lightyear Foundation at www.lightyear - building bridges from kebab sticks and team first worked with a group of more community show foundation.org pieces of string; water purification from able kids, who fetched swamp water, using old plastic bottles, sand, stones and – with the help of one of the teach - and fabric; and respiration using a ers as an interpreter – showed them the model lung made from a plastic bottle, principles of water purification using balloon and some tape,’ Yalda says. ‘It sand, stones and pebbles, and they was great to see the kids – and teachers explored what combination of cloth, – get involved, and learn about science sand and stones made the best filter. while having fun.’ ‘The teachers loved this, and asked us to The first stop was a school in the cap - teach it to the whole school!’ Yalda says. ital city, Accra. ‘It was amazing – when At a third school, again in Accra, the we reached the school, the children lessons introduced the ideas of forces, welcomed us with cheers!’ Yalda says. bridges and engineering, with the kids ‘We gave three lessons, including a split into groups and asked to build a “sport science” lesson teaching about bridge across a 50cm gap. They had to respiration, heart rates and fitness, plus use sticks, rope, metal, paper and tape – reaction speed and hand–eye coordina - all of which had a price – to build the tion. We finished off by showing the strongest, cheapest bridge they could. kids how to create “seams” on plastic After a weekend spent at a Cape Coast Relics are the name of the game for Matt!

Matt Dunstan, a PhD student in Clare Although he’s been designing games going to be on the box,’ he says. ‘It’s cer - Grey’s group, has a rather unusual for fun for some time, this is the first to tainly not about the money – you don’t hobby. When he’s not carrying out x-ray be published, and that’s happening get rich designing games!’ diffraction or solid-state NMR experi - because he was a finalist in a competi - ments on materials for carbon capture tion in Spain. ‘The game was put for - and storage, he designs board games. ward to a few publishers, and a French And he’s about to have his first game company decided they like it,’ he says. published. ‘It’s being released in September, by a ‘There’s a new style of board game, French publisher, and will be sold in 35 the strategy board game, where players countries around the world, both in don’t directly fight each other,’ he game shops and online.’ explains. ‘Instead, they’re all trying to He hopes it won’t be the last – he’s achieve the same sorts of goals.’ In now working on a new game based on Australia-born Matt’s game, Relic influencing people in the Roman Runners, players are archaeologists run - Senate, plus another very small game ning around the jungle trying to find a with just 16 cards that’s all about out - collection of relics before the other play - plotting your opponents. ers do. ‘I’m really excited that my name’s

Chem@Cam Summer 2013 13 Puzzle corner

4. Elements whose names begin with ‘T’ Email entries to Last issue’s solutions Transmutation 5. Elements whose symbol doesn’t begin [email protected] Again, three entries were received; Ian with the same letter as their name or send them ChemDoku Potts managed six steps twice (lead, 6. Transition elements Sc-Zn inclusive by snail mail to There were rather fewer ChemDoku lade, blade, baled, bald, bold, gold) and Chem@Cam at entries than usual this time – was the lead, lade, galde, glide, gelid, geld, Killer ChemDoku the address on p3 puzzle more difficult? Or have the email gold). Karl Railton Woodcock also man - S C Mg Mn snails stolen the rest? Anyway, the vague aged six (lead, leas, sale, sole, soled, sequence was that the second letters of sold, gold). John Campbell submitted the symbol were a–i, and there couldn’t an entry, but couldn’t do it in fewer N Mg Be Cl Al be a 10th as there’s no element whose than seven. As Ian won Crossnumber, symbol has a j as the second letter. the cat made the executive decision that F Li Mg Al Cl Entries came in from Keith Parsons, the prize should go to Karl. So it will. Alison Griffin, Neil Mckelvie, Bill Al Cl Collier, David Thompson (who won - This issue’s puzzles dered if Mj or Megajoule might be N Fe Al Si Li allowed as the 10th member of the All but one series, if an element could be associated Here’s another little teaser from David with a particular energy situation), Wilson. The answer to each clue is to be C Ne N Cl Stephen Roughley, Peter Rose, Ian Potts, obtained by adding up the atomic num - Ian Threlfall, Karl Railton Woodcock bers of the members of the group, but Cl SF (who suggested that Injudicium, sym - in each case leaving out element to be bol Ij, maybe should be an element), determined by this rule: the last digit of O Ar Cl Si Ron Thompson, John Campbell and each answer is the first digit of the next Robin Pope. This time, the cat picked answer. The rule is cyclic, so that the last N the catbiscuit sitting on the entry from digit of answer number 6 is the first John Campbell. digit of answer number 1. Transuranic elements are excluded, And finally, David Thompson sent along this ChemDoku alter - Crossnumber and names of elements are the ordinary native – a Killer ChemDoku. The basic rules are the same as for There were only three entries for David English names. Answers should be sent the normal puzzle, with the symbols for elements 1 to 9 Wilson’s Crossnumber, but all pro - in by listing the six elements left out. entered into the grid ChemDoku-style. In addition, the atomic claimed to have loved the puzzle. Said numbers of the elements confined within the dotted shape entrants were John Wilkins, Ian Potts 1. Noble gases need to add up to the atomic numbers in the top corners of and Karl Railton Woodcock. The feline 2. Elements whose names have 5 or each of the shapes. That sounds dreadfully confusing, but it’s assistant decided Ian Potts’ entry was fewer letters not… honest! Thanks to David for the puzzle – and for man - most worthy of catbiscuit consumption. 3. Elements whose symbol is a single letter gling my braincells drawing the grid…

Comings Sun shines on postdoc party & goings Unusually for the New staff English summer, Tony Gill the rain forgot Caroline to show up! Mendonca

Promotion Tom Sweet t t i P n a h t t t i a P

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n : a o t h o t a h P N

: o t

Two long-serving members of staff retired o h recently. John Coston worked in the P electronic and electrical section for 45 The department’s postdoctoral affairs Other topics included the appointment years, and retired in June; Judith Battison, committee (PDAC) held a summer gar - of Chris Abell, who is the academic rep - librarian since 2005, retired in July. We den party for contract research and aca - resentative in PDAC, as the university’s wish them a long and happy retirement! demic staff at Peterhouse in July. About new director of postdoctoral affairs. 70 guests enjoyed Pimms, scones and PDAC exists to represent the interests of strawberries during an afternoon of glo - contract research staff within the depart - rious sunshine. ment. Current projects include the devel - Daan Frenkel addressed the attendees, opment of a new mentoring scheme for emphsising the key role of postdocs in postdocs, and a review of the staff review maintaining the department’s top rank - and development programme. The next ing amongst UK universities. He also PDAC event will be in the autumn. It also t t i highlighted the importance of the holds a monthly lunch for postdocs in the P

n department’s recent Athena SWAN Todd Hamied room. All contract research a h t

a bronze award, awarded for good practice staff are welcome! Please email any com - N

: in recruiting, retaining, and promoting ments or suggestions to the committee at o t o

h women in science and technology, but [email protected]. P stressed that this is an ongoing process. Amanda Maycock

14 Chem@Cam Summer 2013 Heroes & mentors

Jane Clarke, professor of molecular biophysics, senior Wellcome Trust Research Fellow and deputy head of department, describes some of the people who have influenced her life, career, and her desire to encourage women to embrace academic research

Of course the first and most lasting commuted daily during the war to was no doubt in my mind that I would influence on any person’s life must be Cardiff University, and later, following be a scientist – and no doubt that it was their family. Others who have written in in the footsteps of her mother and possible to combine successful career these columns highlight the influence grandmother, became a teacher. She and successful motherhood. that their families have had. I am no imbued in me a curiosity for the natural Her influence went further than that exception. The support my family, of all world – I remember holidays poking and I started as a schoolteacher in 1973 – generations, grandparents, parents, hus - about in rock pools, and learning about following the family mould – a career I band Chris, and my children, have the wonder of the symbiosis between really enjoyed. However, my greatest sad - offered to me cannot be underestimated. flowers and insects. During cooking I ness is that my mother did not live to see My mother, Shirley, was the first of discovered ball and socket joints, and, me get my PhD. She knew I had been our family to go to university. Daughter when we had stuffed hearts for dinner, accepted to Cambridge and was of a collier in the Rhondda Valley, she bicuspid and semi-lunar valves. There delighted. My thesis was dedicated to her.

The next most influential person, the Bud: chemistry professor, an outstand - Bud encouraged this ambition and one who caused me to change careers, ing protein crystallographer, an inspir - wrote me the letter that helped me was Bud Suddath. In 1986 my husband ing teacher and generous friend. secure a place in Cambridge to do my was sent by his employer to Atlanta, The course was about protein struc - PhD when we returned to the UK. But, where I could not teach (no ‘College ture, and we had to do a project, look - another tragedy, although he was still English’ or Georgia history!), so I went ing at structures and investigating the young Bud was struck down by a heart back to school at Georgia Tech to do a relationship between structure and attack not long after I started my PhD – Masters degree and update my science. function – I was inspired! I knew that I another of my mentors who did not see One of the courses there was taught by just had to work with proteins. what they had started come to fruition!

Searching for a PhD place in Cambridge mind. His careful, analytical approach, ilies of proteins. He gave me a student to is always daunting, I suppose, but for a his intolerance of mediocrity (‘don’t work with, and when the first paper was 40-year-old mother with childcare waste clean thoughts on dirty data’) and written, edited it with his customary responsibilities, it was more so. his love of mulling over primary data critical eye (oh that red pen!) but then While all the biochemists turned me have all been an inspiration. crossed his name off. ‘It was your idea, down flat, Alan Fersht took a chance He offered me the opportunity to fol - publish on your own – it will start your and offered me the golden opportunity low where my curiosity led – to try new career’ – and it did! to work in his lab, arguably the best avenues of research – and taught me the Alan has been supportive ever since – protein chemistry group in the world, importance of recognising when to stop although rather like head of a pride of and at a time when he was just embark - if things were not working! lions, he absolutely expects the ‘young ing on an exciting new research area – Alan was also an extraordinarily gen - ones’ to stand on their own two feet protein folding. erous supervisor. While working as a once out in the jungle that is academia. Alan is truly a most inspiring scien - postdoc in his lab after my PhD, I had an He equipped me with all the skills I tist. He has a frighteningly incisive idea – to do comparative studies of fam - needed, and that includes resilience.

One of the great things Now I am approaching retirement, and when things lie. We have to actively work to change about academic science is I reflect on my career one thing shocks me – the way we behave, we have to see value in the set of friendships you just how few women there are in academic diversity, we have to alter our perception that forge worldwide. Friends science. I see young women chemists walk success and excellence looks exactly like ‘us’ who you meet at confer - through the door of this department as fantas - – I am a good example of someone who has ences who become very tic graduate students and postdocs – and then been successful following a non-standard close, who support you they disappear! The situation I find myself in career track. In my final years, I hope to help and inspire you and col - is no better than that I found when I went to the chemistry department be a place where laborate with you, and university in the late 60s. The proportion of more young women will aspire to work and compete with you. women academics in this department, and in believe they can find success. It is impossible to men - this university, is no better now that it was tion them all, but Carol then. This makes me angry and frustrated. Robinson (Oxford), Susan My final inspiration is my one-year-old Marqusee (Berkeley) and granddaughter, Martha. I cannot tolerate a Sheena Radford (Leeds) situation where she might go to university in have all travelled the same 17 years time and again find nothing has paths as me from the changed. (And of course I hope she wants to beginning. be a scientist!) In the 1960s, my mother They are a group of taught me to believe that I could do anything. inventive, ambitious, insp - Feminism was rife; we were optimistic and iring protein scientists, knew that the world was changing. who motivate me to be as But any progress in the world of academic good as they are. science is very hard to see! We cannot just let

Chem@Cam Summer 2013 15 I know we’re trying to encourage young chemists, but don’t you think you’re a bit too young to become lecturers?

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