Summer 2011

Looking at solid –liquid interfaces Computer simulations of biologics War hero — and Cambridge chemist ’s new head of department As I see it...

On 1 October, Daan Frenkel is taking over from Bill Jones as head of department. He talks to Sarah Houlton about how he perceives the future of Cambridge chemistry

Perhaps you could start by telling us a dents, and we may need more partnerships with little about your own background. industry or private donors. As scientists, we like I’m now a theoretician, but I was trained as an to think our research is the most important experimentalist – my PhD was in experimental thing, but if you look at the people who come physical chemistry, and I really did get my out of the department and go on to key posi - hands dirty in the lab! But about 10 years after tions in society, my view is that our main prod - my PhD I switched to a focus on theoretical uct walks out of the department on two legs. work, although for the past 20 years I was We have been good at working in an interdis - working at the FOM Institute in Amsterdam, a ciplinary way, and this has to continue and research lab that was 80–90% experimental, so improve. Yet when we are competing for univer - I never lost contact with experiments. sity-wide projects such as doctoral training cen - tres, Cambridge has, in the past, been slower than Why did you accept the head of other institutions. To succeed we must strengthen department role here? our collaboration with other departments. The I was part of the senior management team at the nano DTC is a good example – there should (and FOM Institute for 15 years, and although I will) be more of these inter-departmental centres. escaped being director, it did give me an insight into what’s involved in running a department. And what are the threats? Of course, the department here is three times rather than senior people. But we should value First of all, a decrease in funding. Not only is larger and undergraduate education is a key part and cherish the world leaders that we continue funding more difficult to acquire, it also often of our activities. I believe it’s very important to attract in senior positions. comes with more strings attracted. Many groups that an academic institution like this is run by Another weakness is the amount of red tape here are already working in areas that fit in with someone who has direct contact with both that we have to cope with. A lot of bureaucracy the themes that the funding bodies currently teaching and research. I’ve seen places where is imposed on us – government imposes rules deem important. But I worry that if we focus the person in charge was more of an adminis - on the university, and departments have to exclusively on the top-down programmes that trator, and however competent they may be in comply. But at the same time you want life to be tell us what’s important, we would miss out on getting their budget figures right, it doesn’t as easy as possible for everyone involved. the big breakthroughs as these rarely result from work. Also, this is a great department, and in a There’s no easy answer, but I believe it’s impor - top-down planning. Important contributions and sense I wanted to pay something back. tant that the support staff responsible for imple - good research do come out of programmatic Though my main weakness may make me menting the rules feel they are 100% covered research, but we should always try to defend our totally unsuitable for this job – I have an awful by me if we want to minimise paperwork. Yes, ability to do totally blue sky research too. memory for names and faces! I hope people we have to comply with rules for the simple Of course, to keep the department financially will be tolerant with me – I’ll do my best not to reason that we have to show that we spend the healthy we have to do well in the Research forget, but apologies in advance if I do. taxpayers’ money in a responsible way. But if Excellence Framework. This is part of a game we procedures don’t work, we should be pro-active simply have to play – we may object to the rules What do you think are the main and improve them. but once they are set we have to play by them. challenges facing the department? A source of potential weakness is the percep - Although I don’t like the business terminology, tion that some academics do more for the How will the new structure with a head I made a list of strengths, weaknesses, opportu - departmental good than others. From my Dutch of department and two deputies work? nities and threats. Starting with the strengths, experience I know that this perception is partly Jane Clarke will be mainly in charge of human we have many fantastic scientists, and the aver - correct and partly a matter of incomplete infor - resources-related matters, and David Wales age age is quite young. The academic-related mation. Yet it is never constructive to set your resource and space-related issues. The idea is they and technical support staff are very committed standards by looking at those who appear to do will deal with these on a day-to-day basis, unless and helpful. Without academics there would be less. I think the best solution is to make people it’s something more strategic that the whole sen - no department, but without the support staff it personally responsible for specific things – and ior management team will need to consider. The would be impossible to run it, and we have to accept that there are differences in the ways in new research interest group structure has been work together, which I believe is something we which people function best. running for about a year and it’s working well – are good at. it has clearly shaken up the department and cre - So what about the opportunities? ated new interactions. There are one or two things What about the weaknesses? One is that we are academically strong in areas that haven’t worked quite so well, so we will look There is a vicious ‘triangle’ of funding, space and with a fantastic future, such as energy, atmos - at these in the coming months. One thing I would optimal department size. In principle, if we had pheric chemistry, materials and biologically like to do is have a faculty meeting once a term so infinite space, our academics would attract fund - related research with a strong link between the - all academics can have an input on topics such as ing to make the department grow without limit, ory and experiment. We need to ensure that we research and teaching. But this has to be done but the place would lose coherence. Growth for cash in on these things, and thus attract the nec - without increasing the total number of meetings! its own sake should never be an objective – we essary revenue to support the department. should limit our size. I don’t know what the We also have stellar students, but with fund - Finally, how important is it to you to optimum size is, but I think about it. ing and visa regulations it’s becoming increas - continue with your research? In the current climate, funding really comes ingly difficult to attract non-EU students, and as It’s essential. My predecessor, Bill Jones, also under the list of threats, but if we spend all our fees go up it may be more difficult to attract kept doing research, and I believe it’s important time worrying about this, and other concerns them from the EU, too. We have to think very to show people who follow after us that it’s not such as how we should allocate space, then this hard about how to maintain the influx of top- scientific suicide to be head of department. I becomes a weakness. It’s impossible to satisfy all level students. In principle, this is an opportu - plan to do head of department duties in the the people all the time, hence the choices that nity, but the routes have to be explored – we mornings, and focus on research in the after - we make must be perceived to be fair. My per - need to expand our links with organisations in noon. Of course there will have to be flexibility, sonal bias is towards supporting young people countries that are an important source of stu - but that’s my aim and I hope it will work.

2 Chem@Cam Summer 2011 Reluctant reactions Letters

Canned coffee Electronic love

Dear Editor Dear Editor eChem@Cam I was very interested to read the article I like the electronic version of Chem@Cam is now being sent out by email to those ‘A picture from Pembroke Street’ in the Chem@Cam very much. who have asked for a pdf version rather than a hard Summer 2010 issue of Chem@Cam . I think you have made a satisfactory copy in the mail. I did my postdoctoral research in the compromise with the compression of If you would like to swap your paper magazine for an upstairs laboratory in Pembroke Street the photographs. The cover photograph e-version, then please send an email with the subject line between 1953 and 1956. surprised me a bit until I realised that ‘eChem@Cam’ to [email protected], and we’ll start to The article took my mind back to the human in the background was send you the mag electronically from the next issue. 1953, when I came up to Cambridge, to probably intended to be out of focus. Don’t forget to tell us your postal address so we can Trinity Hall, from Swansea University. I Best wishes check that the correct person is being removed from the was there to carry out research on novel George Clarke, Bottmingen, Switzerland mailing list for the paper magazine. methods of synthesis of polyphosphoric acids under Professor Todd and George If you’re not sure what it will look like, you can check out e-back issues on the newly redesigned department Kenner. I held a postgraduate research Franklin info? fellowship from the University of Wales, website, www.ch.cam.ac.uk which enabled me to come up to Dear Editor Don’t worry if you still want to receive a paper copy – Cambridge. My colleague and friend Ron Bathgate we’ll continue to print and mail the magazine for the On completion of my postdoc in (from after 1957 in Phys Chem, Free foreseeable future, so you won’t miss out! 1956, I obtained a research post with School Lane, years after we moved on ICI’s agrochemical division at the Jealotts from there and Lensfield Rd Labs before Hill research station in Berkshire. Then, it became all one!) brought to my atten - in 1959, I left ICI for a lectureship in tion to your interesting newsletter with organic chemistry at Brunel College of excellent picture coverage. Technology at Acton in West London. While I was there, I was working on Then in 1962, I was appointed senior the electrical properties of cadmium, lecturer in organic chemistry at Hatfield thallium, zinc salts – thermal diffusion Technical College in Hertfordshire. and the Soret effect. There I remained for more than 30 I later switched my expertise to blood years, eventually retiring as emeritus cells, and have had a most interesting professor of organic chemistry in the time looking at the problems of day to new University of Hertfordshire, having day blood transfusion, and the further gained a series of promotions along needs of this billion-dollar market in with the college! clinical medicine and pharmaceutical It was good to hear from Bal Joshi – I biotechnology. remember him working a 12-hour day! I have been trying to find details of I also remember Jack Cannon from the time Rosalind Franklin (Newnham) Australia – he always brewed up his spent in that building, perhaps 7–10 coffee in a billycan when he was in the years before we went there (Norrish Australian bush, and he continued to apparently gave her a hard time?). Fred do exactly the same thing in the lab in Dainton her supervisor and George Cambridge. Porter had left by then. I have been Happy days! intending to write about this in a little Yours sincerely more detail. Can any readers help? Richard Cremlyn (Trinity Hall, 1953) Best wishes. Coggeshall, Essex Jay Mehrishi, Impington, Cambridge

Cover This newsletter is published three times a year by the Chemistry Department. Opinions are not necessarily those of the editor, the department, or the university. Editor-in-Chief: Steve Ley Editor: Sarah Houlton Photographers: Nathan Pitt, Caroline Hancox Editorial Board: Contents Brian Crysell, Bill Jones, News 4 Jonathan Goodman, Rosemary Ley, Jeremy Sanders Research 6 Peter Wothers in fiery action at Address: Alumni 9 this year’s chemistry open day Chem@Cam, Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road Chat lines 14 Photograph: Cambridge CB2 1EW Nathan Pitt Phone: 01223 763865 Puzzle corner 15 email: [email protected] website: www.ch.cam.ac.uk

Chem@Cam Summer 2011 3 News Remembering Dudley A collection of prizes for A memorial concert to celebrate the life of Dudley Williams through live music, tributes and reminiscences was held at Churchill back in May. The programme reflected Dudley’s Cambridge chemists eclectic love of music. The poem below was written for the occasion by physicist Summer is award the journal to recognise the achieve - and Churchill Archie Howie. season, and Camb - ment of a young African or European r idge chemists have inorganic chemist. Lines for Dudley been extre mely The RSC’s Nor - successful in the man Heatley award The chemists love the molecules we need prize stakes. First has gone to David Draw with each breath, and with each bite to feed. of all, Steve Ley has Spring. It recog - On DNA all progeny depend been awarded the nises the im p ort - And vancomycin may our lives defend. Royal Society’s Royal Medal. These ance of interdisci - medals were founded by King George IV plinary res earch At every synapse molecules convene in 1825, and three are given every year bet ween chem istry Keep memories of Dudley Williams green! by the Queen for the most important and the life sciences. David won for his contributions in the physical, biological work on diversity generation in organic Timing and resonance were skills he knew and applied sciences. synthesis and its application to the dis - In music and in NMR they grew; Steve was given the medal for his pio - covery of novel bioactive compounds At meetings sensed when best to interject neering research in organic chemistry including chemical probes. With brain and vision gently he’d dissect. and outstanding contributions to the Another RSC methodology of synthesis. prize went to Peter On Churchill science that fine talk he devised – Clare Gray is the Wothers. He’s Sweet swansong that can now be recognised! first recipient of the been given the Royal Society’s Kavli President’s award No Sat Nav calls such parting of our ways Medal and Lecture, for his outstand - A jolt of broken symmetry conveys; for her pioneering ing contribution Until by time the balance is restored work in the use of to public outreach Sam Butler’s words some comfort may afford – solid state NMR in in the chemical sciences. These are in the the development of sole gift of the RSC president – currently ‘Yet meet we shall and part and meet again – lithium-ion batteries. Supported by the – and are given in recog - Where dead men meet – on lips of living men. ’ Kavli Foundation, a California-based nition of major contributions to advanc - organisation dedicated to the goals of ing the chemical sciences. advancing science for the benefit of As this is the International Year of humanity and promoting increased pub - Chemistry, Phillips wanted to recognise lic understanding and support for scien - Peter’s successful efforts over the years tists and their work, the prize will be in promoting chemistry to a wide audi - given every other year for excellence in all ence, and raising the profile of the sub - fields of science and engineering relevant ject with the public. to the environment or energy. And a Harrison- Another award Meldola memorial has gone to Daan prize for chemists Frenkel – the under 32 went to Joseph O. Hirsch - Tomislav Friscic. felder prize in the - Tomislav was oretical chemistry rewarded for his from the Univ - work in develop - ersity of Wiscon - ing solid-state methodologies which sin. He will be giving three Hirschfelder explore and combine new types of lectures at the US university in October. molecular self-assembly. Some of our younger academics have After three years here in Cambridge been getting in on the prize act, too as a Herchel Smith fellow, Tomislav is Andreas’ Indian adventure Jonathan Nitschke has been given a now leaving us to take up an assistant Andreas Bender, lecturer in the Unilever Andreas is the one Corday-Morgan professorship at McGill University in Centre, spent much of July teaching in in the middle with medal by the Royal Canada – we wish him well. India. He teaches a course on chemoin - the stripy shirt! Society of Chem - Finally, Andreas formatics at Bangalore’s Institute for istry. These medals Bender won the Bioinformatics and Applied Biotech- are given to three fourth annual Mol - nology, which gives the PhD students chemists under the e c ular Graphics and there a basic foundation in the analysis age of 40 every Modelling Soc i - of chemical data. year for ‘meritori - ety’s silver jubilee He also jointly supervises some mas - ous contributions to chemistry’, and prize. According to ters’ research projects at the institute. Jonathan received the medal for his the society, there Andreas has been making this trip every innovative use of dynamic metal-ligand are currently very few prizes or awards year since 2007. chemistry to create entirely new func - for young molecular modellers, com - This time, he also found time to visit tional supramolecular systems in water. pared to many different awards for more industrial companies out there, notably Jonathan also received a second RSC ‘traditional’ physical chemistry, and AstraZeneca and Unilever, to set up prize – the with this award it aims to redress the research collaborations. European/African lectureship, given by balance a little.

4 Chem@Cam Summer 2011 www.ch.cam.ac.uk

A quartet of fellowships

Clare Grey has been made a Fellow of ety was set up to recognise Welsh talent the Royal Society. She is one of this across the arts, science and industry, and year’s 44 new across the whole ‘act as a defender of and protagonist for of science. the very activities and functions that She has been recognised for her work necessarily underpin the notion of on using solid state NMR to study struc - Welsh cleverness’. ture and function in inorganic materi - As a Welsh society, it’s perhaps unsur - In the studio with presenter Helen Scales als, where her in situ NMR studies of prising that no less than seven of the batteries and fuel cells have a direct and new fellows rejoice in the name Jones! important impact on the optimisation Meanwhile, Shankar Balasubramanian Going live! and development of systems for energy has been elected a Fellow of the Graeme Day recently had a paper pub - storage and conversion. Academy of Medical Sciences. And John lished in Nature – and it proved so Bill Jones has been elected as one of Pyle has been made a Fellow of the interesting that it led to him appearing the inaugural fellows of the newly cre - American Geophysical Union. on the radio to talk about his work. ated Learned Society of Wales. The soci - Congratulations all! ‘It was about designing new porous molecular crystals that could be used to separate molecules or gases,’ Graeme This year’s Alex Hopkins memorial says. He used computational techniques Academic promotions lecture was given by to predict the structures of the materials, Four members of chemistry staff David Leigh (right) of which had been made by his collabora - are on this year’s list of academic Edinburgh University tors, led by Andy Cooper at Liverpool. promotions. is being on the magic of The predictions proved very accurate. made a professor, while Melinda molecular machines; Bill Eaton (below) of ‘By predicting whether the molecules Duer, Jonathan Nitschke and would have the desired porous crystal the National Institutes David Spring are all being of Health in Bethesda, structure or not, weeks of synthetic promoted to reader. effort could be saved when designing Maryland was this year’s Todd Professor new materials,’ he says. The paper attracted the attention of the t

Cambridge-based Naked Scientists, who t i

Funding news P

broadcast a science show every week live n a h on local radio in the east of England. It’s It’s good news on the funding front for t a N

also available to download via a podcast. a couple of our academics. Jane Clarke : s o

In the show on 14 August, the focus has had a Senior Research Fellowship t o h

was on designer chemistry, and from the for some time, P Graeme’s work was perfect for it. So he and this has been now been renewed. spent his Sunday evening in the studio, Ali Alavi, meanwhile, has been for his first experience of live radio. ‘It awarded a Leadership Fellowship by was pretty nerve-wracking!’ he says. ‘As EPSRC. These highly competitive senior it was live, I was worried about what investigator awards from the research questions they might ask and that I’d councils provide the opportunity for a struggle to find answers quickly.’ scientist to focus their time on research. His fears were unfounded – and he A bonus is that it also massively even enjoyed the experience. ‘I’ll be increased the computational resources much less nervous next time!’ he says. available to Ali’s group, largely through If you want to listen to the podcast, a large grant of time on HECToR, the it’s at http://tinyurl.com/3fgmh3h UK supercomputer. Jeremy to become a pro-vice chancellor As of 1 October, Jeremy Sanders has a versa. They often have very different pri - munity for a couple of thousand post - new job – he’s to be pro-vice-chancellor orities! I will also be encouraging aca - docs, graduate students and others in an for institutional affairs. The role will take demics to take on leadership roles environmentally sustainable way is a up about 80% of his time, with the rest within the university, such as heads of big, exciting project that should have a spent in chemistry. department, and provide them with huge (positive!) impact on life in the There are three main components to appropriate support.’ university and the city.’ he says. .’The one the job, Jeremy says. The first – and by The second aspect of the new role is part of the environmental portfolio I far the largest – of these is HR related. fostering relationships with the outside don't have at the moment is reducing ‘It’s not hands-on management of 9,000 community, whether that’s the city or carbon emissions. employees!’ he says. ‘It’s more about county councils, local businesses or ‘But it is pretty much everything else, developing policy about important top - schools – the same sort of outreach such as water and waste management, ics such as pensions, retirement age, Jeremy was doing when he was looking and transport planning – so trying to per - career structures and training. after the 800th anniversary celebrations. suade people to cycle, share cars or even ‘I will act as something of an interme - And the third part is responsibility for use the new guided busway rather than diary between academics and HR pro - the university’s estate and environmen - driving alone. And, of course, anything fessionals – trying to explain the way tal strategy. ‘Developing North West else that the vice chancellor, in his infinite the university works to HR, and vice Cambridge to create homes and a com - wisdom, decides to throw at me!’

Chem@Cam Summer 2011 5 Science Interfacial investigations

component could be made to disappear in the reflection data. Hence a complex mixture becomes a one component sys - tem and much easier to interpret. His group is the first to have made successful neutron reflection measure - ments from calcite. This is a very impor - tant mineral – not only is it the limescale that forms in kettles, it’s also used in paper whitening, and is the reservoir rock for much of the world’s oil. The group has recently had a lot of success using large single calcite crystals from Brazil. ‘They’re really beautiful crystals, about 5 or 6 cm 3 in size, with excellent optical clarity,’ he says. ‘We get them polished very flat on one side – to within 10Å of roughness, and put them against a little Teflon trough to hold the liquid. The two are clamped together and we bounce the neutrons off the interface between the liquid in the trough and the crystal.’ The adsorption of molecules at the surface is important for a number of reasons. ‘For example, if you want to make a dispersion of tiny calcite crystals in a liquid to use as a paper whitener or overbasing agent in an engine oil, you need to stop them sticking to each other,’ he says. Understanding what happens at the solid –liquid interface can give The best way to do this is often by an insight into how products like lubricants and dispersants might adsorbing polymer or other molecules to the surface. Knowing exactly how be improved, and this is the focus of Stuart Clarke’s research they adsorb and desorb, and the struc - ture of those layers, is very important to There are many applications where it’s look at the intensity as a function of controlling the dispersion behaviour. important to understand exactly what’s reflected angle. ‘We’d like to understand what the going on at a solid–liquid interface. At very low angles, everything is molecules actually do on the surface – Stuart Clarke’s chemistry is focused on a reflected, and as the angle of reflection in many cases it’s not even clear if they number of these interfaces, most increases, the intensity reflected falls. even are adsorbed to the surface – and recently on mineral-liquid and metal- The way it falls is a very sensitive meas - how this relates to their behaviour,’ liquid interfaces, where the liquid is ure of what’s happening at the surface. Stuart says. water or oil. These have important This means one can see the presence of A great thing about this technique, he applications in products such as disper - molecularly thin layers, how thick the adds, is that it enables them to look at sants, lubricants and anticorrosion layers on the surface are, and exactly the molecules on the surface and see agents, where being able to control the what molecules are sticking to it. which ones are actually there, and what behaviour at the interface is crucial. This allows them to look at the pre - their structure is. For example, poly - He’s been using a variety of novel cise structure of molecules on the sur - acrylic acid is commonly used as a dis - approaches to study these interfaces, face – whether they’re arranged in sin - persant for calcite, but it needs to be notably neutron reflection measure - gle layers, bilayers, or even multiple lay - used carefully. ments. The experiments themselves ers of molecules. ‘We now know that if you add a little require a big international facility to it adsorbs strongly, but if you add too generate the neutron beams, and Stuart INTENSE EXPERIMENTS much it starts to dissolve the surface, uses both the ISIS facility just outside The time at ISIS and ILL is very intense. and we can see this dissolution on an Oxford and the ILL facility in Grenoble Typically, they get three or four days of angstrom scale, well before it would be in the south of France. beam time – day and night – and if the evident in a commercial system,’ he says. ‘ISIS is a spallation source, where experiment needs it, they will work all ‘We can see all the fine structural details protons are rammed into a target and night. The particular power of the neu - of the adsorbed layer and its interaction neutrons are thrown out, whereas the trons, Stuart says, is that it’s possible to with the surface and the solvent.’ ILL is a reactor source which produces a enhance the sensitivity of the scattering A coating or dispersant formulation is steady state flux of neutrons,’ he says. ‘In to highlight each component of com - usually a cocktail of molecules, and it’s both cases, a “pencil” of neutrons is plex mixtures, one can think of it as often not clear which ones actually adsorb made, and this is bounced off the sur - making different materials change to the surface. ‘These approaches can also face you’re interested in. ‘We then col - colour. For example, with a multicom - tell you which additives are doing the job lect the intensity that’s bounced off, and ponent mixture, everything except one – the different ingredients compete for

6 Chem@Cam Summer 2011 Research

the surface,’ he says. ‘It’s also important to

see if the additives stay on the surface with e Born: Aylesbury, and grew up in Leighton fellowship engaging with surface scientists k Buzzard across BP. changes in time and conditions – many r a will desorb on heating or adding a differ - l Education: Degree and DPhil in chemistry with Status: Married to Carolyn, who’s a Cambridge C

ent solvent. Understanding how and Bob Thomas at Oxford graduate. They have two children, Rosemary, t

whether they stay on the surface is critical r Career: Postdoc at Oxford, after which he who’s 16, and 12-year-old Elliott for knowing how they work and to design a trained as a chartered accountant, working in u Interests: Hill walking and playing the guitar new and better molecules where the mol - t personal and corporate insolvencies. He ecules stick better – or worse – depending S returned to science in the Cavendish Lab at Did you know? Stuart almost ended up an on what you want it to do.’ Cambridge in 1993 to the newly formed actor rather than a chemist – he spent much of Calcite has retrograde solubility – Polymer and Colloids Group and moved to his teenage spare time with the National Youth

when you heat it up, it precipitates, and V chemistry in 1999, and is now a Senior Theatre. As a student, his arty side found that’s why kettles develop scale in hard C Lecturer, based in chemistry and the BP another outlet –playing guitar in a band called water areas. ‘It’s a real problem for heat Institute. He is presently on a BP Technology ‘Stagnancy’. exchanges in industry – when you heat water up, the calcite drops out,’ he says. information can be essential when try - tant as a subtle probe of intermolecular ‘Understanding how additives can stop ing to solve the structure of the interactions, where we’re interested in this from happening, or keep the parti - adsorbed layer. what governs whether a physisorbed cles dispersed, is extremely important ‘This is a particular advantage of neu - layer is stable or unstable. So far, people in a commercial setting.’ trons over X-rays and other related tech - have looked at simple van der Waals niques, and why they’re particularly interactions, and the idea that these lay - MINERALS AND METALS good for metal surfaces,’ Stuart explains. ers have to be close-packed. More Stuart’s group is now extending the ‘Many commercial additives include recently people have expanded into work to other minerals as well, such as long-chain fatty acid components. These other interactions such as strong and quartz, kaolinite and chlorite, and they approaches enable us to see them, all weak hydrogen bonding between mol - are also looking at neutron reflection head-down and tail-up on the metal ecules like alcohols and fatty acids, and from metal surfaces, in collaboration surface. We can see how tightly packed pyridine. The hydrogen bonds do with a group at Queen Mary College in they are, and how much solvent has indeed lead to more stable monolayers, London. ‘This is important in designing penetrated the layer. How the molecules in a number of cases they have a higher anticorrosion agents and friction modi - arrange themselves like this is key to melting point than the bulk materials.’ fiers to prevent wear,’ he says. ‘It’s also understanding their function as anti - Stuart’s group has recently been look - opening up new avenues in electro - wear agents.’ ing at combinations of adsorbed acids chemistry – a new area for us that we’re More recently, Stuart has started to use and amines, and they have seen an inter - just starting to look at.’ synchrotron X-rays to look at the inter - esting series of complexes forming. These To look at metals rather than miner - faces, too. ‘Neutrons are very good at The Clarke group co-crystals contain both acid and amine als, they are using an extension of the seeing organic molecules, and X-rays are pose outside the molecules in a single crystal lattice. neutron reflection technique. Neutrons very good at seeing heavier elements,’ he BP Institute: ‘There is evidence that not only do you can polarised in a magnetic field to be explains. ‘In many cases, the combina - Stuart, Charanee get 1:1 complexes with one molecule of either spin-up or spin-down. ‘In this tion of the two is very powerful.’ Dharmasiri, Kate acid and one of base, but also 2:1 and 3:1 way we can perform the reflection The other main focus of his research Miller, Chenguang as well,’ he says. ‘That implies some very experiments with spin polarised neu - is on non-covalent interactions in Sun, Beth Howe, interesting surface phase behaviour, and trons, up or down,’ he says. Instead of a physisorbed layers. ‘Organic molecules Nick Parkes, Adam very strong hydrogen bonds holding the single experiment, it’s now possible to can also sit on surfaces like graphite, Brewer, Xiaofan crystals together. Most significantly, the make two measurements, each of where the dominant interactions are the Wang, BingLun Li, layer formed by the combination is much which tells them something slightly molecules on the surface interacting Isabella Stocker and more stable than either of the two pure different about the interface. The extra with each other,’ he says. ‘This is impor - Rachel Chapman materials, a synergy that can have com - mercial importance.’ He has now started looking at halo - gen interactions, too, where the halo - gen atoms interact with themselves, for example iodine with iodine. ‘We’ve seen some evidence of non-bonding interactions there. ‘In collaboration with Bill Jones, Graeme Day and Tomislav Friscic in the department, we’ve also been looking at halogen bonds, where halogens interact with atoms such as nitrogen, sulfur and oxygen – we recently had a publication that reported the first diffraction pattern from a 2D layer of a halogen-bonded co-crystal. These are proving to be extremely stable layers, with strong directional noncovalent interactions. This gives a very exciting new way of t t i

P controlling surface structure.’ n a h t a Much of Stuart’s work has direct indus - N

: s trial relevance, with funding from a num - o t o ber of industrial companies such as BP, h P Procter & Gamble, Unilever and Castrol.

Chem@Cam Summer 2011 7 Research The dynamics of biomolecules Nature created many complex, beautiful systems – many of which we still don’t Peter Bond’s computer simulations are designed to give an insight understand. Peter Bond is using com - into some of the incredibly complicated systems designed by nature puter simulations to gain an insight into how some of these work. ‘As an under - graduate, I found I was much more molecules from bacteria, and if this interested in using computers in bio - binding switches them on they generate chemistry than practical lab work,’ he an immune response to get rid of the says. ‘I was inspired when I learnt what invading pathogen.’ they could do, allowing you to manip - He’s looking at a TLR system that ulate and model the structures of bio - recognises glycolipid molecules that are molecules, and I’m still inspired today.’ found in many kinds of bacteria. ‘The During his DPhil, he focused on using molecular structures of these lipids are, computer simulations to try and under - at first sight, fairly similar,’ he explains. stand the dynamics of systems that had - ‘Yet not all lipids from all bacteria n’t been modelled before, such as mem - switch the receptor pathways on. Some t t brane proteins in arrangements like partially switch it on, and others gener - i P

micelles and crystals. A postdoc in ate no immune response at all. It’s not at n a h t

Germany allowed him to broaden his all clear from the structures of the lipids a N application of molecular simulation to a what the mechanism of this is. : o t o

range of large-scale biophysical systems. Normally, a small molecule interacts h Now in Cambridge, he’s continuing with a protein by binding specifically to P to use a variety of different computer a small, relatively rigid binding pocket. to model. The computer experiments are approaches to elucidate biological But as the lipids are large and very flex - large and expensive! But it’s starting to mech anisms. ‘I’m particularly interested ible, they cannot work like this.’ give us clues about how the TLRs are reg - in biological assemblies, normally large When the receptors go wrong, disease ulated, and it’s becoming clear that the and heterogeneous macromolecular results, notably endotoxic shock syn - dynamics are particularly important.’ complexes,’ he says. ‘Sometimes, there drome resulting from sepsis, where an He says the regulatory protein seems a are NMR spectra or crystal struc - overreaction causes the immune system little like a molecular tape measure that tures for parts of them, but these to go into overdrive. It’s often can adapt to squeeze around its ligand. can only provide one, or at most a fatal, and is not easy to This helps to sense the size and shape of few, snapshots of what’s going treat – and it’s unclear the lipid and, ultimately, determine on. But for these things to how the TLR pro - whether it’s able to activate the receptor. function, their dynamics teins are activated. ‘This is something you can only really are important, and a ‘This particular look at using simulations in combina - snapshot isn’t really TLR complex is tion with experimental data,’ he says. enough to describe how quite big in its they are working.’ activated state,’ TARGETING RECEPTORS Many biological macro - he says. ‘There Peter is working with Clare Bryant in molecules are, essentially, tiny are two really the Cambridge veterinary school, who machines designed to carry out large signalling pro - uses experimental methods to mutate functions such as signalling, trans - teins which bind to another couple TLRs and see how they respond to dif - port or energy conversion. ‘Their mecha - of regulatory proteins. When you add ferent ligands. ‘We’re doing the same nisms of action are quite intricate, and the lipids and water into the system as thing, but at a molecular level. The ulti - can’t be understood from that single well that gives about half-a-million atoms mate hope is that we will be able to snapshot,’ he says. ‘I’m using simulation design drugs that will target this recep - approaches to look at the bigger picture.’ Born: Torquay tor pathway, in order to treat sepsis or to He uses Newton’s laws of motion to Education: School in Torquay, followed by a facilitate vaccine development.’ generate a trajectory – and if you get degree at Oxford, then a DPhil there with Mark Sansom, Another project, in collaboration the physics right, alongside descriptions on molecular dynamics simulations of membrane proteins with Andreas Bender in the department of how all the elements of the system d and Oliver Korb in the Cambridge interact, this should reflect the biologi - n Career: Moved to Frankfurt in 2008 with a two-year Crystallographic Data Centre, is using o EMBO long-term fellowship to work in the Max Planck

cal or chemical phenomena that are B structure-based approaches to look at

Institute of Biophysics, and came to Cambridge as a going on inside a cell, for example. r enzymes involved in HIV. ‘We’re trying lecturer in May 2010 e

He’s using these approaches to look t to predict how different molecules will at signalling pathways – the mecha - e Interests: Drawing, painting, writing and travelling. ‘I’ve bind to the enzymes, and mutants of nisms by which receptors recognise and P got into travelling in South America,’ he says. ‘I love the enzymes,’ he says. bind to a particular ligand on a cell sur - finding out what different cultures are like, and in ‘This is important, as HIV is con - face, for example. If it’s the right ligand, particular, tasting their food. There’s always something stantly mutating to try and evade the

V interesting and new to try, wherever you go – though I it switches the receptor on, passing a immune system and different drugs. We C invariably get ill as a result. But I don’t let that deter me!’ message into the cell and causing it to want to use this simulation-based release a chemical signal. Did you know? He has a keen interest in genealogy, approach to predict the likelihood that a The toll-like receptor (TLR) system is and recently found long-lost relatives in the USA. Thanks particular drug will be able to bind to a a good example of this. ‘TLRs are cellu - to the Augusta Chronicle keeping records over several particular enzyme mutant. I guess the lar membrane proteins involved in centuries, he discovered that his grandfather was a ultimate aim would be to see which immune responses,’ he says. ‘They bind highly decorated war hero, but that his great- viral mutations a patient has, and be able grandfather was a cut-throat, philanderer, and convict! to pathogenic patterns such as small to choose the right drugs to give them.’

8 Chem@Cam Summer 2011 Alumni A Cambridge chemist – and a war hero A request for information to the academic secretary’s office led Campbell’s Howard Jones on a trail of discovery that led to a story of extreme bravery during the Second World War. Howard tells us more VC citation

In recognition of most conspic - Periodically, we receive requests for his - Although he was uous bravery. This officer was torical information about the depart - killed in action in the pilot of a Beaufort aircraft ment or its former members. Most 1941 at the age of of Coastal Command which enquiries relate to events or people just 23, Campbell’s was detailed to attack an from the past 30 years or so, where we heroism played a enemy battle cruiser in Brest have reasonable archived records, or can vital role in the Harbour at first light on the rely on the memories of our older Allied victory morning of 6th April 1941. members of staff. But when Susan The aircraft did not return but Cowen received an enquiry in April it is known that a torpedo about a chemistry undergraduate from attack was carried out with the the 1930s, we held out little hope of utmost daring. finding anything useful. We were asked if we could confirm The battle cruiser was secured that Flying Officer Kenneth Campbell, alongside the wall on the north believed to have been a member of the shore of the harbour, protected University Air Squadron and killed in by a stone mole bending action in April 1941, was a chemistry around it from the west. On ris - student at Clare College in the 1930s. ceased in order to get a full picture of ing ground behind the ship No pre-war paper records remain in the the context of the bravery. stood protective batteries of department, and there is certainly In fact, his attack on Brest harbour is guns. Other batteries were clus - nobody from that time still in the seen by military historians as one of the tered thickly round the two department to consult. defining moments of the war in Europe. arms of land which encircle the I have a subscription to a genealogy In spring 1941, it was a generally held outer harbour. In this outer har - website, and so first I used it to check view that Germany had the upper hand: bour near the mole were World War II death records, and found the UK may have won the Battle of moored three heavily-armed that a K. Campbell of 22 Squadron was, Britain in 1940 and survived the worst anti-aircraft ships, guarding the indeed, killed in action in April 1941. of the Blitz, but the time the spring battle cruiser. Even if an aircraft I then searched the internet for infor - came around the UK was virtually on its succeeded in penetrating these mation on 22 Squadron. I thought I knees, thanks to attacks on merchant formidable defences, it would would find his name on the squadron’s shipping in the Atlantic bringing vital be almost impossible, after roll of honour but, to my amazement, I supplies to Britain. unearthed the story of how he was Brest was the German base for delivering a low-level attack, to awarded the Victoria Cross for single- launching many of those attacks, led by avoid crashing into the rising handedly attacking and severely damag - the two battleships Gneisenau and ground beyond. ing the battleship Gneisenau in Brest Scharnhorst . Kenneth’s action left the This was well known to Flying harbour on 6 April 1941. Germans without one of its key attack Officer Campbell who, despis - ships. It took more than six months for ing the heavy odds, went cheer - SOLO RAID the German Navy to recover its fully and resolutely to the task. A planned attack on the harbour by a strength, by which time the Americans He ran the gauntlet of the group of aircraft had been hampered by had joined the conflict, and Hitler had defences. Coming in at almost bad weather. Setting out from St Eval in turned his attention to the invasion of sea level, he passed the anti-air - Cornwall, Kenneth was the only airman Russia. The rest, as they say, is history. craft ships at less than mast- to arrive on schedule at Brest and, rather But the original query remained height in the very mouths of than return home without engaging the unanswered. A little more detective their guns and skimming over enemy, he launched a solo raid. work looking up official class lists from the mole launched a torpedo at Unfortunately, the flight path he had the 1930s revealed that K. Campbell to take when delivering the crucial from Clare College gained a Class II in point-blank range. strike gave German defences a clear Part I Natural Sciences in 1938, and The battle cruiser was severely view of his aircraft, and he was shot graduated in 1939 after obtaining a II.2 damaged below the water-line down, crashing into the harbour. All in Part II Natural Sciences (Chemistry). and was obliged to return to four crew were killed, and were buried So a Cambridge chemist really did the dock whence she had come in Brest by the Germans with full mili - single-handedly influence the outcome only the day before. By pressing tary honours. He was two weeks short of the war with Germany. home his attack at close quar - of his 24th birthday. ters in the face of withering fire His efforts were recognised with the Another Cambridge link: Campbell’s 22 on a course fraught with award of the Victoria Cross. His act of Squadron was disbanded at the end of extreme peril, Flying Officer heroism was judged so important to the World War II. Part of the modern day 22 Campbell displayed valour of course of the war that the VC was Squadron is based in Anglesey, where none the highest order. awarded within a year – VCs are not other than Prince William – the new usually awarded until hostilities have Duke of Cambridge – is a serving officer.

Chem@Cam Summer 2011 9 Alumni Physical chemistry: the next days

Brian Thrush’s reminiscences in the quently), was the external examiner of monly served to ignite neon signs. With Autumn 2010 issue of Chem@Cam , my doctoral thesis in 1965, but when I their demise, perhaps that lamp can prompted me to complement his met him again at a symposium on never function again. remarks with my own recollections of molecular spectroscopy in 1995, he One of Pimentel’s students came to the era from August 1961 until the end failed to recall our preceding encounter. Cambridge in 1966 as postdoctoral fel - of 1966. Another task that Norrish occasion - low with Jack Linnett, Norrish’s succes - When I was preparing to embark on a ally assigned me was to assist in gather - sor, but began his sojourn with theoret - transatlantic voyage to become a ings at his home. After filling the glasses ical exercises in a large communal office research student of Professor Norrish, for the second round, I was permitted to at the top of the building. After I left, Charles McDowell, head of chemistry at leave. On one such occasion on a Sunday Joseph Nibler worked in my former lab - the University of British Columbia and a evening during the summer term, he oratory, but little seemed to result from sometime companion with Norrish in took dinner in Emmanuel College and those efforts despite the potential pro - bibulous overindulgence, cautioned me tried to arrange a revelry afterward at ductivity of that apparatus. I do not that Norrish would enter my prospec - this home, as he was lonely in the recall ever meeting Nibler then, but I tive laboratory in the building in absence of his wife. was subsequently a visitor in his labora - Lensfield Road with a cigarette dangling The fellows of Emmanuel College, tory in Oregon State University, in from his lips and complain that I was well aware of the likely consequences of which we investigated spectra from spending too much money. such festivity – namely an aftermath of ‘active nitrogen’. In the event, Norrish abandoned that prodigious cranial pain – resisted such Another contemporary postdoctoral filthy habit during my interlude in his an invitation, but the chaplain, who later fellow from US was Don Setser, who department. Although he mentioned organised religious broadcasting at the worked under Brian Thrush. In about that I spent more money than any other BBC, found a few undergraduate mem - 1991 we published a paper on Einstein research student – rather than too much bers of the college choir – ‘naughty A coefficients, of which I became aware money – he was fond of bringing guests boys’ – who were persuaded to partici - while attending a course of eight lec - to my laboratory because the instru - pate. So we sat in Norrish’s garden back - tures on spectroscopy presented by ments and apparatus on a grand scale ing on Emmanuel College listening to Brian in 1961 Michaelmas term. That therein were impressive. This vindicated Laurence Olivier from a gramophone course had a strong influence on my the visits to stimulate financial support record intoning ‘In the beginning...’ subsequent appreciation of that topic in from industrialists. from the book of Genesis while they physical science. I was Norrish’s only research student imbibed whisky under a dark but warm not to have a joint publication with him; summer sky. NOUGHTS & CROSSES although, after his retirement, I dutifully The technical assistance available to Among a collection of my books that I carried a draft manuscript to his home researchers in department of physical recently unearthed was one published in at 7 Park Terrace. He graciously com - chemistry was certainly admirable. Tom 1964 by J.W. Linnett, identified as mended its publication, but without his Fletcher was then chief techician, and Fellow of Queen’s College Oxford but coauthorship. Despite my doctoral thesis Norrish assigned him to assist in the who was concurrently demonstrator in running to only about 100 typewritten development of my laboratory project. inorganic chemistry at that university. It pages, the subsequent enhanced publi - In the old building in Free School Lane, was entitled ‘The electronic structure of cations extended to more than 150 there was a bell with which Norrish molecules – a new approach’. pages printed in reputable journals. summoned Fletcher, but in the new As his formal inaugural lecture Brian Thrush also alluded to Morris building in Lensfield Road a telephone (which I missed because I took dinner Sugden’s work on suppression of gun system replaced that mechanism. in Emmanuel College at the same hour) flash as a war project. As Norrish’s last When my experiments with precious to the in Cambridge assistant in research, one task (of few) liquid helium as refrigerant continued University when he became, a year later, that he assigned me in 1965 was to beyond the hour for mandatorily termi - professor of physical chemistry, Linnett inspect a cabinet containing files from nating laboratory work for the day, Tom discussed aspects of that approach, preceding decades. One such file indeed insisted on returning to my laboratory at which consisted of considering Lewis’s concerned a project during the war 7.15pm to look after my experiment octet comprising four pairs of electrons years precisely on that suppression, pre - while I took dinner at the high table in to operate instead as a double quartet, sumably the project in which Morris Emmanuel College, returning directly each of opposite spin and each denoted Sugden was actively involved. afterward to complete the experiment as with a separate symbol. At the conclu - appropriate. sion of the lecture in a vote of thanks to FLASH PHOTOLYSIS He and other assistants made innu - the speaker, Norrish alluded to the Brian also named some notable techni - merable contributions to the success of ‘noughts and crosses’ that were intrinsic cal assistants and mentioned the origin my project. I retain a mercury lamp in that discussion. of flash photolysis after the failure of the designed by Fletcher and Fred Webber Near the end of my first term as assis - experiments with steady photolysis. A and constructed by the latter in fused tant in research after he inherited me few years before the award of the Nobel silica, with an aluminium coating as a from Norrish, Jack Linnett invited me to prize to Norrish and George Porter, one reflector on one side. This enabled me to remain in Cambridge, but I preferred to assistant narrated to me this anecdote. do experiments with milliwatts of elec - return to Canada to continue a career as While those unsuccessful experiments tric power into that lamp that my com - scientist and educator. So far this has were in progress, another assistant petitors in the US, such as Pimentel in resulted in some 200 technical articles (either unnamed or whose name I fail to Berkeley and Jacox and Milligan in NBS and three books from scholarly activities recall) suggested to Porter that he try Washington, could not do with kilo - in locations around the globe. using a flash of light instead. Porter, watts of power in their mercury lamps. J.F. Ogilvie who had been a Research Fellow of That type of lamp requires a ‘stray-field’ Honorary professor of chemistry, Emmanuel College (as I was subse - transformer which, in that era, com - Universidad de Costa Rica

10 Chem@Cam Summer 2011 Chat lines Colloid reminiscences

Dear Editor uum equipment. I had very little money I was fascinated by the photo of the col - so I could not buy a blowtorch. I found loid lab in 1931–32. I was a member of the one belonging to Twigg, who was the lab from 1942–46. I wonder how on holiday but when he got back he was old Frank Henry is, as I am 89? most annoyed. Then there is Eric Rideal, I have two photographs of the lab, and his right hand man, Jack Schulman from 1944 and 1945. The 1945 one next to him recently appeared in Chem@Cam , I think the man on the end is my PhD where I identified everybody in it. supervisor, A.E. Alexander – at least, he Frank Henry’s photo is something of was the only person in the lab who had a a puzzle, as they all look so young. But I toothbrush moustache. He was the will give the following attempt: brother of the commandant of the Back Row. The young man at the end International Brigade that fought Franco looks awfully like a Norwegian, I think he in Spain. He went to Sydney University could be Leif Tronstad who was a legend, after the war and suddenly died of a brain as he died with a team which made an tumour. When I went to New Zealand I attack on the heavy water plant in Norway tried to visit him in Sydney, but I had to Some more names in ?1941, and everybody spoke of it. be satisfied by meeting his widow. The I cannot make out the next two but first man on the floor is Philip George. I Dear Editor the man with the high forehead in the do not recognise the other one. I spent the summer vacations of 1938 middle is A.S.C. Lawrence who was a I am interested in the project to write and 1939 in Rideal’s department as a friend of mine, as he was also a member a history of the period. I went up for a volunteer working with Jack Schulman, of the Communist Party. He was one of scholarship in 1940 and during the and from that experience I think I can my examiners for my PhD after moving chemistry practical a man came up to me identify the following persons in Frank to Imperial College, London. His leg was and asked would I go to his rooms in Henry’s photograph. amputated because he had diabetes. Christ College that evening. It was Dr C.P. In the back row, third from the left Next to him was Hurst, whose Snow, and he told me he was recom - may be the ginger-headed George Christian name I have forgotten. He was mending me for a scholarship. I was very Tuckett. Standing next to him, I’m fairly a very affable friendly fellow. The two surprised as they could not have marked sure is A.S.C. Lawrence, known as Soapy others I do not recognise. the papers yet and I still had not taken Lawrence because of his interest in The front row starts with F.R. Eirich. I mathematics. He left the university soon soaps, who I think went as a professor went to Paris in 1947 and carried out after, and I did not meet him again until to Sheffield. experiments on the flow birefringence he was Minister of Technology in the Sitting, third from the left could well of gelatin gels at the Institut Pasteur. I Government some years later. be Geoffrey Gee, who subsequently wrote it all up as a paper for publication, I was puzzled that so many of Snow’s went to the rubber research place in and during a visit to the lab Eirich novels dealt with scientific fraud. I won - Welwyn Garden City, and on Rideal’s offered to look over it and improve it. It der if anyone encountered any real life other side is Jack Schulman, looking as was my only copy because I had no incidents which might have inspired him? ever like the film actor Ronald Colman. means of copying it in Paris. Not long Sincerely Some of the others do look vaguely after I found he had moved to the US, Vincent Gray familiar, but there is a considerable gap and when I asked him about my paper Wellington, New Zealand between 1932 and my first acquaintance he confessed he had lost it. I was unable with the department, which must have to recover what I had done, apart from a Frank Henry replies: Thanks very much for been in 1937. short note in Nature . including my father’s photo in your Peter Plesch, Northampton Next is Henry himself, and then G.H. newsletter. Vincent Gray’s information is Twigg. I remember him because when I both interesting and helpful, and provides We hope to have Peter’s reminiscences of joined the lab I had to build glass vac - the basis for further research on this topic. his time in Cambridge in the next issue

Physical faces

Dear Editor I was interested by the picture of the physical chemistry department taken in 1958. Though I arrived at Cambridge two years later, in the colloid sciences department, I recognise Professor Norrish in the middle of the front row in the pic - ture. I met Norrish met in the company of Professor S.R. Palit, the distinguished visiting Indian polymer chemist. In the spirit of physical reminiscences, here is a photograph of the colloid sciences group, taken in the academic year 1960–61. I am extreme left in the back row. I remember most of the faces in the picture – and many of the names – and would be interested to see if any of your other readers recog - nise themselves. My own Cambridge chemistry was in 1959–61, when I qualified for my PhD working with Denis Haydon at Free School Lane. I was Denis’s first student at Cambridge. Colloid Sciences in 1961 – can you see yourself? We’d love to hear from you! Yours faithfully, Byomkesh Biswas, Calcutta, India

Chem@Cam Summer 2011 11 Science day Chemistry in action… Flash, bang, wallop, what a picture… Nathan Pitt and Caroline Hancox had their cameras ready to capture the action at this year’s department open day

Once again, on a Saturday in March, the metal block on a solution of caesium for - department threw its doors open to the mate to demonstrate its high density – public – and their children – for the Peter bemoans the lawyers stopping him chemistry contribution to Cambridge floating himself on it! science week. Once again, hundreds of He also demonstrated the incredible schoolchildren and their parents flocked energy for the reaction between sodium to the department to find out more about and sulfur. ‘My demonstration was a very chemistry, and how much fun it can be. violent explosion, but this reaction has As always, Peter Wothers’ demonstra - been used to generate the electricity for a tion lecture drew huge crowds. This year, whole town!’ he says. it was entitled, ‘The Wothers Guide to the The kids could also get their hands on Periodic Table – Group 1, the alkali met - fun chemistry experiments, from extract - als’. As Peter says, ‘It’s not as catchy as ing DNA and liquid nitrogen ice cream, some of the titles I’ve had in the past – to the messy loveliness of blue goo and but it pretty much says what it is!’ the cornflour slime tank. It gave plenty of opportunity for flashes Our grateful thanks once again go to and bangs alongside the educational bits. everyone in the department who made For example, he compared the reactivities the day possible, in particular Emma of each alkali metal with water, by adding Graham and Emma Powney, and the 10ml of water to the same molar quantity Walters Kundert Charitable Trust for its of each metal in side. He also floated a generous support.

12 Chem@Cam Summer 2011 www.ch.cam.ac.uk

Chem@Cam Summer 2011 13 Chat lines Joining Tim in a leaving beer (or three) Technician Tim Layt, who had been drink in hand over the years, so it working in the department for 23 years, seemed rude not to bid him a fond left us in July. He married former farewell with another suitably beery pic- department receptionist Kirsten Schole- ture. Actually, now Chem@Cam comes field a couple of years ago. She’s a New to think of it, she’s struggling to Zealander and the pair have headed off remember seeing a photo of Tim with- for a new life in her homeland. out a drink in his hand! Regular readers of Chem@Cam will Tim, we hope you find the beer is to recall seeing many photos of Tim with your taste down under…

A retiring pair… Comings & goings Leavers Tim Layt John Sendall Christine Wilson

Retired Liz Alan Vicky Spring x o

New staff c n a

Jasper Canty H

e

March Davies n i l o

Daphne Kaufhold r a C

Helen Johnson : o Gabriella t o

Bocchetti h P

Another departure was Christine We recently said ‘farewell’ to two long- Wilson, who serving members of the department on moved on in July. their retirements. Vicky Spring retired She’d been in the after 26 years in chemistry, where she department for six worked in the reprographics depart - years as assistant ment, printing theses, lecture notes and academic secretary, all manner of other jobs. She’s pictured looking after the above with photography colleagues past welfare and and present – from the left Nathan Pitt, training of research personnel. Caroline Hancox, Vicky, John Holman Somehow we don’t t t and Eric Smith. i

think her desk P

n

Also sailing off into the retirement usually looked a h t

sunset was Liz Alan, who had been the quite like this! a N

:

head of department’s secretary for a o t o

decade – working first for Jeremy h Sanders and then Bill Jones. She’s pic - P tured below with both of her ex-bosses. We wish both Vicky and Liz a happy retirement – and we’re sure we’ll be Also leaving us – albeit only seeing them at department social events temporarily – is in the future! Clare Rutterford from reception. As you can probably guess from the photo on the right (posing with her reception colleagues Emma Graham and Sheila Bateman),

x she’s off on o c maternity leave. n t a t i

H The bump turned P

e n n

i into a baby boy as a l h o t r Chem@Cam went a a N C

:

: to press – look out o o t t o

o for a photo in the h h P P next issue!

14 Chem@Cam Summer 2011 Puzzle corner

Last issue’s solutions Shakespearean elements Thanks to the wonders of the internet This issue’s puzzles ChemDoku facilitating the search for obscure facts, Once again we had plenty of correct we had quite a few correct answers to Elementary dice ChemDoku entries. These came from David Wilson’s puzzle. They came from Here’s another little something from Graham Quartly… Andrew Milner, Nick Broughton, Robin from John Carpenter, Bill Collier, Roger Professor Haddock had an unusual way of deciding which Foster, Steve Sunderland, Tony Pike (who Duffett, Asha Boodhun, Annette Quartly, chemistry practical to work on; he had some dice made with says that in 1947 he met a young lady John Wilkins, Pat Lamont Smith, Godfrey the symbols for various chemical ele - from Homerton – he was at Downing – Chinchen, Sarah Taylor, Steve Sunderland ments on the faces. However, with two of and they celebrate their diamond wed - and Robin Foster. The first name to them (pictured), he noted that which S ding anniversary in September with a emerge from the bag was Robin Foster. ever way they landed, a word could be luncheon at Downing – congratulations And the answers? Othello wanted to found reading consecutively around the H from us!), Jim Dunn, A.J. Wilkinson, be roasted in sulfur, King Lear’s tears four vertical faces. B Helen Stokes, Audrey Herbert, John scalded like molten lead, the Prince of Given that the dice shown used the Turnbull, Godfrey Chinchen, Pat Lamont Morocco chose the golden casket, Henry standard symbols for elements between

Smith, John Wilkins, Annette Quartly, V’s English soldiers ate great meals of hydrogen and copernicium, and have no S Mark Alderton, Tom Banfield, Tim iron, Cleopatra’s oars were made of sil - repeats other than the ‘sulfur’ at the top, Dickens, Morgan Morgan, Diana ver, and Brutus (of Julius Caesar fame) what are the hidden elements on each I Sandford, David Wilson, Bill Collier had the elements so mixed in him that die? All words are UK English and involve Se (who says he’s new to computing and is nature might say ‘This was a man.’ no place names or proper nouns. struggling to produce a 9x9 grid that will allow him to type in the chemical Anyone for Bletchley Park? ChemDoku symbols – don’t worry, Bill, it made per - The solution is ‘fractional distillation’, and £20 prizes are fect sense with just the elements!), the code was cracked – not always the sim - As S Hg on offer for Richard Chambers, Donald Stedman, plest way, and one a total guess – by Finian Ag P Au each puzzle. Frank Henry, Grant Buchanan, John Leeper, Pat Lamont Smith, John Carpenter, Send entries by Blasdale, Sarah Taylor, Alison Griffin (has Graham Quartly and Gwen Dawes. And the Au P Zn email to [email protected] your prize from last time turned up yet? prize goes to John Carpenter. Ag Ni Let Chem@Cam know if not and we’ll or by snail mail send you another) and John Carpenter. Life on a buckyball, redux S Au to Chem@Cam, And a $ equivalent to the £20 prize is Having reopened Graham Quartly’s spider- Department of Co Hg winging its way from Chem@Cam ’s on-a-buckyball puzzle, we got a handful Chemistry, University of shiny new dollar cheque (or should that more entries, and this time five correctly As Ni Co be check?) book to Donald Stedman in identified that there were six routes, each Cambridge, Denver, who was first out of the nine rods long, and the longest possible P Zn S Lensfield Road, Cambridge, metaphorical hat (actually a John Lewis path 60 units. The correct five were Ag PS carrier bag – Chem@Cam ’s dad used to Richard Chambers, John Blasdale, Tom CB2 1EW wear a plastic bag as a hat when it rained Banfield, David Wilson and Richard Butler. No MEN allowed in this issue’s ChemDoku… but can any when she was little, but she doesn’t think John Blasdale’s entry emerged first and he eagle-eyed readers tell us why? Solutions (with or without she’ll be following his sartorial lead!). gets the delayed prize. Congratulations! explanation) to the usual address. The Corporate Associates Scheme Arecor Thanks to the generosity of the depart - I Access to emerging Cambridge F. Hoffmann-La Roche Astex Therapeutics ment’s Corporate Associates, we have research via conferences, special brief - GlaxoSmithKline been able to benefit the education and ings and various publications; AstraZeneca environment for students and staff. For I Access to the department library Heptares Therapeutics AstraZeneca Cambridge – example, the Associates make significant and photocopying/printing facilities; IDBS Medimmune contributions to the library for journal I Regular communications about subscriptions. Moreover, they provide upcoming events and colloquia; Illumina Asynt exam prizes, faculty teaching awards I Subscriptions to department publi - Johnson Matthey Catalysts Biotica Technology and summer studentships, and have cations, including Chem@Cam; recently funded the refurbishment of a I Priority notification of and free Maruzen International Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma state-of-the-art meeting room with tele - access to departmental research lectures; I Merck, Sharp & Dohme BP conferencing and display facilities. Ability to hold ‘Welcome Stalls’ in Research Laboratories BP Institute Corporate Associate membership not the department entrance hall; only provides essential support for the I Preferential conference rates; Novartis Bristol-Myers Squibb I department, but also provides numer - Free access to the teaching lectures Pfizer Cambridge Biotechnology ous benefits to help members work with held within the department; us and achieve their business objectives. I The full services of the Corporate Procter & Gamble Cambridge Display Technology Members enjoy many benefits through Relations team to facilitate interaction Royal Society of Chemistry Cambridge Medical Innovations their enhanced partnership with the with students, staff, and other parts of department, such as: the University of Cambridge to help Sigma-Aldrich CambridgeSoft I Visibility within the department; achieve your corporate objectives. Chemical Computing Group I A dedicated meeting room and If your organisation would be inter - Society for Chemical Industry Cornelius Specialties office for members to use while visiting ested in joining the Corporate Associates Takeda Cambridge the department; Scheme, then please email Sian Bunnage Dr Reddy’s Custom I Invitations to recognition days and at [email protected], or call Unilever Pharmaceutical Services networking events at the department; 01223 336339. Uniqsis

Chem@Cam Summer 2011 15 When I asked you to study the solid –liquid interface, that wasn’t quite what I meant

Chem@Cam is written, edited and produced

by S ARAH H OULTON

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