Issue 7 bristol.ac.uk/chemistry MAKING MOLECULES PLUS: WITH LIGHT BLUECRYSTAL 4: HOW A START-UP COMPANY BRISTOL’S SUPERCOMPUTER IS DOING GROUNDBREAKING HERBILICIOUS: WORK AT BRISTOL THE SCIENCE OF ROSEMARY In this issue... Welcome News Here at Bristol we’re Scientist elected to Royal Society 03 looking forward to Upfest, Lessons from the past, Science in action 04 another exciting Celebrating success, Outreach 2016–17 05 year in the School of Chemistry. In this issue Features we give you a taste Bristol Laser Spectroscopy research 06 of the latest stories Students take on air pollution 07 and successes we’re Where are they now? 08 building upon. Molecules made with light 10 Continuing the School’s award- From toxic waste to green matter 11 winning streak, staff and students have BlueCrystal 4 supercomputer 12 been recognised for their outstanding Picture It… 14 achievements, with some travelling all Inside View: Simon Osborne 15 the way to Canada to celebrate with their peers, while others have shared their 10 14 knowledge with schools closer to home during Bristol’s science festival season. Our industry connections go from strength to strength, with a new start-up company that’s working with pharma, a multi-million pound extension to Bristol's supercomputing facility, and insights from our long-term partnership with local company Edwards. Last but by no means least, turn to the feature on our technical manager Simon Osborne, who makes sure that University of Bristol Production Editor Steve O’Brien School of Chemistry Art Editor Elaine Knight-Roberts everything works in the building and a Cantock’s Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, UK Editorial Director Dan Linstead Account Manager Clair Atkins Tel +44 (0)117 928 8201 With thanks to Chris Adams, Kevin Booker-Milburn, great deal more besides. Web bris.ac.uk/chemistry Becky Boston, Melanie Busby, Michael Clegg, Mike As ever, there’s so much more going Email [email protected] Czerniak, Harvey Dale, Natalie Fey, John Finnigan, Claudia Hallam, Rebecca Ingle, Sarah Lowe, Maev Moran, Ikenna To find out more about our courses and programmes, on than we can manage to fit in here. Ndukwe, Sofia Oliveira, Andrew Orr-Ewing, Sam Pearce, visit: bris.ac.uk/study Michaela Reay, Josh Turner, Piotr Wolanin, Clare Westlake Visit our website and Facebook pages to and Christopher Woods Chemistry Explored is produced in association with Freelance Writer & Communications Consultant Immediate Media Branded Content, Tower House, learn more: bris.ac.uk/chemistry/ and Aliya Mughal Fairfax Street, Bristol BS1 3BN Unless otherwise indicated, copyright in this publication belongs to facebook.com/bristolchemistry Tel +44 (0)117 927 9009 the University of Bristol. Views expressed in Chemistry Explored do not necessarily reflect those of the University. The Editor reserves the right to edit Web immediatecontent.co.uk contributions received. While care is taken to ensure accuracy of information, this cannot be guaranteed. Printed in the UK by William Gibbons. Cover photograph Adam Gasson Your say We want to hear from you! If you’ve anything you want to Professor Nick Norman tell us about your experiences at Bristol University, or if Head of the School you have any thoughts about Chemistry Explored, then of Chemistry please email us at [email protected]. 02 Chemistry Explored // Issue 7 updateThe latest news from the School of Chemistry PRIZE-WINNING 5 FACTS SCIENTIST ABOUT THE ROYAL ELECTED TO SOCIETY The Royal Society is the world’s 1 oldest scientific academy in ROYAL SOCIETY continuous existence. Hats off to Professor Andrew Orr-Ewing! Dating back to 1660, the 2Society now has a fellowship of some 1,600 scientists. One of Chemistry’s most successful using different types of lasers to study Famous members have researchers has been elected a Fellow of chemical reactivity, atmospheric chemistry 3included Isaac Newton, Charles the Royal Society in recognition for his and optical properties of aerosol particles. Darwin, Dorothy Hodgkin, Michael outstanding contribution to science. One of his core specialisms involves the Faraday, Stephen Hawking, Sally Professor Andrew Orr-Ewing is now use of ultrafast laser spectroscopy, which Davies, Anne Neville and Richard the sixth current member of Chemistry allows scientists to study the dynamics of Dawkins. to become an FRS, joining history’s chemical reactivity in liquids, solutions and The first women Fellows most celebrated scientists, engineers and gases on extremely short timescales. 4 were elected in 1945. They technologists from across the UK and Professor Orr-Ewing began his scientific were crystallographer Kathleen the Commonwealth. life at the University of Oxford where Lonsdale and biochemist Marjory This latest accolade comes in a long he obtained his BA and MA degrees in Stephenson. line of achievements for Professor Orr- Chemistry before embarking on his DPhil. Since 1967, the society has Ewing who has previously won the After two years of 5 been based at 6–9 Carlton Royal Society of Chemistry’s Harrison postdoctoral study at House Terrace in Central London. Memorial Prize, Marlow Medal and Stanford University, Prize, Tilden Prize and awards in Optical he returned to Spectroscopy and Chemical Dynamics; he the UK to join is also a Royal Society Wolfson Research the University of Merit Award recipient. Bristol in 1994 and These awards, and now election as an has been here ever FRS, testify to Professor Orr-Ewing’s since. contributions to the study of fundamental mechanisms of chemical reactions. He is especially renowned across the world for Chemistry Explored // Issue 7 03 UPDATE A splash of colour Upfest is Europe’s largest street art festival From 28–30 July, the city of Bristol was transformed into one giant canvas for Upfest, Europe’s largest street art festival. With over 300 artists performing live painting of subway cars, boards and buildings, Upfest was an excellent celebration of the diversity and talent of both local and international street artists. The event wasn’t just about showcasing art though, with a team of volunteers from the University of Bristol and the local Royal Society of Chemistry division, showing that where there’s paint, there’s chemistry. While artists were busy spray painting walls, volunteers were helping children make up different paints and learn how to mix pigments and chemicals to achieve various effects. Members of the public had a go at stencilling designs with some rather lively paint that went off with a ‘fizz’ when it got wet. The chance to try some chemical investigations of marker and felt pens with chromatography also proved popular. Overall, the event was a huge success with adults and children alike having the chance to better understand the importance of chemistry in art and get very messy in the process! Science LESSONS FROM in action Students come out for THE PAST the Salters’ Festival The Festival of Nature took place in Bristol in June A murder mystery and a school’s version of University Challenge were Sometimes the old methods are the best, as Chemistry volunteers discovered when they among the events put on for more turned to coloured pens, water and filter paper to demonstrate the principles of high-end than 100 Year 7 and Year 8 pupils scientific techniques at the Festival of Nature. from 27 schools across Bristol as part In turn, schoolchildren and other festival-goers discovered how analytical chemistry of this year’s Salters’ Festival. is used to understand the nature of ancient civilisations, past climates, prehistoric farming Supported by the Salters’ Institute, and Egyptian mummification. the festival has been running at the Volunteers from Bristol’s Organic Geochemistry Unit joined fellow exhibitors from University for more than 15 years, the University, Bristol Zoo Gardens, inspiring the next generation of Natural England and the BBC, opening scientists with a host of practical and people’s eyes to the wonders of science. engaging activities and workshops. Some of the ideas brought to life This year’s event included the by the exhibitors included the use of Salters' Challenge, which saw pupils chromatography, mass spectrometry and putting their analytical chemistry skills measuring isotope ratios, all of which are to use by trying to identify the prime used by students and researchers in Bristol’s suspect in a fictional crime, while the labs to help improve our understanding of popular University Challenge set- everything from archaeology to forensics. up inspired a series of quantitative The Festival of Nature is the UK’s largest chemistry investigations. celebration of the natural world, organised by the Bristol Natural History Museum. 04 Chemistry Explored // Issue 7 UPDATE CELEBRATING OUTREACH SUCCESS 2016–17 AT It’s a win for John Finnegan, Sam Pearce and Josh Turner A GLANCE The Bristol ChemLabS Three of Chemistry’s PhD students on ‘Two Dimensional Functional programme seeks to found themselves in Toronto this Nanostructures Through the summer, winning awards for their Self-Assembly of Charge- engage with teachers, outstanding contributions whilst Terminated Crystallizable schools and students… also learning about the work of Homopolymers’. their peers. Josh was one of eight winners PRIMARY OUTREACH Sam Pearce, John Finnegan out of 150 contenders for the poster and Josh Turner were among prize, earning himself a C$50 cash chemists from all over the world who prize and textbook, for his display on , attended the 100th Annual Canadian ‘Dehydrocoupling of Amine-Boranes 17 266 Conference and Exhibition. by Iron: The Role of Amine-Borane- Primary School pupils were Sam was one of five to win Complexes’. engaged in Outreach Events C$100 and a certificate as part John won the Xerox prize for a of the graduate oral presentation graduate talk in the Macromolecular competition. His talk focused Science and Engineering Division.