WestCHEM News
WestCHEM - part of the "Northern Lights" in Chemistry
3 June 2009
A recent article "Northern Lights" in the RSC magazine Chemistry World features the prominent role that Chemistry research pooling in Scotland plays in the Chemical Sciences sector in Scotland, and as part of the Chemical Sciences Scotland (CSS) partnership.
WestCHEM, the Research School in Chemistry of the Universities of Glasgow and Strathclyde, is a ScotCHEM partner, and WestCHEM members play a significant role in CSS.Wolfson Merit Award for Professor Mulvey
3 June 2009
Congratulations to Professor Robert E Mulvey, Head of Inorganic Chemistry in the Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, University of Strathclyde, who has won a prestigious Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award.
The award is given to outstanding and respected scientists with the aim of recruiting and retaining their expertise for the UK. Only around 25 of these awards are made each year.
This award will help Professor Mulvey take forward his innovative research into the combination of metals for new chemical, biological, medicinal, and pharmaceutical applications. It will also enable him to carry out outreach work to promote public understanding of science.
Professor Jim McDonald, Principal of the University, said: "Robert Mulvey has a long and successful track record at Strathclyde of groundbreaking research. His award from the Royal Society is a fitting testament to the quality of his research and a fantastic achievement for him, as well as Strathclyde as a whole."
View University of Strathclyde Press Release.
Corday-Morgan Medal for Professor Graham
3 June 2009
Congratulations to Professor Duncan Graham, Head of Research in the Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, University of Strathclyde, who has recently been awarded the Corday-Morgan Medal by the RSC.
Duncan was awarded this "for outstanding and pioneering contributions to nanometrology in support of molecular manipulation and chemical and biological systems".
Harrison-Meldola Memorial Prize and Medal for Dr Hevia
3 June 2009
Congratulations also go to Dr Eva Hevia, of the Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, University of Strathclyde, who has been awarded the prestigious Harrison-Meldola Memorial Prize and Medal from the RSC.
This prize is awarded for "the most meritorious and promising original investigations in chemistry and published results of those investigations".
Eva's research is in the area of main group and organometallic chemistry.
Distinction for WestCHEM Professors
16 March 2009
Two Professors in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Glasgow have been elected as Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
Professor J Stephen Clark FRSE, WestCHEM Chair of Organic Synthesis, and Professor Lee Cronin FRSE, Professor of Chemistry, appear on the latest list of 44 Fellows announced by the Society.
The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's most prestigious learned society, and each year elects new members from across the sciences, arts, humanities, professions, industry and commerce to its Fellowship, following a rigorous peer-election process.
Dramatic rise for WestCHEM in RAE ratings – 70% of researchers rated Internationally excellent.
18 December 2008
The exciting results from the UK-wide Research Assessment Exercise clearly show that chemistry research in the city of Glasgow is flourishing!
WestCHEM, the joint research school formed by Glasgow and Strathclyde Universities as part of the Scottish pooling initiative, has been a phenomenal success in advancing chemistry research in the West of Scotland.
The improvement in performance from the last RAE in 2001 has been dramatic, with an unparalleled rise up the rankings reflecting the position of WestCHEM as a world respected research school, now ranked in the top 15 in the UK by GPA and when the quality relative to numbers of staff returned is taken into account (the power weighting) then WestCHEM is ranked 8th.
70% of the researchers in WestCHEM were rated at 3* or above indicating the international leadership and quality of our research portfolio.
Substantial investment in world-class researchers and top quality equipment and facilities has been crucial in achieving this success.
Both Universities are strongly committed to the pioneering research school and believe it will continue to enhance its position on the world stage following the highly encouraging outcome of the RAE.
WestCHEM Achievements since 2001
Notable highlights for WestCHEM over the last seven years include:
- The election as FRS of two WestCHEM members of longstanding (Professor Laurance D Barron FRS and Professor David C Sherrington FRS) for pioneering work in their respective fields of spectroscopy and polymers
- Numerous individual awards to staff for highly significant breakthroughs in their respective areas
- WestCHEM being the largest current publisher of chemical research in Scotland per head returned in the RAE, attracting increasingly large numbers of citations
- A unique position in terms of winning capability building awards in chemistry from the main funding bodies (including EPSRC, SFC, CRUK) to the tune of £10M
- Actively promoting interdisciplinary research taking chemistry and its central position within the sciences into other fields including materials, engineering, life sciences and medicine
- Demonstration of this interdisciplinarity by the award of Young Life Scientist of the Year to two of its members.
The RAE success is testament to the hard work of many in WestCHEM and its leadership from within the partner Departments.
Current Director Professor Chick Wilson commented
This is a fantastic result for WestCHEM and we are overjoyed that the research excellence of Chemistry in the West of Scotland has been recognised through review by our peers.
The successful outcome reflects outstanding leadership within WestCHEM since its inception, and the work of my predecessor John Murphy in heading this submission to RAE2008 as Director.
We look forward to building on this success in partnership with our Universities, whose support in making WestCHEM a success has been invaluable.
We are proud to be part of such a successful Chemistry Research School.
Deputy Director Professor Duncan Graham added,
This is a phenomenal result for WestCHEM; our rise up the rankings is little less than meteoric in such a competitive environment and we look forward to WestCHEM becoming the premier chemical research school in a range of our areas of strength.
We eagerly await the introduction of the Research Excellence Framework to help benchmark our continuing achievements and are aiming high in terms of international competitiveness.
WestCHEM
The WestCHEM Research School brings together the strengths of the two major chemistry research schools in the West of Scotland, to offer an outstanding facility for world-leading research in a large, diverse and expanding chemistry research environment.
Established in July 2005, and funded under a Scottish Funding Council initiative supported by the partner Universities, the School absorbs the research activities of the Departments of Chemistry at the Universities of Strathclyde and Glasgow, in the city of Glasgow.
It provides the vehicle for a sustainable internationally excellent Research School in Chemical Sciences, and operates both in the core areas of Chemistry and at interfaces with biological, medicinal, physical and materials sciences; one early success of the School is the recent funding of a £4.4M national Centre for Physical Organic Chemistry, a partnership of WestCHEM with the Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biological Sciences.
The WestCHEM Research School encompasses a critical mass of academic researchers in the partner Departments; this critical mass allows WestCHEM to encompass the full range of contemporary chemical research.
The WestCHEM graduate School currently comprises more than 220 PhD research students, reflecting the vibrancy of our research environment.
The WestCHEM investment has helped provide state-of-the-art laboratories and facilities, as well as allowing the recruitment of world-leading academics into the Chair positions created as part of the pooling initiative.
The Universities of Glasgow and Strathclyde continue to support WestCHEM strongly in pursuit of its mission of international excellence in chemical research.
Current capital investments totalling around £5M underpin this support and offer the continued development of infrastructure within which this academic research excellence, evidenced by the RAE outcome, can continue to thrive.
WestCHEM Graduate School grows to over 200 PhD students
The growth in the WestCHEM graduate school has continued.
Following its increase in size from around 150 in 2005, to almost 200 in 2007/8, the intake in 2008/9 amounts to almost 100 taking the graduate school to an all time high of around 220 PhD students.
Recruitment to the Graduate School for 2009 will begin shortly.
Professor Rein Ulijn appointed to WestCHEM Chair
21 September 2008
We are pleased to announce that Rein Ulijn has been appointed to a WestCHEM chair in the Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, University of Strathclyde. Prof Ulijn gained his PhD in Physical Chemistry from Strathclyde in 2001, after which he spent time at the Universities of Edinburgh and Manchester.
The work in Professor Ulijn's group is focused on biomolecular nanotechnology. His group are developing new synthetic materials and systems that are inspired by biology and have unique properties, such as adaptability, molecular recognition and programmability. These properties open up exciting new applications in wide ranging areas ranging from biomedicine to nanotechnology.
Prof Ulijn's research is funded by grants worth in excess of £3.5M from research councils, industry and charities. He is the holder of an EPSRC Advanced Research Fellowship, Leverhulme Trust Leadership Award and was awarded the 2007 Macrogroup Young Researcher's Medal.
Professor Ulijn returns to Glasgow with his wife and two-year old son. He said: "It is an exciting time to come back with ongoing changes and ambitious plans for the future of the University and Department, including formation of WestCHEM. I am delighted to be back."
Recruited from the University of Manchester to fill the final WestCHEM Chair position, Rein brings to WestCHEM expertise in functional biomaterials, along with a large research group and a diverse portfolio of funding from research grants and industrial income.
Rein joined WestCHEM in September 2008.
GCPOC to host SymPOC in April 2009
The Glasgow Centre for Physical Organic Chemistry has the pleasure to host the UK Symposium on Physical Organic Chemistry (SymPOC), from 7-9 April 2009, at the Univesity of Strathclyde.
WestCHEM spin-out moves into new premises
The D3 Technologies spin-out from WestCHEM has now moved into purpose built premises in Glasgow and employs 15 full time staff carrying out its work in using Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) for trace level detection.
WestCHEM heavily engaged in organisation and programme for IUPAC2009, Glasgow
WestCHEM members are playing a major role in organisation of the scientific programmes for the forthcoming 42nd IUPAC World Chemistry Congress, to be held at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC), Glasgow, in August 2009.
Among the many involvements of WestCHEM members, Professor Duncan Graham is chairing the Theme on Analysis and Detection, while Professors Pete Skabara and Duncan Gregory are chairing the Materials Theme, including MC9.
Twelve SPIRIT students for WestCHEM
The participation of WestCHEM in the ScotCHEM/Chemical Sciences Scotland SPIRIT studentship scheme has resulted in 12 academic-industrial collaborative studentships being awarded to WestCHEM, funded by SFC and the Universities.
New WestCHEM Directorate
Prof John Murphy completed his 2-year term as WestCHEM Director in July 2008; Chick Wilson and Duncan Graham were appointed as the WestCHEM Directorate as of 1 August 2008.
Glasgow Centre for Physical Organic Chemistry takes shape
Directed by Professor John Murphy, the Glasgow Centre of Physical Organic Chemistry (GCPOC) has gained momentum in 2008.
A partnership between WestCHEM and the Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences (SIPBS), GCPOC has been set up under a £4.4M Science and Innovation Award from EPSRC and SFC and creates a critical mass in Physical Organic Chemistry to operate at the international leading-edge in chemical research.
Three lectureship appointments have been made to GCPOC Dr Götz Bucher (Lecturer in Physical Organic Chemistry), Dr Tell Tuttle (Lecturer in Physical Organic Chemistry), Dr Alastair Wark (Lecturer in Nanometrology), and the Centre has attracted additional studentship finding this year from Schering Plough-Organon and AZ.
Adrien Albert Lectureship Award for Professor Colin Suckling
19 August 2008
Professor Colin Suckling, Department of Pure & Applied Chemistry, University of Strathclyde, has recently been announced as the winner of the 2009/10 Adrien Albert Lectureship.
Originating from a bequest to the RSC by the late Professor Adrien Albert, formerly Professor of Chemistry at the Australian National University, Canberra, this lectureship is awarded every two years by the Royal Society of Chemistry. The lecture deals with the relationship between heterocyclic chemistry and biological activity and goes together with a silver medal.
Professor Suckling joins other distinguished winners such including Professor Robin Ganellin, one of the discoverers of the revolutionary drug for the treatment of stomach ulcers, cimetidine, Professor Malcolm Stevens, who has made a major contribution to cancer chemotherapy, and from the USA one of our own Wyeth Lecturers, Professor Dale Boger.
Professor Suckling's career in biological and medicinal chemistry has spanned three decades with a variety of roles at the University of Strathclyde, from teaching to academic management, in his former position as Vice Principal. Together with colleagues in the 1970s, Professor Suckling was one of the first to emphasise the symbiosis of chemistry and biology. Pursuing this interaction, recent research has created genuine therapeutic opportunities for the treatment of antibacterial and antifungal infections, cardiovascular disorders, and antischizophrenic and neuroprotective compounds some of which, including pteridines, have proven in vivo activity and favourable toxicological profiles.
A pioneer in his field, his work has included the commercialisation of the pure form of Leucovorin, a drug now used across Europe in the treatment of colo-rectal cancers. To date, the technology has earned around £6 million in royalties for the University.
Professor Suckling said:
"I was both honoured and surprised to learn of the recognition of our work through the Adrien Albert Lectureship. Adrien Albert was a seminal figure in the development of medicinal chemistry and it will be exciting to present our recent work in the Lecture in the light of his contributions."
Second WestCHEM Research Day
The Second WestCHEM Research Day was held in May 2008, with a range of high quality presentations from postgraduates, members of the WestCHEM Graduate School.
WestCHEM hosts ScotCHEM Symposium
WestCHEM hosted the second ScotCHEM Computational Chemistry Symposium, April 2008, chaired by Professor John McGrady.
Senior Appointments for WestCHEM Directors
WestCHEM Director Chick Wilson has been reappointed as Deputy Chair of the STFC Science Advisory Committee for Physical and Life Sciences; this secondment involves Chick in advising the STFC research council on the provision of large-scale facilities for UK users of neutrons, synchrotrons and lasers.
Deputy Director Duncan Graham has been appointed to the Royal Society’s prestigious Newton Fellowships panel.
Outstanding chemist wins Philip Leverhulme Prize
10 December 2007
University of Glasgow Professor of Chemistry Lee Cronin has won a £70,000 Philip Leverhulme Prize for his internationally recognised work in nano-chemistry and molecular engineering.
The prestigious Philip Leverhulme Prizes are awarded annually to outstanding scholars, normally under the age of 36, who have made a substantial and recognised contribution to their particular field of study, recognised at an international level, and whose future contributions are held to be of correspondingly high promise.
Professor Cronin plans to use the prize to part-finance a student and for study visits to nanotechnology groups in Japan and the USA.
Professor Cronin's work focuses on engineering molecular architectures using self assembly at the sub-nano/nano scale, a scale that is 80,000 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair.
At this scale it is impossible to design objects atom by atom. However, by using directed self assembly (when the object builds itself), scientists can design new materials atom by atom using a chemical mould which transfers the shape of the "designed" mould onto some atomic building blocks.
Combining this approach with the engineering approach used to fabricate microprocessors promises ultimately to allow the design of molecular computers and machines.
FRS Honour for Professor David Sherrington
23 May 2007
Congratulations to Professor David Sherrington, prominent member of WestCHEM, who was recently elected to Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS).
The Society's citation reads as follows:
Professor David Colin Sherrington
Professor of Polymer Chemistry, WestCHEM Graduate School of Chemistry, Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, University of Strathclyde
Professor David Sherrington has made a unique contribution to organic and polymer chemistry. His development of polymer-supported reagents, catalysts and sorbents has considerably facilitated the practicability of synthesis in the laboratory, and aided the introduction of high throughput robotic techniques in industry. In parallel with this he has brought modern organic chemistry to bear in developing novel polymers.
Further information:
£4.4M Science and Innovation Award in Physical Organic Chemistry won by WestCHEM and SIPBS partnership
A £4.4 million partnership is to be set up by the Universities of Strathclyde and Glasgow to boost world class research in chemistry and drug discovery.
The EPSRC awarded the partnership £2.5 million from its Science and Innovation Awards.
£1.06 million has been awarded from the Scottish Funding Council (SFC), and the remaining funds are from the universities.
Additional funding will be provided by industry partners
WestCHEM will join forces with the Strathclyde Institute for Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences (SIPBS) to advance understanding and technology in Physical Organic Chemistry.
The cash boost will help to fund 26 new research posts over the next 5 years, as well as equipment and infrastructure.
Areas of multi-disciplinary research will include:
- Drug discovery and development, including investigations into the behaviour of molecules in liquids and solids to improve drug solubility and the delivery of medicines into the body
- Pioneering technology and understanding of nanomolecular-science - the science of the very, very small - particularly looking at how molecules behave in current electronic devices and those of the future
- Improving chemical reactions and pioneering greener and more efficient catalysts for a range of industries including electronics and pharmaceuticals
Professor John Murphy, Director of WestCHEM, said: "This new collaboration will offer a tremendous boost to chemistry and drug discovery, and will help ensure the West of Scotland remains at the forefront of international research. We are pleased that, from the start, this partnership will feature extensive interaction with and additional funding by industry.
"Physical Organic Chemistry plays a pivotal role in the UK's economy and is at the heart of the chemicals and pharmaceuticals industries. By pooling our research capabilities and expertise, we can bring real benefits not only to chemistry and industry, but to society."
Professor Chick Wilson, Deputy Director of WestCHEM added: "This exciting initiative will underpin an interdisciplinary approach to molecular sciences around the central framework of the partnership in Physical Organic Chemistry.
"This area is particularly relevant to modern chemistry, unifying synthesis and characterisation in the development and understanding of new functional molecular materials."
Professor Graham Coombs, Head of the Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences (SIPBS), said: "This is an exciting opportunity to build on our proud record of drug discovery and development. By expanding our knowledge and understanding of drugs, we can improve treatments for the illnesses of the 21st Century."
For more information, contact:
- Professor John Murphy, WestCHEM, University of Strathclyde, T: 0141 548 2389
- Kat Ferguson, Press Office, University of Strathclyde, T: 0141 548 4123
- Professor Chick Wilson, WestCHEM, University of Glasgow, T: 0141 330 8522
- Martin Shannon, Corporate Communications, University of Glasgow, T: 0141 330 8593
Nexxus Prizes for WestCHEM Professors
15 December 2006
Congratulations to Professor Lee Cronin for his recent award as Nexxus Young Scientist of the Year 2006 at a ceremony in Glasgow City Chambers on November 13.
The ceremonies also featured a Nexxus Lifetime Achievement Award to Professor Neil Graham.
The Nexxus Press Release contained the following profiles:
Professor Lee Cronin
Since arriving in Glasgow in 2002, Professor Lee Cronin has established a world leading research group with an international reputation, resulting in over 80 publications to date.
His work includes a range of very high profile publications that have been covered in the media and his achievements were recognised this year by promotion to Professor at the tender age of 32.
Professor Cronin's portfolio of work is impressive in the way that it combines a number of diverse disciplines relevant to modern life sciences.
A combination of heterocyclic chemistry, chemical-biology and nanotechnology has led to discoveries that are likely to have applications in identifying new anti-cancer drugs and designing new diagnostic devices.
Professor Neil Graham
Professor Neil Graham is Emeritus Professor of Pure and Applied Chemistry at the University of Strathclyde, having previously been Head of Polymer Chemistry at ICI.
There, he led the ICI team that initiated the composite light-cured dental filling which most people have in their mouths as a preferred alternative to mercury amalgam.
Throughout his career he has been the recipient of numerous awards and fellowships. His work in polymer chemistry, particularly in applications in drug delivery have had significant impact in both academic and commercial spheres - 100 publications and 80 patents testify to the importance of his work.
In addition, the founding of Polysystems Limited in 1980 led to the creation of two successful companies, Controlled Therapeutics (Scotland) Ltd and The Core Group (now part of CeNeS Ltd).
More recently he was responsible for starting two emergent young companies, Smart Tech Ltd and Ocutec Ltd.
Professor Graham is a perfect example of that blend of highly innovative academic and highly successful entrepreneur the life science industry needs.
Professor Lee Cronin wins prize in the 2006 European Young Chemist Award competition
15 December 2006
Congratulations are also due to Professor Lee Cronin for his award at the European Chemistry Congress in Budapest. Lee was awarded 2nd prize in the 2006 European Young Chemist Award competition.
"The award was intended to showcase and recognize the excellent research being carried out by young scientists working in the chemical sciences", explained Bruno Pignataro, chemistry professor at the University of Palermo, Italy.
He organized the competition, which was sponsored by the Italian Chemical Society in conjunction with other European chemical societies.
Almost 120 chemists, all of whom participated in the Budapest congress and were under 34 years old, entered the competition.
The award was open not just to chemists working in Europe but also to European chemists working outside the European Union.
The 14 finalists made short presentations of their research during the congress. Jonathan Nitschke, an organic chemist at the University of Geneva, Switzerland, won first prize, which consisted of $2,280, a certificate, and a gold medal with the EuCheMS logo.
His group is developing techniques based on the simultaneous formation of covalent and coordinative bonds during the course of a single overall self-assembly process.
Two second prizes, each consisting of $1,020, a certificate, and a silver medal with the EuCheMS logo, went to Lee Cronin, a chemistry professor in WestCHEM at the University of Glasgow in Scotland, and Javier García-Martínez, who leads the molecular nanotechnology group at the University of Alicante in Spain.
In his presentation at the congress, Cronin outlined his recent research on the supramolecular self-assembly of polyoxometalate clusters.
García-Martínez described his work on hierarchical nanostructures prepared by combining biomolecules found in cell membranes and cationic surfactants.
European Young Chemistry Award Winners (pdf)
OBE award for WestCHEM Facilitator, Professor Colin Suckling
20 June 2006
The Queen's birthday Honours' List feted Professor Suckling for services to Science and Higher Education.
His career in biological and medicinal chemistry has spanned three decades with a variety of roles at the University of Strathclyde, from lecturing to academic management in his former position as Vice Principal.
A pioneer in his field, his work has included the commercialisation of the pure form of Leucovorin, a drug now used across Europe in the treatment of colo-rectal cancers. To date, the technology has earned around £6 million in royalties for the University.
As both a senior officer and an active researcher, Professor Suckling has been involved in building teams in research with collaboration between universities and departments. Professor Suckling's current roles include acting as Facilitator for WestCHEM. As part of the Yoshitomi Research Institute of Neuroscience in Glasgow, he has researched new drugs for the treatment of schizophrenia.
Professor Suckling said: "I've been working in biological and medicinal chemistry for more than 30 years, since before it became popular, and it's a great honour to receive the OBE. I'm particularly pleased that it reflects both science and education, the two areas I've concentrated on throughout my career."
http://www.strath.ac.uk/recentnews/headline_33265_en.html
RSC Honour for Professor David Littlejohn
20 June 2006
Professor David Littlejohn has been awarded the 2005 Royal Society of Chemistry Industrially Sponsored Award in Chemical Analysis and Instrumentation.
The citation notes his "outstanding contributions to quantitative instrumental analysis, particularly atomic spectrometry and process analysis techniques, and their application to clinical, environmental and industrial analysis and to art conservation".
Science and Innovation Award Success at WestCHEM
21 March 2006
WestCHEM Researchers are part of a £5m award to expand groundbreaking research into nanometrology - the ability to measure and characterise events and species on a nanoscale.
The prestigious Science and Innovation Award is one of 7 made today across the UK. It is made up of £2.8M from the Engineering and Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC), £1.5M from the Scottish and Higher Education Funding Councils and £0.5M institutional support.
The WestCHEM component (£1.1M) is led by Professor Duncan Graham, WestCHEM, Strathclyde, and involves Professor Ewen Smith and Dr Karen Faulds.
The project aims to build cross disciplinary research teams between the four areas of physics, chemistry, photonics and medicine and is led by Professor David Birch, Head of the Department of Physics, in collaboration with Professor John Pickup's team at King's College London School of Medicine. The Strathclyde team also includes Professor Martin Dawson from Strathclyde's Institute of Photonics.
New WestCHEM Professor
6 December 2005
WestCHEM welcomes Professor Jonathan Percy to the Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry at the University of Strathclyde as WestCHEM Professor of Synthetic Chemistry from July 1st 2006.
Professor Percy's research uses selectively fluorinated molecules to study problems at the interface between chemistry and biology. The work involves target synthesis and the development of new, powerful and sustainable synthetic methods. Molecules which can be used to probe the chemistry of sugar-processing enzymes are of particular interest. The work is underpinned by a strong interest in organic reactivity in the broadest sense, which is pursued through computational and physical organic studies of important reaction systems.
In previous work, his group has carried out asymmetric syntheses of novel carbohydrate analogues (Chem. Commun., 2004, 1526-1527), discovered a rapid route to novel analogues of deoxycyclitols, pentopyranoses, 6-deoxyhexoses, and hexoses (Org. Lett., 2004, 6, 4269-4272), established a new class of bicyclic sugar mimics based upon difluorinated cyclooctenones. (Org. Biomol. Chem., 2005, 3, 2701-2712) and developed the Diels-Alder reaction as a tool for the synthesis of difluorinated cyclohexane polyols (Org. Biomol. Chem., 2005, 3, 3297-3310).
WestCHEM Student Wins Prestigious Syngenta Postgraduate Scholarship
30 November 2005
Congratulations to Jack Brown, a WestCHEM PhD student working at University of Strathclyde with Professor Billy Kerr, for winning one of the prestigious Syngenta postgraduate scholarships for 2005-2006.
These Scholarships, which include a prize of £2000, are awarded each year to a very few final year PhD students following an extensive workshop at the Jealott's Hill International Research Centre.
The prize will be presented at a ceremony in December.
Dr. Peter Cormack Wins RSC/SCI Macro Group UK Young Researchers Medal 2005
7 November 2005
Dr. Peter Cormack, Senior Lecturer in Polymer Chemistry in WestCHEM, Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, University of Strathclyde, has been awarded the Royal Society of Chemistry / Society of Chemical Industry (RSC/SCI) Macro Group UK Young Researchers Medal for 2005.
This medal is awarded annually to a UK-based polymer scientist, from an industrial, commercial or academic institution, who has made an exceptional contribution to polymer science or who shows outstanding promise for the future.
The RSC/SCI Macro Group UK Young Researchers Medal gives due recognition to the outstanding scientific achievements of Dr. Cormack and his research team based in the ThomasGrahamBuilding at Strathclyde.
Dr. Cormack’s team are engaged on a number of important interdisciplinary research programmes in which the motivation is the design, synthesis and application of practically useful, functional organic materials.
Applications for the materials developed by Dr. Cormack’s team are many and varied, and range from novel polymers with applications in analytical chemistry, medicine, nanotechnology, drug discovery and personal care products, through to high-performance materials for the electronics industry.
Several of the interdisciplinary research programmes have involved fruitful national and international research collaborations with analytical chemists (molecular imprinting), physicists (3D conducting networks), chemical engineers (nanostructured surfaces) and cell biologists (biodegradable polymers).
Dr. Cormack will be presented with his Macro Group Medal at a special one-day symposium to be held on Monday 3rd April 2006 at the SCI, Belgrave Square, London.
Professor Duncan Graham receives Nexxus Award
28 October 2005
Professor Duncan Graham, WestCHEM, Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, University of Strathclyde, received the Nexxus Award for Young Life Scientist of the Year at a ceremony in the Glasgow City Chambers on 27th October. The citation recognised the significant impact of his research in the West of Scotland's life science sector.
Appointed to a personal chair in the University of Strathclyde's Department of Chemistry at the remarkably young age of 33, Professor Graham has built a research group of over 30 with funding of £3 million, investigating the area of molecular nanometrology – or the use of chemistry to create new molecules for use in biosensing applications such as rapid disease state diagnosis.
Professor Graham and his group's work has already resulted in 68 academic publications and six patents, and has the potential of revolutionising molecular diagnostics by increasing the sensitivity and precision of biological detection systems. In addition to Professor Graham's academic pursuits, in his "free time", he is working with Professor Ewen Smith to create a university spin-out company to make this technology widely available.
He said: "It's an honour to be recognised at the first Nexxus awards, and it's a great reflection of the hard work and output of the research group."
Joseph Black Lecture 2005
24 October 2005
The 2005 Joseph Black Lecture will be given by Professor Anne Dell FRS, Imperial College, London.
Mass spectrometry: a powerful tool for the emerging field of glycobiology
Time: 5:30 pm, Tuesday 29 November, 2005
Place: Main Lecture Theatre, Joseph Black Building, Glasgow University
The lecture will be followed by an informal reception - all are invited
New WestCHEM Professor
5 October 2005
We welcome Dr Peter Skabara as the first of six WestCHEM Professors. He will take up his new position in WestCHEM, University of Strathclyde from November 1.
Professor Skabara's research involves the synthesis of novel organic conjugated macromolecules featuring high levels of electroactivity, low band gaps and well-defined architectures by virtue of precise molecular design or intramolecular interactions. The materials synthesised by the Skabara group have potential use in devices such as plastic solar cells, light emitting diodes, field effect transistors, magnetic films and plastic batteries.
In previous work, they have prepared and characterised soluble and stable conjugated materials incorporating elaborate structures such as truxenes (JACS, 2004, 126, 13695), tetrathiafulvalene units (J Mater Chem, 2004, 14, 1964) and highly planar conjugated chains (Chem Commun, 2005, 1465).
WestCHEM member elected as FRS
2 June 2005
Professor Laurence Barron, Gardiner Professor of Chemistry in the University of Glasgow and a prominent member of WestCHEM, was recently elected to Fellowship of the Royal Society.
The unabridged citation summarising Laurence's highly distinguished contributions to Chemistry reads:
Laurence Barron is distinguished for his work on the electric, magnetic and optical properties of molecules, especially chiral phenomena. His extension of Lord Kelvin's definition of chirality to include motion has been widely adopted. He discovered the chiral scattering mechanism responsible for the new phenomenon of Raman optical activity (ROA), which measures vibrational optical activity, and was the first to observe it. He developed ROA into a powerful spectroscopy and applied it to problems ranging from determination of absolute configuration to structure and behaviour of biomolecules, including protein fold determination, protein misfolding and disease, and molecular structure of viruses.
Further information:
