News in 2024
- Scientists and engineers produce world's first carbon-14 diamond battery 11 December 2024 School of Chemistry researchers Professor Neil Fox and Dr James Smith are among a group of scientists and engineers to have successfully created the world’s first carbon-14 diamond battery, an incredibly long-lasting energy source with the potential to power devices for thousands of years.
- Bryan Bzdek receives Kenneth T. Whitby Award 26 November 2024 Dr Bryan Bzdek, Proleptic Associate Professor in the School of Chemistry and member of Bristol Aerosol Research Centre, was presented the 2024 Kenneth T. Whitby Award at the 42nd American Association for Aerosol Research Conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
- Dudley Shallcross appointed RSB Curriculum Committee Chair 20 November 2024 Professor Dudley Shallcross has been appointed chair of the Curriculum Committee at the the Royal Society of Biology.
- Davis Group research on glucose-sensitive insulin published in Nature 28 October 2024 Researchers in the School of Chemistry have contributed towards a recent paper in Nature that describes a new type of insulin which responds to the amount of glucose in the blood, becoming more active at high levels when it is needed and less active at low levels.
- Varinder Aggarwal elected fellow of India's National Academy of Sciences 14 October 2024 The School of Chemistry's Professor Varinder Aggarwal has been elected as a Foreign Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences, India.
- Professor Dek Woolfson to receive prestigious 2025 Vincent du Vigneaud Award 11 October 2024 The School of Chemistry's Professor Dek Woolfson has been announced as one of the winners of the Vincent du Vigneaud Awards for 2025.
- Scientists develop artificial sugars to enhance disease diagnosis and treatment accuracy 8 October 2024 The School of Chemistry's Professor Carmen Galan is among a multi-centre group of scientists to have found a way to create artificial sugars that could lead to better ways to diagnose and treat diseases more accurately than ever before.
- University of Bristol receives £1m to establish new Centre for Chemical Characterisation in Heritage Sciences 2 October 2024 The University of Bristol has received a £1million grant from the UKRI Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) to establish a new Centre for Chemical Characterisation in Heritage Sciences – an initiative that will span Arts, Chemistry and Earth Sciences.
- Dr Alastair Lennox receives funding to develop new treatments towards Chagas disease 10 September 2024 Dr Alastair Lennox has been awarded an International Science Partnership Fund Collaboration Award of £225,000 to work in collaboration with a team in Minas Gerais, Brazil, to develop new treatments towards Chagas disease.
- School of Chemistry academics present at ViCEPHEC 2024 10 September 2024 In August, a group of academic staff from the School of Chemistry presented talks at the Variety in Chemistry Education/ Physics Higher Education Conference (ViCEPHEC) 2024, hosted by the University of Surrey.
- Rob Harniman secures BBSRC funding for cutting-edge Atomic Force Microscopy (bio-AFM) platform 2 September 2024 School of Chemistry Technical Specialist Dr Rob Harniman has secured landmark funding of over £1m from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) for a cutting-edge Atomic Force Microscopy (bio-AFM) platform at the University of Bristol, to enhance bioscience research in multi-disciplinary programmes across life, health, physical and environmental sciences.
- Ground-breaking study reveals that effective regulation and monitoring are crucial for addressing emissions of a super-greenhouse gas. 22 August 2024 New research has uncovered that factories worldwide are failing to adequately eliminate a highly potent greenhouse gas produced during the manufacturing of fluoropolymers, such as Teflon, and refrigerants.
- Bristol Aerosol Research Centre contributes to final paper of PERFORM project 22 August 2024 Bristol Aerosol Research Centre have collaborated on a recent publication entitled 'Relationship between Exhaled Aerosol and Carbon Dioxide Emission Across Respiratory Activities'.
- Matt Rigby awarded £1m NERC grant for greenhouse gas emissions evaluation and machine learning 7 August 2024 Professor Matt Rigby has been awarded a Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Pushing the Frontiers grant worth £1m on greenhouse gas emissions evaluation and machine learning.
- Woolfson and Dodding labs awarded £1.5m project grant 30 July 2024 Professor Dek Woolfson is the co-recipient of a Biotechnology and Biological Sciences (BBSRC) grant worth £1.5m for a research project entitled 'Mechanism and design of allostery in the kinesin-1 complex'.
- Varinder Aggarwal to give 2nd Ila-Junjappa Endowment Lecture at CRSI Symposium 24 July 2024 Professor Varinder Aggarwal has been selected to give the second Ila-Junjappa Endowment Lecture during the 34th National Symposium in Chemistry of the Chemical Research Society of India (CRSI), at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Bhopal from 6th to 9th February, 2025.
- PhD students win prizes at Great Western Electrochemistry Meeting 16 July 2024 Two School of Chemistry PhD students were awarded top prizes at the Great Western Electrochemistry meeting, which took place at the University of Bath on June 17.
- Dr Luke Western receives Dobson Award by the International Ozone Commission 28 June 2024 Dr Luke Western has been awarded the "Dobson Award for Young Scientists" by the International Ozone Commission.
- Bristol and Jiangnan sign agreement for joint education programme and research exchange 28 June 2024 The University of Bristol and Jiangnan University in China have officially signed an agreement for joint education programmes and research student and staff exchange.
- Sustainable start-up scoops £7,500 in University contest 20 June 2024 A start-up that is fighting fast fashion by digitising customers’ wardrobes has won a share of £30,000 in funding.
- Trailblazing Bristol chemist who helped revolutionise laboratory learning awarded OBE 14 June 2024 A pioneering University of Bristol chemist who has helped more than 10,000 teachers across the UK and worldwide inspire and educate the next generation of scientists has been recognised in the 2024 King’s Birthday Honours.
- Professor Matt Rigby wins prestigious Royal Society of Chemistry Prize 12 June 2024 A University of Bristol scientist has been awarded the Environment, Sustainability & Energy mid-career Prize by the Royal Society of Chemistry for his pioneering work in monitoring the changing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
- School of Chemistry holds Pride Bake Sale 4 June 2024 The School of Chemistry EDI Committee organised a Bake Sale to celebrate the start of Pride Month on Monday 3rd June.
- Vivien Schneider wins EAOG Research Award 23 May 2024 Vivien Schneider, PhD student working in the School of Chemistry's Organic Chemistry Unit (OGU), has won the European Association of Organic Geochemists (EAOG) research award. This will take place at the University of Colorado, Boulder.
- Bryan Bzdek Receives Marlow Medal at University of Leeds 7 May 2024 Dr Bryan Bzdek won the 2023 Marlow Prize from the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). On 7th May he was presented with his medal and certificate before giving a seminar to the School of Chemistry at the University of Leeds.
- Scientists discover higher levels of CO2 increase survival of viruses in the air and transmission risk 7 May 2024 A new study published in Nature Communications has revealed for the first time the vital role carbon dioxide (CO2) plays in determining the lifespan of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
- Malcolm George wins presentation prize at AstraZeneca conference 1 May 2024 School of Chemistry PhD student Malcolm George has won a runner-up prize for his presentation at the AstraZeneca Pharmaceutical Technology & Development and Pharm Sci PhD Day conferences, held on April 25 and 26.
- Tom Oliver secures Leverhulme International Fellowship 19 April 2024 Dr Tom Oliver, Associate Professor in Chemistry, has been awarded a Leverhulme International Fellowship.
- RSC Prize Lecture: 'Rhodium is still precious: new directions in organometallic chemistry enabled by pincer, macrocyclic and cavitand-based ligands' - 25th April 15 April 2024 Join us in a RSC Prize Lecture with winner of the 2023 'Dalton Mid-Career Prize' Professor Adrian Chaplin (University of Warwick).
- RSC Prize Lecture: 'Unique data sets for robust and authentic online open book assessments' - 17th April 15 April 2024 Join us in a RSC Prize Lecture with winner of the 2022 "Excellence in Higher Education Prize" Dr Allison Hill (University of Exeter). This prize recognises inspirational teaching and making a positive difference in curriculum design, implementation, and assessment in the wider community.
- Dr Andrew McCluskey wins 2024 BTM Willis Prize 11 April 2024 School of Chemistry lecturer Dr Andrew McCluskey has won the 2024 BTM Willis Prize, earning recognition for ‘leadership in advancing neutron reflectometry analysis methods, fostering community standards and collaboration, and educating the next generation of neutron scattering users in data-centric science.’
- School of Chemistry receives Athena Swan Silver award 11 April 2024 The School of Chemistry been awarded Athena Swan Silver, in recognition of our gender equality work.
- Matt Rigby gives evidence on methane to House of Lords Environment and Climate Change Select Committee 26 March 2024 Professor Matt Rigby of the School of Chemistry's Atmospheric Chemistry Research Group (ACRG) gave evidence to the Environment and Climate Change Select Committee, who are writing a report on methane.
- Centres for Doctoral Training receive major funding renewal 12 March 2024 The University of Bristol is celebrating nine Centres for Doctoral Training (CDTs) which will equip and nurture engineering and science students, thanks to a nationally-leading £57 million funding boost from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and its Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).
- Guest Seminar: 'AI supported synthesis of 3D tissue models with cell fate inducing glycans' - 20th March 12 March 2024 A guest seminar by Dr. Laura Russo from the University of Milano-Bicocca will be taking place on the 20th March at 2pm in Chem LT2. Further details of the talk are in the post below.
- Guest Seminar: "Autofluorescence spectroscopy for heteroatomic materials characterization & development" - 14th March 11 March 2024 A guest seminar by Dr. Marcus A. Johns from the University of British Columbia will be taking place on the 14th March at 2pm in Chem LT3. Further details of the talk are in the post below.
- Research collaboration leads to new cutting-edge energy storage technology 6 March 2024 A new cutting-edge energy storage technology has been developed by green energy company Superdielectrics Group Plc, following a multi-disciplinary collaboration with researchers at the University of Bristol including the School of Chemistry's Professor David Fermin.
- The Timms Symposium 2024 27 February 2024 The annual Timms Symposium returns to the School of Chemistry on Tuesday, 2nd July 2024.
- The Stone Symposium 2024 15 February 2024 The prestigious Stone Symposium returns to the School of Chemistry on Thursday, 30 May 2024.
- Bristol student featured in chemistry podcast launch 13 February 2024 School of Chemistry postgraduate student William Terry-Wright has featured on a recently launched podcast called Zwittering On, which aims to bring everyday chemistry to life and highlight its importance in the world we live in.
Melanie Roffet-Salque awarded £1m NERC grant for studying ancient milk consumption
Dr Melanie Roffet-Salque has been awarded a Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Pushing the Frontiers grant worth £1m on milk consumption.
The project is entitled "NeoCalcium - Investigating milk consumption by Neolithic farmers using a novel Calcium isotope proxy".
This project will calibrate a novel and quantitative calcium (Ca) isotope proxy for individual milk consumption using Ca isotope composition of skeletal remains.
For the first time, this will permit direct assessment of the extent to which lactase persistence (LP) influences milk-drinking behaviour in a prehistoric context.
The NeoCalcium project is in collaboration with Professor Tim Elliott and Dr Jamie Lewis (School of Earth Sciences), Professor George Davey-Smith (Bristol Medical School) and Professor Mark Thomas (University College London).
The project is expected to start in August 2025 and run for three years.
Wuge Briscoe awarded funding to lead project on molecular interactions initiating dengue viral replication
Professor Wuge Briscoe has been awarded a three-year responsive mode EPSRC-SFI grant to lead a project titled “Understanding Molecular Interactions Initiating Adsorption of Viral Capsid Proteins on Lipid Droplets (MIrACLe)” alongside Professor Jian Lu (University of Manchester) and Dr David Cheung (University of Galway).
The grant (with an Full Economic Costing value of £1.33m including £266K contribution from Science Foundation of Ireland (SFI)) will aim to probe molecular interactions underpinning the initial step in dengue viral replication, bringing to bear quantitative experimental and computational methods in biophysics, soft matter, and colloid science to directly access molecular structures and interactions at complex interfaces.
The work in Bristol will focus on direct measurements using the surface force apparatus, complemented by X-ray and neutron scattering at UK and EU central facilities, to study the molecular mechanisms underpinning adsorption of the dengue viral capsid protein on the lipid droplet membrane.