RSC Representative in Iraq
Dr Asim A. Balakit MRSC
I got BSc in Chemistry (2000) & MSc in Organic Chemistry (2002) from Al Nahrain University, Iraq. Immediately I got a job as assistant lecturer at College of Medicine, Babylon University. In 2006 I moved to the College of Science for Women in the same university to work as a lecturer in the department of chemistry. In 2008 I got a scholarship form the Iraqi government to do the PhD in the UK. Cardiff University was my choice, from there I got my PhD (2013, Professor Keith Smith, Synthesis and Applications of New Polyalkylene sulphides).
Once I finished I returned back to my home county and my job at College of Science for Women. In 2014 I was appointed as Assistant Professor and Head of the Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry at College of Pharmacy, Babylon University.
In 2009 I joined the RSC; later in 2014 my application to upgrade my membership to Member (MRSC) was successful.
As an international representative of the RSC in Iraq, my goal is to create and increase the interaction between the Iraqi academic community and the RSC, and to deliver the positive and beneficial messages from the RSC to my community.
The areas of my interest and research work are organic and polymer chemistry.
Dr Liqaa Majdal
I was awarded my Bachelor of Science in Chemistry in 2004 followed by my Masters degree in 2006 by the University of Mosul, Iraq in 2004. I was then employed as an assistant lecturer in the College of Education for Girls, University of Mosul, Iraq. In 2012, I was elected to the position of chemistry departmental coordinator in the College of Education for Girls at the University of Mosul. This role attracted me because it provided the opportunity to develop my own knowledge and skills and I became experienced working independently, solving problems, adopting suitable strategies and developing new activities.
In 2015, I was awarded a scholarship from The Higher Committee For Education Development in Iraq/Prime Minister’s office. I joined Liverpool University in the UK in October 2015 to study for a PhD under the supervision of Professor J.A. Lopez-Sanchez. I was awarded my PhD degree in 2019 for my research and thesis entitled Zeolites and Advanced Nanomaterials: Synthesis, promotion, characterization, and Applications of catalysis for the sustainable production of high-value platform chemicals from biomass for industrial applications.
My research interests cover a wide range of topics in the area of advanced nanomaterials science, including:
- Synthesis and characterization of imogolite nanotubes Materials as Heterogeneous Catalysts
- Synthesis and characterization of metal-doped imogolite nanotubes and their application as catalysts for biomass valorisation into value-added products
- Heterogeneous catalysis
- Micro–mesoporous zeolitic material
- Microwave synthesis of zeolites and their modification to hierarchical structure, oxidation, conversion of biomass to chemicals, etc.
I hope that by joining the RSC community I will have the opportunity to organize and host workshops, activities and conferences in Iraq.