Young chemists showcase their work at Parliament
A group of 30 young chemists have presented their work in Parliament as part of the SET for Britain competition, which rewards strong communication skills and excellence in science.
The competition was established by Dr Eric Wharton in 1997, and aims to encourage, support and promote Britain’s early-stage and early-career research scientists, technologists and mathematicians. It's an opportunity for MPs to speak to a wide range of the country’s best early-career researchers, across five subject areas.
This year’s event saw a wide variety of entrants in the chemistry category, whose work spanned a wide range of topics, from new technology focused on reducing the environmental impact of the textile industry, to using biotechnology to treat the tropical disease leishmaniasis.
Royal Society of Chemistry deputy chief executive Dr Helen Pain (pictured alongside the winners with their certificates) gave a speech in which she highlighted the importance of nurturing the next generation of young scientists, particularly through increasing the numbers of specialist chemistry teachers in schools.
Gold Award for chemistry
The gold medal and top prize of £3,000 was awarded to Joanna Sadler, for her work designing new biocatalysts for sustainable organic synthesis.
While studying on a collaborative industrial programme between GlaxoSmithKline and the University of Strathclyde Joanna’s work was recognised at the RSC Organic Division poster symposium, where she won the industry prize in 2015.
On receiving the SET for Britain Gold Medal, Joanna said: "It feels fantastic to win, and today was a great opportunity to come to Parliament and present my research to those who are not from a chemistry background.
"The drive behind my work is sustainable chemistry, and I’m interested in making chemical processes more sustainable and environmentally friendly.”
Silver Award
Silver was awarded to Joshua Barham – also from GSK and the University of Strathclyde – for his work on using visible light as an energy source, instead of using thermal energy, to power chemistry. Joshua met his MP at the event, and told us: "I was delighted to tell my local MP, Stephen McPartland, about the local research happening in his constituency".
Bronze Award
The Bronze medal was awarded to Bryden Le Bailly from the University of Bristol, whose work involved building communication devices based on G proteins, a family of proteins that can transmit signals between cells. His research also involves looking at artificial ways to replicate senses, such as sense of smell.