Elizabeth Driscoll RSci AMRSC

Winner: 2021 Inspirational Member Award

University of Birmingham and RSC Solid State Chemistry Group

For dedication to supporting the community through the Interest Group and Local Section activities during the Covid-19 pandemic.

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If you’ve got a passion for chemistry, don’t let anyone say you’re not good enough or you won’t succeed – you can and will.

Lizzie's current work investigates new battery materials for lithium- and sodium-ion batteries. This type of battery can be found in multiple places: smart phones, laptops, and more recently electric vehicles.

In the research labs, she tries to produce new battery materials that could offer better performance and improved safety than materials currently in use. She loves to bring out 'battery Jenga' when explaining this type of battery and it has, in recent years, been her mission to ensure there is greater understanding of this technology.

Read winner biography

Elizabeth (Lizzie) Driscoll is currently a doctoral researcher within chemistry at the University of Birmingham, UK, supervised by Professor Peter Slater. She is working towards the thesis title of novel electrode materials for lithium- and sodium-ion batteries. Prior to this position, Lizzie completed her undergraduate studies at Birmingham, which included an industrial placement at Oxford PV Ltd. The final years of her undergraduate study were pivotal in Lizzie's move into solid state and the energy research sector.

Lizzie is passionate about solid state chemistry and inspiring the next generation of material/battery researchers. She has produced a series of resources to aid the understanding of Li-ion battery technology in a fun and informative way, the first being the RSC IYPT 2019-funded Lithium Shuffle Project, where a short video was produced to show how this type of battery operates with a human-sized demonstration. Her recent engagement work has made use of 'battery Jenga', where a modified tower block game set has been modified to represent a Li-ion battery. This demonstration provides a simple model for students to understand how this type of battery operates, how rate of charge is important and why materials degrade overtime (the resources were also made tactile for students with visual impairment to use).

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Lizzie has maintained the momentum of this work with a series of lectures, teacher training sessions, as well as her involvement in the CoCoMAD20 festival, where 100 battery Jenga sets were delivered to a local school. With her passion for solid state chemistry, Lizzie has also led the organisation of the RSC Solid State Interest Group’s early career researcher event, with an amazing committee of PhDs and a postdoc. The event successfully showcased the work within the community and is expected to run again this year.

Q+A

How did you first become interested in chemistry?

I probably first became interested in chemistry, and science as a whole, during secondary school. I really enjoyed the lessons and generally with this topic, it just felt like it naturally clicked. It probably also helped at the time having a big sister studying chemistry at university. Currently, I work with my big sister – Dr Laura Driscoll.

Who or what has inspired you?

There are probably three teachers I can name who definitely inspired me at secondary school: Dr Zain (chemistry) and Mr Yapp (physics), but also Miss Hopkins (biology) during my early years at Hagley [Catholic High School]. All three teachers were fantastic and just made science so enjoyable and fun.

What advice would you give to a young person considering a career in chemistry?

I think this is a great question. I initially wanted to study physics at university – I loved the material section and quantum aspects. Results day got a bit messy and I transferred to chemistry at the University of Birmingham (I’m still very grateful for Dr Adrian Wright and Dr Anna Peacock for that). This is when I realised that all the bits and bobs I enjoyed at the physics A-level are actually chemistry, which leads me onto my advice for those considering a career in chemistry:

You can be involved in the Energy and Materials sector within chemistry.

Don’t give up. Some things don’t go as planned, but that’s okay, as they say another door opens when one closes.

If you’ve got a passion for chemistry, don’t let anyone say you’re not good enough or you won’t succeed – you can and will.

Can you tell us about a scientific development on the horizon that you are excited about?

We can see the uptake happening with the electrification of vehicles currently taking place. I am excited to see what advances we make in the next ten years in heading towards Net Zero, with new technologies coming to fruition, and how the infrastructure will be adapted.
I am looking forward to switching to electric.

Why is chemistry important?

Chemistry is everywhere around us – there is literally no way of avoiding it. If we consider our working days, from the food we eat, to the clothes we wear and to the technology we use – chemistry has played a key role in all aspects of life. With chemistry being so important in our day-to-day to life, it’s important we don’t take this area for granted and make the most out of the resources we have.

What is your favourite element?

Bismuth! Although it has beautiful crystals, the real reason I picked this element is due to how much I worked with it during my Master's project. I was looking into the synthesis of lead-free solar perovskites. Although it was frustrating, as no matter the variation I was always producing a cesium-bismuth iodide which was a beautiful red, but not the structure or product I was aiming for. In my research cupboard at Birmingham I still have all these samples and the red is still just as vibrant four years on.