Winner: 2024 Early Career Prize for Excellence in Higher Education
Dr Alexander Baker
University of Warwick
For exceptional inspiration of students, encouraging them to challenge, develop and grow their scientific passion.
My work has sought to increase access to chemistry in universities and deliver a chemistry curriculum that better reflects chemistry globally. This is reflected in my research, which aims to provide therapeutics and diagnosis for neglected tropical diseases.
Biography
Alex is an early career Leverhulme Fellow, Assistant Professor of Chemistry and lead of the Baker Humanitarian Chemistry Group at the University of Warwick. His particular areas of interest fall around designing medical diagnostics for low-resource environments, including studying neglected tropical diseases such as snake bites. Alongside his research he has a passion for engaging the public and students in all things chemistry and science.
At the University of Warwick, Alex has sought to make access to chemistry more equitable and improve the student experience through policy work supporting fairer contracts for postgraduates and sick/parental leave. He has been active in curriculum development, including redesigning modules on drug discovery and sustainability. He believes passionately that everyone should have access to high quality science, so has founded conferences and events targeted at students from disadvantaged and under-represented backgrounds.
Alex has spoken at the Royal Institution, Silesian Science Festival and Pint of Science amongst others, and regularly engages with the press, such as the BBC, Metro and Daily Mail, to reach millions with chemistry. Beyond speaking, he has a wealth of experience working with young people and museums, interviewing scientists and creating media content to engage the public.
I believe that despite my research and the metrics that go along with it, the citations, publications and patents, my greatest legacy will be the students I teach. They will go on to do far greater things and help far more people than I ever could.
Dr Alexander Baker
Q&A
What would be your advice to educators who are working with colleagues going above and beyond, but are yet to nominate them for an RSC Education prize?
It will mean so much to those colleagues to be recognised, so take the time to nominate. Just being nominated was really encouraging for me as a young academic.
How did you first become interested in chemistry or science?
I was very fortunate in that my mother is a medical doctor. She would come home and tell me and my sister about all the patients she had helped that day using science. That for me was the spark of seeing science as a force for good in the world.
Later I had some excellent science teachers at school, called Mr Wringe, Mr Hudson and Dr Prendergast. In particular, Mr Wringe's passion for chemistry was infectious. In every lesson, he made chemistry come alive and showed the real-world applications. On top of that, seeing chemistry in the media explained by colleagues like Professor Andrea Sella really cemented my desire to do chemistry.
Who or what has inspired you to have a role in education?
I believe that despite my research and the metrics that go along with it, the citations, publications and patents, my greatest legacy will be the students I teach. They will go on to do far greater things and help far more people than I ever could. That for me is why education matters and why I choose to be an educator and researcher.
What motivates you?
I am motivated by a desire to see everyone have access to a world-class education and to use that education to leave the world in a better state than when we started. It's so easy to overlook the power of a good education and the power education has to help people.
What advice would you give to a young person considering a career in chemistry?
Jump in! Chemistry is such a broad subject for both fundamental knowledge and applied science. I regularly talk with computational scientists designing AI models, physicists interrogating materials with electrons, biologists thinking about venom proteins, and engineers in sustainable development making diagnostics. There will be a niche or area you will find absolutely fascinating!
Why is chemistry education important?
Humanity faces many great challenges, from global warming to antimicrobial resistance. It will be chemists, as part of interdisciplinary teams, that discover solutions to these challenges on a molecular level. More broadly for the wider public, the need to be chemistry-literate in a world of social media pipe-dreams and scare stories is really important.
What has been a highlight for you (either personally or in your career)?
I recently gave a talk at the Royal Institution on the chemistry of Star Wars, which was a real highlight. To stand behind Faraday's desk and lecture in a theatre where so many greats of science have lectured was really incredible, especially when Boba Fett appeared.
What has been a challenge for you (either personally or in your career)?
Honestly, student feedback. It can be really tough to think you gave a great lecture or workshop, only to discover actually some students thought it was terrible. Over the years I have learnt to listen more to that difficult-to-take feedback and grow from it to make my teaching better.
For a bit of fun, what is your favourite element?
Carbon – without it we would be nothing!