Scientists in their element
Show your students what a career in STEM can look like as we ask chemists to distil their working lives
‘The best parts are working with enthusiastic students and that no two days are ever the same’
Meet Mike Hughes, a technical specialist who is passionate about chemistry teaching laboratories and technical education pathways
‘Outreach is a really important way to boost young people’s access to science’
Meet Gill Reid, incoming RSC president, inorganic chemistry whizz and fervent supporter of young people in the chemical sciences
‘I love teaching chemical bonding’
Meet Emma Owens, a chemistry teacher with a passion for curriculum design, after-school science clubs and learning from others
‘Students have to learn how to problem-solve by doing well-designed chemistry experiments’
Meet Michael Seery, an education researcher striving to improve the university experience for chemistry undergraduates
‘My favourite colloids? English ale and clotted cream’
Meet Brent Murray, a food scientist with a passion for beer, ice cream, clotted cream and other food colloids
‘You don’t need to choose between the arts and science’
Meet Katherine Curran, a chemist applying her polymer know-how to the conservation of plastic museum objects
‘To find a carbon-neutral and commercially feasible way to produce hydrogen’
Meet Ramy Salemdeeb, an engineer whose passion for the environment and problem-solving has led him from Palestine to Scotland
‘Structure and bonding really gets to the heart of chemistry’
Meet Niki Kaiser, a chemistry teacher inspiring others to embrace evidence-based teaching practices
‘We can’t get rid of fossil fuels and not have an alternative’
Meet Phil Mercer, a chemist helping plan for a new lithium mine in Cornwall
‘I went on my first anti-racism march when I was 14’
Meet Tom Welton, RSC president, ionic liquid guru and vocal advocate for inclusion and diversity in the chemical sciences
‘To work with paintings is my dream job’
Meet Marta Melchiorre, a scientist who supports the conservation of paintings at the National Gallery in London
‘Science doesn’t always work in the way you expect it to’
Meet Lee Goodwin, a bioanalytical chemist who helps unpick what our bodies do with the drugs they are given, such as antivirals as treatment for Covid-19
‘A material that could heal itself was the coolest thing I’d ever heard’
Meet Annela Seddon, a research scientist who designs materials able to self-fold on demand for biomedical applications
‘We’re interested in using that same concept to make surfaces antiviral’
Meet Mark Moloney, an organic chemist who spends his time pondering surfaces and hunting antibiotics
‘I want to leave the world in a better state than when I entered it’
Meet Omar Farha, a materials chemist who designs highly porous materials for applications ranging from gas storage to the destruction of nerve agents
‘We are missing a massive environmental problem’
Meet Delphine Farmer, an atmospheric chemist who spends her time examining the air that we breathe