Nina Notman
Nina is a freelance science writer and editor specialising in chemistry.
After finishing an organic chemistry PhD at the University of Bristol, Nina looked for a career than allowed her to indulge her love for science without being lab-based. Her first step was to join the journals team at the Royal Society of Chemistry, with a focus on guiding papers through the peer review process. Here she was given the opportunity to write magazine-style articles about some of the recently published papers, something she relished. She then joined the Chemistry World team, first as a science correspondent and later as the features editor.
In 2012, she went freelance and now writes and edits for a range of different chemistry and science education publications.
FeatureWhy is my chemistry curriculum White?
Decolonising the chemistry curriculums at universities and in schools
- Interview
‘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
- Feature
Decaffeination – how does it work?
Organic solvent, supercritical carbon dioxide or water? A knowledge of solvents and solutions is essential for removing caffeine from your daily cuppa
- Interview
‘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
- Feature
Single-use plastic in period products
Forget bags and straws. Disposable period products are a much great contributor to the amount of plastic littering our environment
- Interview
‘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
- Interview
‘Structure and bonding really gets to the heart of chemistry’
Meet Niki Kaiser, a chemistry teacher inspiring others to embrace evidence-based teaching practices
- Interview
‘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
- Interview
‘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
- Interview
‘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
- Interview
‘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
- Soundbite
Will doggy detectors sniff out Covid-19?
How canines might help to find asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic cases of the coronavirus
- Feature
Can UV light help tackle the coronavirus?
Engage students with some highly topical cross-curricular science
- Interview
‘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
- Interview
‘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
- Soundbite
How the unscrupulous turn a profit from virus fears
Why alcohol-based sanitiser found its way onto the black market and into stockpiles – and how it works against viruses
- Feature
Temperature-controlling textiles
Nina Notman gets a feel for the high-tech fabrics that can help us maintain our preferred temperature
- Interview
‘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
