February 2011 News

Thursday 24th February 2011

Congratulations to Lynsey Aitken, a second year PhD student in Professor Rein Ulijn's group, who has won two poster prizes at recent conferences.

Firstly at the 12th annual meeting of the Surface Science and Biologically Important Interfaces (SSBII) group meeting held in Belfast. Professor Duncan Graham also gave a presentation at this meeting entitled 'Functionalisation of Metallic Nanoparticles and Surfaces for Bioanalysis'.

Lynsey's other prize was won at the 6th annual meeting of the RSC Biomaterials Chemistry group held at Warwick University in January. The title of both winning posters was 'Enzyme Sensing Using Gold Nanoparticles'.

Lynsey, pictured with her poster above, gained her undergraduate degree, an MSci in Chemistry, from the Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry at the University of Strathclyde.

Professor Ulijn said: "Lynsey has worked very hard on the development of new, robust methodology for the functionalisation of metal particles and surfaces with biomolecules. We are delighted that the importance of her work has been recognized by both the surface science and biomaterials communities at these two important meetings."

The RSC Biomaterials Chemistry Special Interest Group was set up in 2005 to provide a focus for groups in UK universities and industry working on the synthesis and characterisation of biomaterials. The group aims to enhance the understanding of the chemistries underlying the use of biomaterials in applications including prostheses, drug delivery and regenerative medicine.

Welcome to Dr Maitane Salsamendi who has joined Professor Peter Cormack's research group as postdoctoral researcher.

Dr Salsamendi won a prestigious, three year postdoctoral fellowship from the Basque Government which will see her spend two years here in the Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry at the University of Strathclyde, during which time she will also be collaborating with Professor Duncan Graham's nanometrology group. Year three of Maitane's fellowship will be spent at the Institute for Polymer Materials (POLYMAT), a research and technology organization of the University of the Basque Country, where the collaborator will be Professor José Asua.

During her time at Strathclyde, Maitane will be designing and synthesising multivalent macromolecules; these are novel, multifunctional species which will be both surface-active and Raman-active. They will be potentially valuable in a number of distinct applications, especially Raman-based applications where surface-enhancement and resonance effects can be exploited in, for example, ultra-sensitive chemical analyses.

Maitane is a native of the city of San Sebastián in the Basque country region of Spain, close to the French border. She gained her undergraduate degree in Chemistry from the University of the Basque Country and her PhD from CIDETEC, (Centre for Electrochemical Technologies) a non-profit foundation whose core activity is applied research in electrochemistry.

When studying for her PhD, Maitane spent three months in the Department in 2008, studying in Professor Peter Skabara's group.

Maitane said:

"I am delighted to be back in Scotland working on this exciting research under the supervision of Professor Peter Cormack. It is a great opportunity for my research career to work in the University of Strathclyde and particularly in this prestigious polymer chemistry group."

Professor Cormack said:

"We are very pleased to have attracted a researcher of Dr Salsamendi's calibre to WestCHEM. She has an outstanding track record in research and has the drive and ambition to make a big success out of her fellowship. I am looking forward to working with her over the next three years on what will be a strategically important research programme for us."

Thursday 17th February 2011

The International Year of Chemistry (IYC) kicked off to a great start with the 'Women Sharing a Chemical Moment in Time' event held in Glasgow on 18th January.

This early morning networking meeting over coffee and pastries celebrated the role of Marie Curie and contemporary Women in Chemistry. Discussions centered on topics such as 'Women in Business' and 'Women in Interdisciplinary Science' and key issues such as engaging young women at secondary school level were highlighted.

The event was a great success with more than 70 female scientists in attendance from post-graduate, academic, teaching and industrial backgrounds.

The feedback received was overwhelmingly positive and indicated that delegates would be interested in participating in future events with, perhaps, a more industrial focus.

The event was organised by Dr Jennifer Dougan and PG student Jane Gallagher from the Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, along with former P&A chemistry student Dr Sarah Brown and colleagues from SIPBS.

The Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry made a major contribution to the 2010 Strathclyde Expo, the shop-window for the cutting edge research and technology developed at Strathclyde.

The event presented an exciting opportunity for business people, policy makers and third sector organisations to forge links with Strathclyde academics which could assist their businesses to solve problems innovate and stay ahead of their competition.

The Department was represented by:

• the Centre for Process Analysis and Control (CPACT) led by Professor David Littlejohn, who also chaired a workshop on the Centre of Excellence in Continuous Manufacturing and Crystallisation;
• the Polymer Physical Chemistry Group led by Dr John J Liggat, who showcased their extensive experience working with companies such as Polaroid Eyewear, Carron Phoenix and Taylor Bowls;
• Professor Rein Ulijn and his co-worker Vineetha Jayawarna who showcased their biomolecular gel technology which is developed in the context of cell culture applications and the focus of a new Strathclyde spinout activity.