Calendar of Events

Newsletter 219, 25th November 2011

Chemistry Update

Inside this issue:

Date of Next Issue: 23rd December 2011

Chemist‘s Nanoscale Fight Against Fatal Lung Disease

2-3

Battle of the Profs 4-5

John McIntyre 6

James Clark‘s Lectures

Board of the Natural History Museum

Large EPSRC Grant Win 7

Paul Clarke‘s news 8

The Launch of Chemistry@York

CCI Key Stage 2-3 HEI STEM Project 10

Smithson Tennant Celebration 11

AkzoNobel UK Competition 12

Donation to Alzheimer‘s Society 13

European Research Collaboration info

EPSRC Call for Proposals 14-15

Studentship Guidelines and Deadlines 16

Graduation January 2012

EUResearch 18

Postgraduate Open Day

BBSRC Funding 20

Generic Student Training Text

Safety Matters 21

Researcher-led Development Projects 22

International Seedcorn Awards Scheme 23

ILearning & Teaching Forum Workshop

Responding to Graduate Student Feedback 24

Bruker to Sponsor Graduate Poster Competition

25

Paintballing 26-27

Smithson Tennant: Scientific Symposium

Date: Wednesday 30th November

Time: 12pm—6pm

Location: A121

UCAS Interview Afternoons

Date: 1st, 5th, 6th, 8th, 13th & 15th December

Time: 12.15pm—4pm

Location: Chemistry Hub

Postgraduate Open Day

Date: Wednesday 7th December

Time: 1pm—7pm

Organic Seminar

Date: Wednesday 14th December

Time: TBC

Location: A122

Research Forum

Date: Friday 16th December

Time: 12noon

Location: A122

HoD Presentation

& Mince Pies / Mulled Wine

Date: Wednesday 21st December

Time: 2.30pm—4.30pm

Location: A101 & A102

Page 2

Chemist‘s Nanoscale Fight Against Fatal Lung Disease

Over 9,000 people in the UK suffer from cystic fibrosis, an inherited condition that causes

chronic lung infections and a life expectancy of just 37 years. Therapies under

development at York could transform the lives of people who suffer from this cruel genetic

disorder and the vehicle used to deliver them is only a couple of nanometres across.

Professor David Smith‘s research focuses on synthetic

nanoscience, deepening our understanding of how

substances interact at scales smaller than the size of a

human cell, and building molecular devices so tiny that

four thousand of them could lie side-to-side across the

width of a single strand of spider's web silk.

Professor Smith‘s research team in York‘s Department of

Chemistry has been working on one particular challenge:

fixing the genetic defect that leads to cystic fibrosis.

―We know that anomalies in the information encoded in our DNA give rise to a whole range of

genetic defects,‖ explains Professor Smith. ―There‘s one particular gene that contains instructions

for making an essential protein. If that gene is faulty, as it is in people with cystic fibrosis, the

resulting protein stops working and so mucus starts to build up around cells. It‘s particularly

problematic when mucus starts to clog the lungs – they become far more vulnerable to damaging

infections.‖

As a result, life expectancy for the UK‘s thousands of cystic fibrosis sufferers is just 37 years, and

current treatments are limited. But Professor Smith thinks we can do better. Recent parallel

advances in the sciences of chemistry and microscopy mean that chemists can now design and

synthesise nanoscale materials, building unique, self-assembling chemical systems. The aim is

to harness these advances to improve treatment for genetic diseases.

―Ideally, if a patient has a particular faulty gene which is causing problems, we should simply be

able to insert a replacement fragment of DNA into the patient‘s cells with a healthy copy of the

gene,‖ says Professor Smith. ―With cystic fibrosis sufferers, for instance, that would prevent

mucus build-up and lung damage. But the big challenge is actually figuring out how to deliver the

healthy DNA to the target cells.‖

Page 3

Oddly enough, one of the challenges of working on the DNA scale is that it is, on a molecular

scale, really rather large. After all, the bonds which are familiar to chemists are just a tenth of a

nanometer long – so manipulating systems 20 times this size is never easy.

But the team has already had some significant success. Its recent results, reported in the journal

Angewandte Chemie, use chemical synthesis to programme small molecule building blocks with

key pieces of information. These molecules assemble into nanostructures with multiple arms

which bind to fragments of DNA. These structures effectively bind and protect DNA and then act

as vehicles to carry it into living human cells. And the vehicles now being tested at York are far

more effective at doing this than the best of their predecessors.

―Having cleared that hurdle,‖ adds Professor Smith, ―the problem we‘re now facing is that our

systems bind to the DNA too well, and won‘t release it properly once they‘re inside the target cell!

So we‘re working on designs which are programmed to degrade when they reach the target. If

this approach works, the vehicles break down into small, harmless molecules once they‘re inside

the cell, and the healthy DNA can get to work.‖

This research has been supported by EPSRC and BBSRC and Professor Smith is also the vice-

chair of a pan-European highly multidisciplinary research network which focuses on developing

synthetic nanosystems with applications in medicine. Within this network, which is part of an

intergovernmental framework for European co-operation in science and technology, he has

extensive collaborations with research teams in Italy and Germany.

A chest x-ray of a patient with cystic fibrosis. The

disease affects the internal organs, especially the

lungs, by clogging them with thick sticky mucus

(coloured green) which makes it hard to breathe.

Page 2

Battle of the Profs Event

The second annual Battle of the Profs event for our new first

years was held on Wednesday 19 October. A series of

excellent presentations, in front of a packed audience in room

A101, were given by Dave Smith and Jason Lynam who

competed against one another for a stunning labcoat inspired

prize. ChemSoc played a key part in helping to organise and

plan the event and one of the rounds involved Jason and

Dave drawing benzene rings, against the clock, whilst closing

their eyes! Seishi Shimizu acted as the judge, complete with

black cloak, white bow tie and hammer, and it was a fantastic

evening of entertainment. To quote Richard Taylor, "all of the

virtues of the department came shining through - great

teaching, great research, camaraderie, approachability,

enthusiasm and a love of chemistry - and there were plenty of

topics to stimulate the new undergraduates and to encourage

wider reading."

Many thanks to Dave, Jason and Seishi for all their hard work

to ensure the event was a huge success.

Andy Parsons

Page 5

A photo of Jason in his "prize lab coat"

for winning 'Battle of the Profs' - made

by an undergraduate! Beautifully lined

in blue with 'champion' on the back. He

has to wear it when demonstrating!

Page 6 Page 6

James Clark‘s Lectures in South Korea and Denmark

Professor James Clark recently gave a Plenary lecture at the Korean Green Chemistry

conference in Seoul. Korea have invested heavily in Green Chemistry and now have a dedicated

Centre with over 200 staff! Their interests overlap a lot with those of the York Centre and we

hope to work together in the future.

James also gave the opening plenary lecture at the Danish "Day of Chemicals" - a celebration of

chemistry and the challenges it faces and in the wonderful location of the Danish National

Gallery.

Board of the Natural History Museum

The Prime Minister has appointed Professor Sir John Holman to the Board of the Natural History

Museum.

For more information, please see:

http://www.number10.gov.uk/news/board-of-the-natural-history-museum-3/

John McIntyre

It is with great sadness that I tell people that Dr John McIntyre, died on Saturday Nov 12th. John

had been suffering from respiratory problems for many years and he was admitted to hospital in

Dumfries last week but did not respond to treatment.

John joined the Department in 1973 after a successful career with ICI where he managed the

Nobel explosives section in Scotland.Together with David Rowe, they set up Course 2, our

Chemistry, Management and Industry degree course. They developed the programmes into a

format which proved very attractive to applicants, many of whom subsequently have gone on to

leading posts in industry. In retirement he was a good friend of the Department and his passing

will be mourned by his many friends in York and elsewhere.

Richard Taylor, Head of Department

The Department will be making a donation to the RSC Benevolent Fund in memory of Dr John

McIntyre. If anyone else would like to contribute to this donation, please pass any contributions

onto Jo or Helen in the HoD office.

Page 7

Large EPSRC Grant Win for Liquid Crystals Research

Professor John Goodby FRS, Doctors Stephen Cowling and Isabel Saez and Professor

Peter Raynes FRS have been awarded a research grant by the EPSRC entitled "Self-

Organisation and Self-Assembly in Aliphatic Based Liquid Crystals" to start at the

beginning of 2012. The total value of the grant is over £800,000.

The programme is concerned with the directed self-organization of liquid crystals and their

applications in advanced display technologies. Modern liquid crystal displays (monitors and TVs)

currently use nematic based technologies where the response times are of the order of

milliseconds. Such times are an issue for future display devices, for example 3D, multiscreen and

frame sequential colour displays where the refresh rates are moving towards 200-400 Hz.

Ferroelectric liquid crystals offer an advantage over nematic technology because they can

operate 10-100 times faster, but the current materials do not have physical property requirements

that are suitable for large area display applications. Part of the project aims to develop a new

class of ferroelectric SmC liquid crystals whose structures are to be controlled through directed

self-organization via the use of the self-assembling properties of nanophase segregating groups.

Using these molecular design features we propose to create new liquid crystals with desirable

properties.

Small portable displays, such as those found in e-readers often suffer from poor visibility

outdoors, and those that are visible often do not operate at video-frame rates. A second aspect of

the programme is to develop new liquid crystal systems that will scatter incident light, thereby

making them easily readable in daylight viewing. Through the use of nanophase segregating

groups in directed self-organization of smectic liquid crystals materials will be created with

suitable properties for applications in bistable mode devices where an electric field will be only

used to switch the display, thereby improving on battery life.

Page 8

Paul Clarke‘s News

Congratulations to Joby Winn and Laurence Burroughs of the PAC group, both of whom passed

their PhD viva‘s last week.

Paul Clarke will be giving a lecture at UEA on 30th Nov entitled ―Adventures with Aldol-like

reactions: New Horizons and Age-Old Questions‖. Paul was also recently interviewed in

connection with his national campaign to change EPSRC ‗shaping capability‘ exercise. Parts of

these interviews can be read at http://pursestringtheory.wordpress.com/2011/11/19/absurd-epsrc

-grant-metric-turns-scientists-into-fortune-tellers/ and http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/

News/2011/November/08111101.asp

31 October 2011—The Launch of ‗Chemistry@York‘

Students applying for an undergraduate chemistry programme for entry in 2012 or 2013 now

have access from point of application, to a new, distinctive VLE site called ‘Chemistry@York’.

Prospective students access the site via a username and password. The site has been

developed specifically to form an early engagement with students during the crucial decision-

making ‗1–in–5‘ stage and provides a unique insight into life as a Chemistry student at York. The

site addresses four key areas:

• Application Information

• Our Courses

• Careers and Employability

• Featured Items

For example, under Our Courses there is detailed information on our diverse and innovative

range of teaching methods and small group college-based teaching.

We have also included a typical student week and 5 videos along with lab scripts, quotes from

current students on each of the four main themes and screen casts explaining how our tutorials

and workshops support our students throughout each year of their studies.

The creation of the site has been fully funded by the University‘s Strategic Teaching and Learning

Fund and it is envisaged that it will be an example of good practice for other York academic

departments.

If you would like more information please contact Katrina Sayer, chem-ugrad@york.ac.uk

Page 10

Children Challenging Industry (CCI) Key Stage 2-3-HEI

STEM Project

This project aims to develop effective science support through creating partnerships between HEI

(University) ambassadors and school clusters.

The project is funded by HE STEM and is coordinated and delivered in the North West by Sue

Andrews (CIEC Promoting Science, University of York). It is aimed at primary pupils, secondary

teachers, University staff and ambassadors, to communicate the excitement of STEM related

subjects and to show where career opportunities exist, particularly to raise aspirations of pupils

from disadvantaged backgrounds. Evidence shows that career choices are considerably

influenced before children reach secondary education.

The project has provided training for more than 30 HEI ambassadors from 6 universities across

the North West (MMU, Manchester, Liverpool, Liverpool John Moore‘s, Chester and Bolton) and

CPD for the implementation of CCI classroom activities by teachers in 10 high schools and

almost 50 of their feeder primary schools. HEI ambassadors working with the teachers will

provide enrichment in the classroom and opportunities for primary children to visit industry or a

STEM based HEI department.

CIEC Promoting science have experience in the provision of motivating activities to raise

awareness of STEM related careers when primary age children are forming opinions and

rationalising their environment. The challenge is in ensuring that children continue to be provided

with this enriching experience.

One of the new Ambassadors

from Chester University who is

supporting feeder Primary

Schools to Rudheath High

School in Cheshire. She will work

with a primary class and teacher

on a CCI topic.

Page 11 Page 11

Page 12 Page 12

―Tomorrow‘s Answers Today‖ AkzoNobel UK Competition

Entry call for first year of UK competition to seek ―Tomorrows Answers Today‖

Young researchers in the UK asked to submit entries by 31.12.2011

In a bid to focus the attention of the next generation of UK researchers towards the importance of

the chemical and materials sciences in driving sustainable innovations, AkzoNobel is launching a

student competition around “Tomorrows Answers Today”.

The competition is open to individuals or teams of up to three researchers who are currently

studying for a post-graduate degree specializing in the chemical or material science in the UK.

The challenge behind the theme is designated to stimulate entries that depict insights into future

global trends and technological developments over the next decade that may lead to exciting

innovative products and help top realize trends.

A panel of judges will short-list the five best ideas which demonstrate the greatest insight into the

future trends and provide the most imaginative and realistic responses. The entrants will then be

invited to ‗pitch‘ their concepts to an invited audience of companies during the AkzoNobel UK

Science Award event being held at the Royal Society of Chemistry, Burlington House, Piccadilly,

London, in February 2012

The overall winner/team will be awarded a prize of £1000 and a work experience placement at

one of AkzoNobel‘s research facilities in the UK. In addition, all entrants will receive a gift and the

five finalists will be awarded prizes.

Details of the competition can be found at :

www.akzonobel.com/postercompetition

The competition will be open for the submission of entries via the website until December 31,

2011.

Miss Charlotte Beard BSc, MPhil, CChem, MRSC, Programme Manager, Physical Sciences,

Royal Society of Chemistry, Thomas Graham House, Science Park, Milton Road, Cambridge,

CB4 0WF, UKTel +44 (0)1223 432384, Fax +44 (0)1223 426594

Page 13 Page 13

Donation to Alzheimer's Society

At the last Cake Sale on 9 September 2011 we raised money (half of which was spent on the

equipment for the Admin Away Day) and Amra wanted the other half to go to Charity (Amra

chose the Charity where this went to).

We donated £70.00 to the Alzheimer's Society and received the following thank you email:

Your donation will be put to work right away to help people with dementia and their carers.

Alzheimer's Society is the UK's leading support and research charity for people with dementia

and those who care for them. We provide information and support through our local services,

campaign for the best interests of people with dementia and fund research to ultimately find a

cure.

If you would like to find out more about other ways of getting involved with us please take a look

at the get involved section of our website (http://www.alzheimers.org.uk)

Thank you once again. We truly value your support.

With best wishes,

Will Watt, Supporter Care Manager

Request for European Research Collaboration Info

The Chemistry Graduate Office are currently putting together web pages for applicants from the

European Union (excluding the UK) and would like to include details of any research

collaborations staff in the Department have with European institutions or other organisations

including industry.

No specific details of the research will be disclosed, just an idea of the variety of current

collaborations.

Please could you email chemgrad@york.ac.uk with the following for each collaboration:

Name of the collaborator (if an individual)

Name of the institution/organisation/company

General area of the research (max one sentence)

Page 14

RCUK Digital Economy Theme: Invitation to apply to participate in Sub-theme

Workshops and Networks

Call for participants: The RCUK Digital Economy theme wish to further

develop its four sub-themes, and so are seeking applications from interested

researchers and users to attend a number of one-day workshops for this

purpose.

Closing Date: 30-11-2011

http://www.epsrc.ac.uk/funding/calls/open/Pages/deworkshops.aspx

RCUK Energy Programme shaping capability and strategy planning town meeting

Expression of interest: The Research Councils‘ Energy programme invites eligible individuals to

take part in a one day town meeting, where the energy programme will present its shaping

capability outputs and the draft technology research support strategies.

Closing Date: 14-12-2011

http://www.epsrc.ac.uk/funding/calls/open/Pages/energytownmeeting.aspx

Scheme to Recognise Academic Centres of Excellence in Cyber Security Research

Invitation for proposals: The Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) and EPSRC

intend to set up a scheme to recognise UK Academic Centres of Excellence in Cyber Security

Research (ACEs-CSR).

Closing Date: 16-12-2011

http://www.epsrc.ac.uk/funding/calls/open/Pages/academiccentresofexcellence,aspx

EPSRC Call for Proposals

Page 15

Research Challenges in Hydrogen and Fuel Cells workshop

Expression of interest: The Research Councils‘ Energy programme invites eligible individuals to

take part in a one day Workshop to explore the research challenges around accelerating the

deployment of hydrogen and fuel cells in order to scope a SUPERGEN Challenge call.

Closing Date: 03-01-2012

http://www.epsrc.ac.uk/funding/calls/open/Pages/hydrogenandfuelcellsworkshop.aspx

BBSRC Industrial biotechnology and bioenergy highlight notice 1: generation of hydrocar-

bons from living organisms.

Invitation for proposals: This call is led by BBSRC, who have identified Industrial Biotechnology

and Bioenergy as one of three strategic priority areas where investment and leadership will have

significant impact.

Closing Date: 11-01-2012

http://www.epsrc.ac.uk/funding/calls/open/Pages/bbsrcindbio.aspx

BRIC: Call for Proposals for Research into the Manufacture of Biological Medicines

Invitation for outlines: The Bioprocessing Research Industry Club (BRIC) was established in 2005

by BBSRC, EPSRC, and a consortium of industrial partners. A call for outline proposals for

academic research projects is now open, and a budget of up to £6M is available.

Closing Date: 08-02-2012

http://www.epsrc.ac.uk/funding/calls/open/Pages/bricbiomed.aspx

If you experience any problems, please contact the EPSRC Helpline: 01793 444100 or

infoline@epsrc.ac.uk.

Page 16 Page 16

Studentship Guidelines and Deadlines for Potential PhD

Supervisors

If you would like to advertise any funded PhD positions or projects for self-funding students,

please email chemgrad@york.ac.uk for guidance and templates.

Guidelines, deadlines and Interview Report Forms for nominating applicants for studentships can

be found on the intranet: http://www.york.ac.uk/chemistry/internal/gradapps/

The deadline for nominations is 15 February 2012

Specific guidelines for nominating an applicant for a Teaching Studentship can be seen here:

http://www.york.ac.uk/chemistry/internal/gradapps/teachingphd/

The deadline for nominations is 15 February 2012

Guidelines for nominating an applicant for a Wild Fund Scholarship can be found here:

http://www.york.ac.uk/chemistry/internal/gradapps/wild/

The deadline for nominations is 20 February 2012

The Graduate Awards Panel will meet on 27 February 2012. Any awards not made at this

meeting will be re-advertised and awarded at a second meeting in April.

Graduation January 2012 – Staff Volunteers Needed

Graduation ceremonies will take place at 9.30am, 12.00noon and 3.30pm

on Friday 20 January and 9.30am and 12.00noon on

Saturday 21 January 2012

The Graduation Office would like to invite staff from all

departments to take part in the ceremonies; ushering in Central Hall,

helping in the Exhibition Centre and providing first aid

support. Graduation is one of the most important events in the University calendar and is eagerly

anticipated by students and their families. They enjoy it even more if they see familiar faces

among the staff at the ceremonies.

Page 17

One colleague who recently helped out in Central Hall said ―There is such a lovely atmosphere

and it was really great to see the families enjoying the event. It was not at all difficult to make

sure everyone was in the right place, as the central team know exactly what is to be done and

how.‖

If you are considering whether or not to take part, you might like to know:

Full briefing will be supplied and there are colleagues all around to help

Refreshments are provided.

If you wish to wear an academic gown it is supplied to you free of charge

It is an interesting and enjoyable experience

Graduation shifts in Central Hall will involve:

Taking part in the ceremonies as ushers in Central Hall (detailed role descriptions will be

provided)

Assisting in setting up for the following ceremony

Graduation shifts as Ticket Distribution Steward will involve:

Distributing Tickets to students as they collect their academic gowns

Graduation shifts at the Information Desk will involve:

Answering queries at the Information Desk

Providing help with the left luggage facility

Further information about the ceremonies is available at http://www.york.ac.uk/students/studying/

graduation/

If you would like further information before deciding, please contact the Graduation Office

(ceremonies@york.ac.uk).

Please note that all staff wishing to be involved should seek the permission of their line manager

first.

If you are interested please contact the Chemistry Graduate Office for a form.

Page 18 Page 18

Department of Chemistry Postgraduate Open Day -

Wednesday 7 December 2011

As in previous years, central events will take place in the morning and those interested in

postgraduate study in Chemistry will come to the Department after 1.15. Between 3pm and 5pm,

potential research students will have the chance to meet individually for half an hour with

academic staff they are interested in working with.

Please could any academic staff who will be unavailable to meet with potential PhD and

MSc by research students at this time, email Alice Clifford at chemgrad@york.ac.uk.

Alice will be contacting section heads/coordinators shortly to provide current research details on

academic staff in their section and to nominate current students to speak to those attending and

to provide tours of their research area.

A timetable for the day can be seen on the next page:

Academic staff will be provided with an individual programme for informal discussions with potential students.

EUResearch - ERC Advanced Researcher Grants Call

As expected the call for Advanced Research Grants has been launched.

You can download documentation /call details/ deadlines here:

http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/page/ideas

The grants fund "frontier research" in any area and are worth up to 2.5 million EUROs (or 3.5

million where justified) over 5 years. Researchers should have a strong 10 year track record.

Further details are available in the Guide for Applicants and Ideas Work Programme (link above).

If you would like to discuss your proposal or for further advice please contact me initially. David

Lauder (david.lauder@york.ac.uk)

European Research Officer Research and Enterprise Directorate, Tel: 72-5220

Web Main Page: http://www.york.ac.uk/staff/research/external-funding/european/

Page 19

Time Event Location Conducted by

13:00 – 13:15 Brief campus tour on way to

Department

Meet Central Hall Rachel or Alice

13:15 – 13:45 Lunch

13:45 – 14:15 Welcome and Introduction to the

Department

A101 Kirsty Penkman

14:15 – 15:00 Sub-group stands with

posters and information on

available projects

A102 Academic staff/

graduate students

14:30 – 14:45 Separate tours of relevant areas

of Department

Atmospheric/analytical

Inorganic

Organic

Meet A102 Graduate students

from relevant areas

14:45 – 15:00 Separate tours of relevant areas

of Department

Green

Liquid Crystals

Physical

YSBL

Meet A102 Graduate students

from relevant areas

15:00 – 15:30 Informal discussions with first

proposed supervisor(s)

Meet A102 - Graduate

student to show to

relevant office

Academic staff

(parallel sessions)

15:30 – 16:00 Informal discussions with

second proposed supervisor(s)

Meet A102 – to be

collected by member

of staff

Academic staff

(parallel sessions)

16:00 – 16:30 Informal discussions with third

proposed supervisor(s)

Meet A102 – to be

collected by member

of staff

Academic staff

(parallel sessions)

16:30 – 17:00 Informal discussions with fourth

proposed supervisor(s)

Meet A102 – to be

collected by member

of staff

Academic staff

(parallel sessions)

Department of Chemistry Postgraduate Open Day

Programme - Wednesday 7 December 2011

Page 20

BBSRC Funding

Follow-on fund

http://www.researchprofessional.com/award/249462?__mhid=30817752

Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) This is for proof of concept at

the very early stage of turning research outputs into a commercial proposition. The grants are

worth £80,000 to £150,000 for a period of 12 months.

Award amount max: £150,000

Closing date: 20 December 2011

Super follow-on funding (pilot)

http://www.researchprofessional.com/award/1127394?__mhid=30817752

Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). This is a pilot for a new

larger strategic award similar to BBSRC's regular follow-on funding, for a proof of concept at the

very early stage of turning research outputs into a commercial proposition. The super follow-on

funding grants are valued between £250,000 and £1 million, for 12 to 24 months' duration.

Award amount max: £1,000,000

Closing date: 20 December 2011

Generic Student Training Text for Studentship Applications

Any member of staff who is submitting a studentship application may wish to refer to the generic

student training offered by the University's Researcher Development Team (RDT). Karen Clegg

(Director, Researcher Development Team) has put together some information which can be

obtained from Alice Clifford in the Chemistry Graduate Office.

RDT can also help develop bespoke skills training that you might want to run and highlight in a

bid. If you do want to do this please contact Sue Couling in advance of submitting the bid, who

can liaise with RDT on your behalf, so that they can assist you and ensure that they have the

resources available to support you at the time that you need it.

Page 21

Safety Matters Fire Hazards in Chemistry Labs

Fire Hazards from Flammable Solvents

A Winchester of diethylether was being returned to a

solvent cabinet in the Department recently when it caught

the bottom edge of the cabinet and broke (right), rapidly

emptying the contents onto the floor which evaporated

over the next few minutes. It does not take much to ignite

ether vapour as the temperature required is just 180 ºC.

In this instance, the vapour cloud did not ignite, but if it

had it would have been very serious for anyone in the

vicinity.

Just 1 litre of ether, gives nearly 400 litres of ether vapour,

which can mix with air to give 15 m3 of flammable vapour-

air mixture.

What could have happened was demonstrated recently

when just 300 ml of benzene was released as vapour at

another UK university; this did ignite and the resultant fire

ball & explosion caused flash burns to two people in the

vicinity, and nearly blew out the walls of the lab (right).

So if there is a breakage of a flammable solvent bottle:

Evacuate the lab & building immediately

Sound fire alarm on your way out and tell a member

of the Chemistry Safety Team

Evacuation Routes from Chemistry

There is much building work around the Chemistry Department currently, necessitating some

changes to evacuation routes:

The assembly point previous to the left of the Chemistry Hub is now to the right of the Hub

(as you face it); used by those leaving lower A & B blocks and lobe 2 of Teaching Labs

As a reminder, there is now an assembly point on the other side of Derwent Bridge: used by

those leaving A101, and upper A, D or Teaching Labs by their main entrances

The assembly point by Alcuin remains unaltered, though please be aware of traffic

Further Info: Evacuation Routes from Chemistry on Chemistry safety web pages

Moray Stark chem-safety@york.ac.uk

Page 22

Researcher-led Development Projects 2011-2012

Researcher-led Development Projects 2011-2012 - Deadline extended to 2nd December

A fund of up to £30,000* is available to research students and early-career researchers to

develop and deliver researcher- led projects that will result in either research with impact or

resources to support employability.

*Up to 10K will be made available for projects in each of the three broad subject areas: Sciences,

Social Sciences, and Arts and Humanities. Collaborative interdisciplinary projects that cut across

subject boundaries are welcome.

The fund can be used to develop projects in the following areas:

Public Engagement and Impact (including projects to support teaching)

Enterprise (commercialisation/ social enterprise

Policy

Knowledge Exchange

Employability/Career development

Further details and an application form can be found at:

http://www.york.ac.uk/admin/hr/researcher-development/resled.htm

Any questions please mail rdt@york.ac.uk

Staff Presentation Followed by Mince Pies and Mulled

Wine: 21 December at 14.30

There will be an annual review by Richard Taylor on Wednesday 21

December at 14.30 in A101, all staff (academic, research, teaching,

administrative and technical) are welcome to attend. This will be

followed by mince pies and mulled wine served in A102.

Page 23

This is a reminder that the deadline for the Internationalisation Seedcorn Awards will be 12

December. As this scheme requires departmental approval, a supporting statement from the HoD

and matching funding (which may be departmental), please let the HoD Office know of your

intention to submit an application by Friday 2 December with full applications needed by

Tuesday 6 December.

The International Relations Office looks forward to receiving high quality applications from all

departments aimed at stimulating international collaborations in teaching and research.

Applications can be from staff in a single department but this year the panel is also keen to

receive joint applications from more than one department. There is still a month before the

deadline so please pass this reminder onto colleagues in your department in case

some of them are still unaware of the scheme. Full guidelines and the application form are

available at: http://www.york.ac.uk/about/international-relations/international-relations/funding/ or

contact sandy.ritter@york.ac.uk, x 3198, for more information.

Sandy Ritter, International Relations Manager

International Seedcorn Awards Scheme

Learning and Teaching Forum Workshop

Research linked teaching

Monday 28 November 2011, 12.30-2.00pm, room HG21 Heslington Hall

(lunch will be available from 12.15)

This workshop will consider what it means to be a research-led institution. It will explore the

extent to which lecturers are able to use their research in their teaching and the extent to which

students should be engaged in their own research. Different models of the research / teaching

interface will be explored using case studies. This is the first of three Learning and Teaching

Forum sessions devoted to this important issue (one per term).

The session will be led by Dr John Issitt, Department of Education and Chair of Learning and

Teaching Forum and Dr Duncan Jackson, Professional and Organisational Development, Human

Resources.

If you would like to attend, please email janet.barton@york.ac.uk – thank you

Page 24

Responding to Graduate Student Feedback

Following the 2010/11 Graduate Forum, graduate student reps fed back to the Chemistry

Graduate School that they would prefer the Forum to take place in Autumn term rather than

Spring term as the information provided would be useful to new students. They also asked to

include some brief introductory talks from PhD students about the research in their area and an

update on the new Chemistry building.

The 2011/12 Forum was held on 9 November and included mini research talks from:

John Slattery on the new building

Kazim Naqvi, Physical Organic Chemistry

Eddie Davis, Liquid Crystals

Stephen Andrews, Atmospheric Chemistry

James Sherwood, Green Chemistry

The feedback on the Forum was very positive, particularly with regard to the research talks.

More talks will take place next year from the other research areas. We were also asked not to

repeat the same talks so we will avoid this next year.

If you are a graduate student and wish to feed back your views to the Department, you can

contact one of your reps:

Kush Sethi – MSc Green Chemistry

Mark Sims – Year 1 PhD

Richard Gammons – Year 2 PhD

Neetisha Mistry – Year 3 PhD

James Tunaley – Year 3 PhD Manchester, YSBL

Ryan Mewis – Post-doctoral researcher

or contact the Chemistry Graduate Office or the Chair of the Graduate School, Kirsty Penkman

Page 25

Submission Deadlines

Please remember that all exam reports and minor corrections forms for students wishing to

graduate at the January ceremony need to be with the Chemistry Graduate Office by Thursday

8th December.

Students should submit their FINAL thesis copies to the exams office by Friday 9th December if

they wish to Graduate in January 2012.

Suggestion Box

Reminder: there is a Suggestion Box located next to the pigeon holes in

the foyer of A Block and one outside Room K167 for YSBL

staff. Suggestions from staff are most welcome.

All suggestions are discussed at the departmental communications

meeting.

Research Forum: 16 December at 12.00 in A122

All academic staff are encouraged to attend a departmental research forum in A122 on Friday 16

December at 12.00. Please let Helen (helen.coombs@york.ac.uk) know if you are able to attend

(lunch will be provided). The aim of the forum is to discuss research council grant applications

and other funding opportunities.

Could staff who are unable to attend contact Jo Eastwood (Jo.Eastwood@york.ac.uk) to arrange

a 1:1 meeting with the HoD in the following week.

Bruker to Sponsor Graduate Poster Competition

The Department has recently received the great news that Bruker has agreed to sponsor the

annual Chemistry Graduate Poster Competition, following the end of Shell's association with this

event after many years.

Bruker will sponsor the competition for 3 years in the first instance.

The 2011/12 event will take place on Thursday 15 March 2012.

All PhD students in their 3rd year will be expected to participate. Further details will be provided

by the Chemistry Graduate Office in due course.

Page 26

Paintballing

On Sunday 6th Nov, a mixed team of eager and inquisitive scientists from YSBL and Chemistry

decided to give up their valuable free time to test out an age-old theory - "If you paintball your

colleague in the woods, can the trees hear them scream?"

Armed with over 500 rounds of

ammo and shooting from the hip,

twenty seekers of truth split into 2

teams and battled hard to make their

opponents squeal in the name of

science. Playing fast, combative

games such as "Storm the Bunker"

and "Hostage Rescue" were highly

effective ways of getting our blood

pumping and to keep the cries

coming.

Page 27

The satisfying thwack of paintballs

echoed around the woods, as did

a fair few shouts, cat-calls, shrieks

and expletives. Medics scurried

around the battlefield reviving

fallen comrades, only for them to

be picked off again by sneaky

snipers or mown down by

incoming hails of paintballs. Some

teams attacked while others

defended, all against a gorgeous

backdrop of sun-dappled trees

and exploding green paint.

Eventually after numerous games

and hours of combat, tired but

happy, and with empty ammo

hoppers and big grins on our faces

we all finally knew the truth to our

burning question. And the answer

was yes...yes, most definitely!

(Notes for the uninitiated and/or

geeks: paintballs are 0.68in

calible and travel at 300feet per

second...slow enough to see one

coming, not slow enough to

move out of its way. When

you're hit, you know about it!)

Simon Grist, 22 Nov 2011