Guest speaker – Professor Kathryn Lilley, BSPR Lecturer, from Cambridge University
Refreshements at 15.30pm in Chemistry foyer, followed by seminar at 15.45pm in Chemistry LTG
“Proteomics: design, quantitation and application to map the spatial proteome”
By Christian Pfrang, Department of Chemistry, University of Reading
Our new study found surprisingly complex arrangements of molecules inside droplets mimicking atmospheric aerosols.
These types of aerosols are typical of pollution emitted in large quantities by cooking processes in Greater London. This self-assembly is caused by molecules –such as fatty acids– containing both water-loving and water-hating parts. While the general concept of self-assembly is well-known and surface films of these molecules have been studied before, complex three-dimensional arrangements inside water-based droplets found in the atmosphere have not previously been considered.
The Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR, India) and the University of Reading (UK) are jointly organising an India – UK Workshop on Thermoelectric Materials for Waste-Heat Harvesting, to be held on 8-10 January 2018 in Bangalore. The workshop is part of the Newton Researcher Links Programme, jointly funded by the British Council and the Royal Society of Chemistry, and the event is also partially supported by the Sheikh Saqr Laboratory, ICMS, JNCASR.
The Workshop will bring together scientists from India and the UK to discuss the research and development of materials capable of converting waste heat into useful electricity. The topic is of global interest but it is particularly relevant for the development of India, where heat is abundant but electricity is still scarce: over 300 million people in rural India have no access to electricity, and those who do, often find the electricity supply to be intermittent and unreliable.
The main goal of the Workshop is to establish effective and durable collaboration links between researchers in UK and India working on thermoelectric materials. The workshop will also provide training to participating early career researchers, with sessions dedicated to experimental and theoretical techniques to investigate thermoelectric materials, as well as discussions of career opportunities in this field.
Early Career Researchers (individuals holding a PhD and having up to 10 years of post-PhD research experience in a relevant field) from the UK and India are invited to submit their applications for participation in this Workshop. We will provide funding to selected applicants, including the cost of international or domestic travel, local travel (between airport and JNCASR), accommodation and meals.
Completed application forms should be sent via email to the Workshop coordinators (Dr Ricardo Grau-Crespo for applications from the UK, and Dr Kanishka Biswas for applications from India) whose contact details are given below.
In addition, there is a small number of slots available for self-funded participants at any career stage, who will need to pay a fee of £200 for covering the cost of registration, accommodation and meals. Self-funded applicants should also submit the application form for participation.
The deadline for applications is Friday 1st September 2017.
The workshop will be held at the beautiful campus of the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR). The institute is located near Bangalore’s International Airport, which serves direct flights from the UK, and it has first-class conference facilities including well-equipped conference rooms.
| Prof. Umesh V. Waghmare (JNCASR, Bangalore, India) |
| Prof. Anthony V. Powell (University of Reading, UK) |
| Prof. Robert Freer (University of Manchester, UK) |
| Prof. D. K. Aswal (CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, New Delhi, India) |
| Dr Ricardo Grau-Crespo (University of Reading, UK)
Email: r.grau-crespo@reading.ac.uk |
| Dr Kanishka Biswas (JNCASR, Bangalore, India)
Email: kanishka@jncasr.ac.in |
On Wednesday the 5th of April two senior people from the Fraunhofer Research Organisation in Germany will visit us, more specifically from the Institute of Molecular Biology and Applied Biology (IME); Dr Mark Bücking (Head of Department Environmental & Food Analysis) and Dr Matthias Kotthoff (Head of Laboratory Environmental & Food Analysis).
They will give a presentation on the research activities of IME, and are really keen to engage in discussions on potential collaborative opportunities.
The presentation will start at 10:00 in Chemistry LTG (lecture theatre at ground floor) and the room is booked until 12:00, so if you would like to have discussions with them feel free to stay; if you could please let me know that would be great.
By Stephanie Bull, food scientist, Chemistry Food & Pharmacy
Reading is known as one of the world’s leading centres for the study of food and health. We have outstanding facilities and expertise to study the whole food chain – from climate, weather, soil, farming, food processing, nutrition, to human health and cognition.
Michael Mosley at the University of Reading
So it’s no surprise that TV producers beat a regular path to our door when they want to see the latest scientific research. And none does so quite as innovatively and beautifully demonstrated as BBC Two’s latest science documentary, The Secrets of Your Food
The programme, which has its final episode this week (Friday 10 March) at 9pm on BBC Two, shows the effects food has on our taste buds, brains, and bodies. Alongside the widespread locations and elegant CGI are, of course, frequent shots of scientific demonstrations carried out at the University of Reading in the Department of Food and Nutritional Science, and in the Department of Chemistry.
In the first episode, We Are What We Eat, I helped presenter Michael Mosley to separate the various components of breast milk in our Food Pilot Plant; investigate how the proteins in egg unfold and denature at different temperatures to create the perfectly cooked egg; demonstrate the production of gas by yeast; and compare fats from different food.
“Interfacing Nanomaterials with Biology: From CRISPR to Antimicrobials”
Prof Vincent Rotello, University of Massachusetts Amherst, RSC Bioorganic Chemistry Award Winner
Title TBC
Prof Vincent Rotello, University of Massachusetts Amherst, RSC Bioorganic Chemistry Award Winner
“Through the looking glass, and what amino acids found there”
Dr Kirsty Penkman, University of York, RSC Joseph Black Award Winner
“Probing structure and dynamics of (nano)materials for battery applications”
Dr Serena Corr, University of Glasgow
“Designing Function in Porous Molecular Solids”
Professor Andrew Cooper
University of Liverpool