Chemistry’s New Frontiers: Insights from Inaugural Lectures

The recent inaugural lectures explore pioneering research aimed at shaping a more sustainable, efficient and insightful future for chemistry.

On Wednesday 21st May, the Department of Chemistry showcased five incredible lecturers as they delivered their inaugural lectures, each sharing exciting insights into their research. The event brought together fascinating ideas, from sustainable plastics to groundbreaking new antibiotics, offering a glimpse into the future of chemistry.

Dr Charles Romain kicked things off with his work on making plastics that won’t cost us the Earth. He talked about innovative ways to design better polymers, with a focus on new catalytic systems that could make plastic production more efficient and environmentally friendly.

Professor Jason Micklefield, who recently joined Imperial from the University of Manchester, explored how nature’s enzymes can be harnessed to create new medicines, including antibiotics and anticancer drugs. By studying enzymes from unique bacteria, his team can reprogram them to develop more efficient and sustainable ways to produce pharmaceuticals.

Dr David Ayuso took the audience into the world of chirality, the concept of left and right-handed molecules. He explained how this subtle molecular difference can affect everything from drug effectiveness to disease detection and even agriculture, highlighting why chirality plays a crucial role in our everyday lives.

Dr Oriol Planas, who recently moved to Imperial from Queen Mary University, shared his vision for more sustainable catalysis. His work explores how earth-abundant elements can be used in place of precious metals to create more efficient and scalable chemical reactions, challenging traditional approaches to catalysis.

Closing the event, Dr Josef Boronski shed light on the mysteries of metal-metal bonding. He explained how molecules with metal-metal bonds can act as tiny fragments of bulk metals, allowing scientists to better understand some of the lesser-known elements of the Periodic Table.

The lectures offered an exciting glimpse into the innovative research shaping modern chemistry. From sustainability to molecular design, these researchers are helping push the boundaries of the field, inspiring future discoveries that could benefit everything from medicine to materials science.