Iron Age weapons join the fight against Antimicrobial resistance

On the evening of Tuesday 15 October, RSC Belgium welcomed Professor Ricardo Louro who is head of the Inorganic Biochemistry and the NMR laboratory at ITQB-NOVA – an interdisciplinary research and advanced training institute of NOVA University in Lisbon, Portugal - to talk to us about antimicrobial resistance (AMR), which is an emerging concern that is threatening to burst the antibiotic bubble that has kept us largely safe from bacterial infection for nearly eight decades since the discovery of penicillin by Alexander Fleming.

It is estimated that AMR directly caused over 1.2 million deaths globally in 2019 and was a contributing factor in just under 5 million more. Without immediate global action, AMR could lead directly to over 8.2 million deaths each year by 2050 overtaking cancer as the primary cause of death.

A new global initiative to tackle AMR was launched in September this year at the United Nations General Assembly. The UN commitment aims to strengthen efforts to combat AMR and sets important targets, such as cutting global AMR-related deaths by 10% by 2030 and developing national action plans. Additional goals include reducing the use of antibiotics in agriculture and ensuring that low- and middle-income countries receive adequate financial support to fight AMR.

Professor Louro presented the problem, described current antibiotic targets and argued that scientific discoveries are uncovering new targets that have the potential to preserve our protection from bacterial infections into the future. In particular he focused on the emergence of  “Iron age weapons” that can help us to fight AMR by interfering with the iron metabolism of the target bacteria.

The talk, which took place at the British School of Brussels in Tervuren, was followed by a lively Q&A session that extended into our usual networking social event afterwards.

YouTube Video

Ricardo's excellent talk on AMR was recorded and can be found on our dedicated Youtube channel or as an embedded video below. Enjoy!

Waterloo Rediscovered

On the morning of Sunday 22 September 2024 RSC members and friends enjoyed an entertaining and informative walk on the battlefield of Waterloo with military historian and author Jean-Philippe Tondeur.

Our party met at the Ferme du Caillou on the Chausse de Bruxelles to the south of the battlefield. This building was where Napoleon stayed on the night before the battle and was his last headquarters. This ancient farmhouse is now a museum and here Jean-Philippe described the events leading up to the battle and some insights on Napoleon’s strategy and battle plans.

The party then moved onto the Ferme de la Belle Alliance. Built in 1765, by 1815, the property was a tavern and despite being at the centre of the French lines suffered relatively little from the battle. The main building (pictured below, behind the RSC party) and the annexed stable escaped destruction, although its original outbuildings were ruined.

In Germany, the battle is known as "Belle-Alliance Sieg", the victory of Belle-Alliance, rather than the Battle of Waterloo. The Prussians observed the coincidence between this place name and the political and military alliance that brought down the Napoleonic Empire.

The tavern was also where Napoleon was mainly located during the battle and the place that the two victorious ‘allied’ commanders, Wellington and Blucher, met at the end of the day’s fighting. Today the Belle-Alliance is owned by Jean-Philippe.

Jean-Philippe then took the party along a footpath, le Chemin de Plancenoit, to describe the main elements of the battle with an excellent  view over the battlefield site. It is striking how small the main battlefield is considering the number of soldiers involved.

To complete our excursion most of our party then proceeded to the Maximus Waterloo restaurant on the Route du Lion, in the shadow of the famous Butte du Lion memorial, for a relaxing lunch.

Further reading

Our thanks to Jean-Philippe for his talk. The RSC Belgium party found his descriptions really interesting with new insights and anecdotes that added colour to the Waterloo ‘story’ and helped us understand better what was really going on during the day of the battle.

If you would like to read more about the battle, Jean-Philippe's publications ‘Les Éditions de la Belle-Alliance’ on the battle and the 1815 campaign are available to purchase. 

Les éditions de La Belle Alliance were born in 1998 and are a collaboration between Jean-Philippe and illustrators Patrice Courcelle and Bernard Coppens. All three wanted to work on an approach to the Battle of Waterloo that was more detailed and, above all, more critical and analytical than what had gone before.

Ten Years of Norman Lloyd Scholarships Celebrated

On the evening of Tuesday 10 September RSC Belgium held a special ‘Celebration of Chemistry’ event in the Brel Theatre at the British School of Brussels (BSB) to celebrate two of our initiatives that aim to support young people studying chemistry and to deepen their interest in the chemical sciences as a career.

The event was the prize giving event for our 2024 Chemistry Challenge initiative (see separate blog for the results and prize winners) for students in their penultimate year in high school and also marked ten years of our Norman Lloyd scholarships at Cardiff University. The scholarships are awarded to a first-year student studying chemistry at Cardiff.

After the prize awards ceremony for the 2024 Chemistry Challenge RSC Belgium, Chair Professor Bob Crichton described the Norman Lloyd Scholarships and how they came about.

The scholarships were established in 2014 in memory of Dr Norman Lloyd, who was one of RSC Belgium’s founding members and an active and enthusiastic supporter of the section’s activities. The scholarship fund was established following the immense generosity of Norman’s friends, family and colleagues at Dow Corning, where he was Director of Research for Europe until his retirement in 1992. 

In consultation with Norman’s family, it was decided to approach Cardiff University to establish the Dr Norman C. Lloyd Scholarships to provide an annual scholarship of £1,000 for an undergraduate student, in their first year of study and from a relatively deprived or underrepresented background, in the Cardiff School of Chemistry.

Bob outlined Norman’s illustrious career and his many valuable contributions to the section’s activities both scientific and social.

RSC Belgium secretary Tim Reynolds then presented the ten scholars that the fund had supported from 2014 to 2024 highlighting their appreciation of the scholarship’s support and its impact on their  experience at university and beyond.

Norman’s daughter Mitchko (pictured above with Bob, Norman’s widow Setsuko. and our speaker from Cardiff, Dr Tom Tatchell) responded on behalf of the family and thanked everyone who had contributed to the fund. She felt it had been a very fitting tribute to her father.

Chemistry at Cardiff

Our main speaker at the event was Dr Tom Tatchell who is Education & Students Manager at the School of Chemistry at Cardiff University and talked about the impact of the Scholarships at Cardiff.

Tom expanded his presentation to cover the general area of chemistry and education, the current chemical sciences job market, and the changing face of chemistry with respect to future trends such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) etc. He talked about studying chemistry, how it has changed from being very “bench” focussed to now needing other complementary skills like management, business and languages.

Earlier in the day Tom had visited St Johns International School in Waterloo to talk to students about careers in and further study of the chemical sciences.

After the talks, a drinks reception was held for all attendees.

RSC Belgium Chemistry Challenge 2024 Results and Prizes

The results of the RSC Belgium Chemistry Challenge 2024 were announced at our Celebration of Chemistry event on 22 September 2024 at the British School of Brussels (BSB) in Tervuren. For the 2024 Challenge, ten schools took part (four European Schools and six International Schools) with just over 100 students participating - a very encouraging number. This year saw a very good showing from students from the International School of Brussels (ISB). 

As usual, the Challenge was designed to test students’ chemical knowledge and initiative and consisted of has three sections:

• A chemistry multiple choice paper (Section A)
• A structured questions on chemistry (Section B), and
• A 'Thinking Matters' paper that is not chemistry based (Section C)

The top results were as follows:

Section A - Multiple choice

First prize for this section was won jointly by Juliette Martin and Nomura Rydoi both from ISB who each received a €50 award.

It was a triple tie for second place with Joaquim Dornelas Rangel from BSB, Riddhi Narlawar from the European School at Mol (ESM) and Antoni Zielinski of ISB all winning €25 prizes, while a third prize of €10 went to Jonas Baltramaitis from the European School of Luxembourg 1 (ESL1).

Section B - Structured questions

In this section the first prize of €50 was awarded to Naomi Trevelyan-Shipp of ISB with Juliette Martin of ISB picking up the second prize of €25. The third prize of €10 was awarded to Alexandre Escardino from BSB.

Section C - Thinking Matters

The top prize in this section of €50 went to Julius Jager from the European School of Brussels 1 (EEB1). The Second prize of €25 went to Alex Gal from Montgomery International School and the third prize worth €10 was awarded to Juyoung Chang of ISB.

The Keith Price Prize

With her first prize in Section A and second place in Section B, this year's Keith Price Prize was claimed by Juliette Martin (pictured below with RSC Belgium Chair Professor Bob Crichton and Dr Susan Schamp, RSC Belgium Schools Coordinator and the question setter for this year's Chemistry Challenge), who received an additional €100 reward.

Well done to everyone who took part in this year's Chemistry Challenge! Every student that entered the competition receives a certificate of participation. And, of course, we will be running the Challenge again in 2025 and look forward to further widening participation.

The Future of the Chemical Sciences

On the evening of Thursday 23 May 2024 RSC Belgium was delighted to be welcome the President of the Royal Society of Chemistry, Professor Gillian Reid, to Belgium to talk to us about her research and update us on RSC activities around the world. The talk took place at the British School of Brussels in Tervuren.

Gill’s talk was entitled ‘The Future of the Chemical Sciences’. Gill Reid is a long serving member of the chemical science community and a passionate advocate for our discipline. As she nears the end of her two-year tenure as RSC President she talked about the highlights from her time as President and the opportunities she sees for the future of the chemical sciences.

Gill said that one of the many great advantages of the RSC is that our 50,000 members worldwide represented the whole breadth of the chemical science community from teachers introducing children to chemistry for the first time, to chemists in industry and academia who are pushing forward the boundaries of our discipline. This means that the RSC gets a very broad picture of the trends and issues that are shaping the future of the chemical sciences.

Gill shared what the society sees as the key opportunities for the chemical sciences and our priorities in helping the community make the most of these. There is no doubt that chemistry is a powerful catalyst for change and the impact of our chemistry community is incredible: from developing medicines, vaccines and diagnostics when the world needs them most to keeping our food and water safe, clean and in good supply; creating revolutionary technologies and materials to generate and store clean energy and, most importantly, inspiring generations of young minds, helping them forge their paths to fulfilling careers and lives.

Gill's presentation sparked a lively question and answer session with conversations continuing into the networking reception after the talk.

YouTube Video

Gill's whistle-stop tour of some of the most important areas of RSC activity was recorded and can be found on our dedicated Youtube channel or as an embedded video below. Enjoy!

Gill's Biography

Gillian Reid is Professor of Inorganic Chemistry and former Head of the Department of Chemistry at the University of Southampton. Her research involves coordination chemistry, inorganic semiconductors and metal fluoride scaffolds. In 2020, she was appointed the President-elect of the Royal Society of Chemistry, becoming President in 2022 for a two-year term.

Gill became interested in chemistry whilst at high school and studied the subject at the University of Edinburgh, where she earned her bachelor's degree in 1986. She remained there for her doctoral research on macrocyclic complexes. After her PhD, and a two-year postdoctoral research position in Edinburgh, Reid moved to a lectureship in the University of Southampton.

She was promoted to Professor in 2006 and under her leadership, Southampton joined the Knowledge Centre for Materials Chemistry. Reid leads molecular assembly and structure at the University. Her work in inorganic coordination chemistry has a particular focus on the design of macrocyclic ligands that involve chalcogen donor atoms. She makes use of non-aqueous electrodeposition to grow inorganic semiconductor alloys. Electrodeposition allows for bottom-up growth without the need for an ultra-high vacuum environment. She has also created molecular reagents that allow the synthesis of compounds for use in non-volatile memory, thermoelectric generators and two-dimensional materials.

Gill is a great believer in outreach activities and was co-founder of the Southampton Science and Engineering Day, which evolved into the Southampton Science and Engineering Festival. In 2010, Reid was made the Head of the Department of Chemistry Outreach Programme and in 2015, she co-led the Royal Society Summer Science exhibit ‘Taking Technology Smaller’, which introduced the public to electrochemistry as a means to build nanoscale electronic devices.

Zarah Ahmed reports on her Norman Lloyd Scholarship experience

Zarah Ahmed (pictured below), was the tenth recipient of a Dr Norman C. Lloyd Scholarship at Cardiff University and has just completed the first year of her MCheM degree in Chemistry at the university and has submitted her end of year report. The Norman Lloyd Scholarship is given to a new student in the Cardiff School of Chemistry who is of high academic standing and resident in Wales.

What degree are you undertaking and why did you choose the course here?

I am undertaking an integrated master's in chemistry with a year in industry. I chose to complete my course here at Cardiff as I feel that it met all my needs in a degree. It has both work-experience and the MChem within four years. As a home student I also did not have to worry about familiarising myself with the area.

What is the best thing about studying at Cardiff and how have you found your experience so far?

Studying at home has both its pros and cons but the pros outweighed the cons for me personally. Firstly, I did not have to worry about accommodation and the increased maintenance it requires compared to living at home. Cardiff is a very walkable city and so most days I can walk to and from university. The Main Building is close to the city centre so I can always quickly grab a bite to eat as well as use various cafes, libraries, etc., to study which is fantastic.

What are your plans after you graduate?

In terms of a career, I am still a little unsure. At the moment, I am interested in drug testing/toxicology, environmental science, and research. After graduating, my plan would be to find work as a lab technician/research assistant as I feel that these positions would allow me to gain valuable skills as well as opportunities to network. I am hoping to create a good impression in my year in industry so that I feel confident to apply to new companies/organisations. I also hope that my year in industry will allow me to gain more insight into what I could excel in, in the future.

What have you enjoyed most and what have you found most challenging?

During this year, I have really enjoyed my practical module. It was interesting putting core module concepts with real-life experiments and seeing the experiment prove ideas. I really enjoy following the manual and learning to work out efficient ways to carry out the experiment with my partner. I am immensely proud of my second semester lab reports and feel that my results are a big achievement for me. I improved from 64% in first semester to 88% in my second semester. I am happy that I was able to use the feedback and comments to really improve my lab report writing skills.

What do you do in your spare time/alongside your degree?

I enjoy crocheting, reading books and journal/diary writing. Next year, I would like to try the Languages for All module.

What difference has this scholarship made to you? Has it enabled you to achieve anything that you would not have been able to before?

The scholarship has given me confidence in my academic ability and motivated me to do better and to strive for higher. It has given me hope that I can realistically apply for internships and other experiences without having to worry too much about finances. I was also able to comfortably lower my part-time job hours to focus more on my studies as well as my mental health.

If you could say something to the donor who gave you this gift, what would it be?

I am so incredibly grateful that I was chosen for this scholarship, and for the stability and reassurance it has given me, thank you.

We wish Zarah every success for the future!

The scholarship

The Norman Lloyd scholarship was set up by RSC Belgium in collaboration with Norman’s family and Cardiff University in memory of our old friend and supporter Norman Lloyd. Norman was himself a student at an institution that is now part of the university. The funds raised provide an annual scholarship of £1,000 for an undergraduate student, usually in their first year of study, at the Cardiff School of Chemistry.

Artificial Intelligence

On the evening of Thursday 25 April 2024 RSC Belgium welcomed Richard Adams FRSA to the British School of Brussels (BSB) in Tervuren to talk to us about ‘Artificial Intelligence (AI) – what it is, what it can and can’t do?’. 

In an entertaining and informative talk Richard (pictured below), who is currently Head of Digital Architecture at LNER and consulting at GBRTT, outlined his vision and experience of AI and how it will, and already is, affecting our daily lives. He has a positive, optimistic view on AI and the benefits it can bring to society.

 

Richard has worked at the intersection of emerging technologies and creativity for over 30 years both in small and large enterprise scales. He has made interactive TV, games, interactive marketing, designed tiny and extremely large complex systems, games, entertainment and more. These days he can be found in the realm of Architecture where he makes sure systems work and are designed for future and emerging business needs, handling systems and complexity, fully exploiting Machine Learning and AI to solve business problems. He also is exploring the use of AI in his art works.

Some of the companies has worked at include Microsoft Studios, the RSC (the other one), BSkyB, BBC, Proximus, LNER, GBRTT, and more. He also co-founded a business and as a bonus has also worked in education as teacher, lecturer, Principal and has held Visiting Professor and Fellowship roles. He was Chair of Professors Without Borders for four years and remains a trustee.

Not surprisingly he is an in-demand speaker, keynote and chair as well as a published author and an FRSA, BAFTA and Society of Authors member. His educational background encompasses both Art and Computer Science, at Masters level and above.

Richard's talk was well attended and sparked a lively question and answer session with conversations continuing into the networking reception after the talk.

YouTube Video

Richard's talk and the subsequent discussion was recorded and can be found on our dedicated Youtube channel or as an embedded video below. Enjoy!