Top of the Bench back in-person for 2022

On Saturday 17 December, RSC Belgium was able to hold our first in-person Top of the Bench (TOTB) regional heat for a few years. The heat was held later in the year than normal, which meant that just two schools were able to take part. But both the British School of Brussels (BSB) and St. Georges International School from Luxembourg were able to field two teams each to compete on the day for a very tight competition.

BSB were on home 'turf' as the event was held in the chemistry laboratories at the school in Tervuren. St. Georges travelled up from Luxembourg on the day arriving in good time for 'kick off' at 13h30.

This year the first part of the competition was an 'Escape Room Challenge' quiz devised by RSC Belgium Committee member Susan Schamp. This was a bit of an icebreaker and definitely a teambuilding effort. Each team had to solve a chain of clues with the first team to ‘escape’ deemed the winner.

After refreshments the second element of the day was the Practical Activity Challenge in which team members needed to make some strategic choices, carry out experiments, process observations and relate their findings to a potential application of recycling a metal. The practical element was, as ever, devised by RSC Committee member Rita Woodward.

Joining Rita and Susan in observing and judging the event were Tim Reynolds and Olivier Schamp (pictured above). RSC teaching staff was represented by Jonathan Norris and St. Georges teachers present throughout the day were Kayleigh van Dongen and Marco Macedo Foz.

A close result

The competition was extremely keen and a very tight contest was eventually won by Team Sodium from the British School of Brussels. In second place was Team Fluorine from St Georges with their Copper team taking 'bronze' position. Team Iodine from BSB was not far behind in fourth.

BSB's Team Sodium won the coveted Keith Price Cup (see above) and will now represent Belgium section at the National finals of TOTB that will be held on Saturday 25 March 2023 at the University of East London. The theme of this event will be Sustainable Energy.

Our thanks as ever to Rita and Susan for developing the written and practical tasks for our Top of the Bench event and all the teams for their enthusiasm and hard work. Congratulation to the winners and everyone who took part.

Eighth Norman Lloyd Scholar report is in!

Martim Rodrigo (pictured below), the eighth recipient of a Dr Norman C. Lloyd Scholarship at Cardiff University has completed the first year of his MCheM degree in Chemistry at the university and he has submitted an 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. The ninth recipient of the Scholarship at Cardiff has also just been announced.

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

I am studying BSc Chemistry at Cardiff University. I chose this course due to the excellent reputation of the university, the lecture and laboratory facilities and the opportunities that would be afforded to me once I have completed my degree.

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

The best thing about studying at Cardiff was being able to leave the sixth form bubble. In high school, you are exposed to people living in the same part of town. In college, you are exposed to students from around the city. In university, you have the chance to meet other students from around the country and even abroad! I have had the most fantastic time at university, and I am certain that I am now ready for the next steps after graduation.

Do you have a career in mind after you graduate/what are your plans after you graduate?

After graduation, I will be reading Medicine at the University of Oxford. My goal is to pursue a career in Medicine and Education.

Achievements/what you enjoyed most and what have you found most challenging?

The transition from post-lockdown Year 13 to university proved to be difficult at first. I needed to develop healthy, yet effective study habits lost during lockdown and university has enabled me to achieve this. I have also been able to attend enrichment conferences in London which helped me to network with much more experienced professionals from all around the country.

Do you do anything extracurricular in your spare time/alongside your degree?

I tried many societies out during my degree ranging from sports, politics, debating, to religious societies. I was also able to try new sports out and broaden my horizons! I am also attempting to scale up both my business and my outreach work to the whole country.

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

This scholarship was an opportunity that allowed me grow academically and as an individual. I have used the scholarship to invest in my soft skills which has led me to being shortlisted by Oxford Medical School to read Medicine in 2024. I have also contributed to widening access initiatives by running workshops which help students to polish their university applications. In addition to this, I have been able to spend more time studying for my degree as I was fortunate enough to not need to get a part-time job during my studies which I could not be more grateful for.

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

I want to thank the donor for their generosity. It is so rewarding to be acknowledged for our hard work. The impact of the scholarship will be everlasting. When I started my course, I was less mature and had many goals. I can say that I look forward confidently and that being a scholar has played a major role in my achievements. I wish the donor a Merry Christmas and I would like to thank them for allowing students living in Wales to invest in their future and making the world a better place. I am proud to say that I have contributed to improving social mobility in this country and said volunteering work was done thanks to this scholarship.

We wish Martim 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.

Ninth Norman Lloyd Scholar announced!

Benjamin Condon (pictured below) is the latest recipient of the Dr. Norman Lloyd RSC Belgium scholarship at Cardiff University. Benjamin is in his first year at Cardiff on a MCheM degree course. 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.

Benjamin wrote to the section following his award:

"I am writing to express my heartfelt gratitude to the Royal Society of Chemistry Belgium and the family of Dr Norman Lloyd for the Chemistry scholarship award which I have received. This generous award has not only provided me with much-needed financial support, but has also given me the confidence and motivation to excel in my studies as a first year MChem student at Cardiff School of Chemistry.

The money provided will allow me to further my chemistry skills by attending workshops and placement opportunities over the summer break period along with additional support for purchasing reading material and technology.

I have always considered studying chemistry after gaining a CREST gold award for the Welsh engineering education scheme whilst partaking in a chemical engineering project for Vale Nickel company. When redesigning a hydrogen heater for this company I gathered an interest in chemistry over my other science subjects. Since then, I have become a finalist in the South Wales Chemical Olympiad competition and also received a Seren Award for a project focussed on using hydrogen to produce energy.

Receiving this award has certainly inspired me to work even harder to achieve my goals in this field. I am committed to making the most of this opportunity to help me complete my chemistry degree at Cardiff. After university, I hope to pursue a career in medicine allowing me to help tackle some of the most pressing health challenges using my chemical knowledge.

Thank you again for your support and belief in me. I am truly honoured to be a recipient of this scholarship."

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.

The Magic of Miniature Molecular Machines

On the evening of Thursday 24 November RSC Belgium welcomed back Professor David Leigh from University of Manchester to talk about ‘Making the tiniest Machines’ with some extraordinary chemistry and also a few marvellous magic tricks! David is not only a skilled research leader and presenter but also a member of his local Magic Circle so we were treated to a highly informative and entertaining evening. The talk was hosted at the British School of Brussels in Tervuren and was also online.

According to the 2016 Nobel Prize in Chemistry Committee “We are at the dawn of a new industrial revolution of the twenty-first century, and the future will show how molecular machinery can become an integral part of our lives. The advances made have also led to the first steps towards creating truly programmable machines, and it can be envisaged that molecular robotics will be one of the next major scientific areas.”

In his highly entertaining talk David took us through much of the research that led to that statement and the award of the Chemistry Nobel Prize in 2016 to Jean-Pierre Sauvage, Sir Fraser Stoddart and Ben Feringa "for the design and synthesis of molecular machines". 

Molecular motion

In recent years, some of the first examples of synthetic molecular level machines and motors—all be they primitive by biological standards—have been developed. These molecules are often best designed to work through statistical mechanisms, rectifying random thermal motion through ratchet mechanisms in a manner reminiscent of Maxwell’s Demon. The first programmable systems have been introduced: the forerunners of a new technological era of molecular robotics.

Perhaps the best way to appreciate the technological potential of controlled molecular-level motion is to recognise that nanomotors and molecular-level machines lie at the heart of every significant biological process. Over billions of years of evolution Nature has not repeatedly chosen this solution for achieving complex task performance without good reason. In stark contrast to biology, none of mankind’s fantastic myriad of present day technologies exploit controlled molecular-level motion in any way at all: every catalyst, every material, every plastic, every pharmaceutical, every chemical reagent, all function exclusively through their static or equilibrium dynamic properties. When we learn how to build artificial structures that can control and exploit molecular level motion, and interface their effects directly with other molecular-level substructures and the outside world, it will potentially impact on every aspect of functional molecule and materials design. An improved understanding of physics and biology will surely follow.

You can find out much more about David’s research group and their work (including the recent ‘Tape reading rachet’ paper in Nature and numerous informative video) on their dedicated website. And you can also view a pdf version of David's presentation here.

Exoplanets: the quest for other worlds beyond our solar system

On 20 October 2022 RSC Belgium launched into deepest space with an entertaining and informative talk on 'Exoplanets or the quest for other worlds beyond our solar system' from Prof Michaël Gillon of the University of Liege. Michaël led the team that stunned the world with the discovery of seven potentially inhabitable planets orbiting the Trappist-1 star, some 40 light years from Earth.

In the talk he described some of the experiments and missions that have discovered new worlds far, far away – some with potentially Earth like characteristics. In 2017 Prof Gillon led the TRAPPIST (TRAnsiting Planets and PlanetesImals Small Telescope) project that was the first to detect an extrasolar multi-planetary system and this work continues in the SPECULOOS (Search for habitable Planets EClipsing ULtra-cOOl Stars) project.

Since the dawn of the Copernican revolution, the existence of exoplanets, i.e., planets in orbit around other stars than our Sun, has remained suspected but unconfirmed until very recently. It is only in the last decade of the 20th century that the first of these extrasolar worlds were found. These seminal discoveries initiated the development of more and more ambitious projects that led eventually to the detection of thousands of exoplanets, including a few dozen potentially habitable ones, i.e., Earth-like exoplanets that could harbour large amounts of liquid water -and maybe life- on their surfaces. Our most powerful telescopes will soon be able to probe the atmospheric compositions of some of these extrasolar worlds, performing maybe in the process the historical detection of the chemical signs of life many light-years away. Such a discovery would change our view of the Cosmos forever.

Gillon described our own solar system and Earth's unique place in it: in the 'habitable zone' where liquid water can exist on the planet's surface. He mentioned that the search for exoplanets has existed almost since the start of modern astronomy with Huygens making computations on the possibility to see planets orbiting other stars.

However it was not until the early 80s that the first imaging of circumstellar protoplanetary disks using the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) was possible (see above).

The first exoplanet detection was in 1992 with the first detection of a planet around a Sun-like system in 1995. This was of a Jupiter-like planet orbiting very close to its 'Sun'. These pioneering observations led to a burst of research and now over 5000 exoplanets have been catalogued.

It is probable that planets are everywhere with nearly all stars in our galaxy surrounded by a system of planets. In fact it is likely that planets are a natural byproduct of the formation of all solar systems but there is huge diversity of systems (see above). Our system format seems to be very rare and in addition to planets in solar systems a few hundred ‘free floating’ planets have been discovered; presumably ejected from their 'mother' system at some point in the distant past.

Despite the rarity of Sun-like solar systems plenty of habitable zone planets have been found (see above) and imaging is possible, which also means that spectroscopy of these exoplanets is possible (see below). Life on a planet will alter the composition of the atmosphere on a planet and therefore its spectroscopic signal.

The new James Webb Space Telescope has an infrared detector and so could detect this potential signal of life on distant exoplanets. Gillon is involved with two networks of ground-based robotic telescopes - TOSS (Transient Optical Sky Survey) and SPECULOOS - that are looking for best targets for Webb to further investigate. The TRAPPIST experiment was the prototype for the SPECULOOS robotic telescopes.

Further giant telescopes are planned to aid the search for exoplanets. After James Webb, an Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) should be operational from 2030 equipped with a 40 metre mirror that adapts to compensate for varying atmospheric conditions should be capable of directly imaging exoplanets. And then further, larger and smarter space-based systems.

Gillon believes that an answer to our search for life beyond our solar system could be close! 

Watch again

You can re-watch the webinar on our YouTube Channel or via the video embedded below.