Charl invited to speak in Hobart

Charl was invited to speak at the Australasian Colloid and Interface Society’s Biennial symposium in Hobart, Tasmania!  He spoke about some of the work from the FRG in the area of electroactive materials.

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It has been a great meeting so far and a good chance to meet up with some old friends (like Dr Rico Tabor, now from Monash University)! And all of this taking place in a wonderful setting!

Leverhulme grant awarded to Bristol

This £210,000 collaborative grant has been awarded to a research team from engineering (aerospace and engineering mathematics) and chemistry. Efforts in the lab are led by Dicker, and his work with biomimetic devices that re-orientate in response to light. See the University of Bristol’s news article here

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The work is inspired by sun-tracking plants and uses pH-sensitive hydrogels in combination with photoacids to achieve actuation. These devices could be used to maximise the efficiency of photovoltaic panels by tracking the sun throughout the day.

Charl on a short trip to China

Charl went to China to attend the annual PhD workshop in Beijing, where he met many outstanding candidates interested in joining the School of Chemistry, as well as the BCFN and the BCS, as PhD students. What a pleasure to talk to motivated and bright candidates! There were also two alumni events (Shanghai and Beijing) which Charl attended as part of this short trip.

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 Finally, Dr Terry McMaster (Director – BCFN), Dr Emma Turner (Course Manager – BCS) and Charl visited Jilin University, hosted by the College of Chemistry. They met with Prof Junqi Sun and a number of colleagues from across JU to talk about collaboration and student exchange. Terry, Emma and Charl also had a chance to speak to interested students in the afternoon!

Faul Group is front page news!

Congratulations to Yaozu for making the front cover of Macromolecular Rapid Communications this month with his research on amine-linked oligocarbazole hollow microspheres!

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This latest work has real-world applications in providing an alternative, reusable material for the absorption of lead from contaminated water sources.

Charl in Thailand … exploring collaborations and doing recruitment!

Charl is currently in Thailand, with a number of academics from the UoB (including Dr Emma Turner from the BCS) and Janie Digby-Lee from the UoB’s International Office. Charl and Janie attended an OCSC Placement day on Friday, as well as various recruitment events.

They also visited Harrow International School earlier the week, where Charl spoke to science students about his research. Charl and Emma will be visiting Kasetsart University tomorrow, talking about the BCFN and the BCS, amongst others!

Birthdays don’t need to be large-scale events…

To celebrate a birthday within the group, Carl used his expertise in 2-photon polymerisation and 3D lithography to produce this 15 micrometer scale birthday cake!  The cake was part of Carl and Alex’s birthday celebrations, a much larger scale event!

carl_cake1Too small to be seen with the naked eye, this image was taken with a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM).  Happy birthday Carl and Alex!

Interested in doing a PhD or a Masters by research?

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Are you interested in joining a multidisciplinary research group in one of the UK’s leading chemistry departments (in the very vibrant city Bristol – see this incredible video!) to do a PhD, or a one-year Masters by Research? A number of possibilities exist in exciting project areas, including:

  • CO2 capture and storage,
  • functional electroactive materials for use in novel LC’s, 3D printing and energy storage applications
  • novel complex hierarchical materials

If you are interested in any of these areas, please see our “Positions” page for details on how to apply.