Chemistry Communicators Challenge 2018
The Chemistry Communicators Challenge – organised by the RSC Chilterns & Middlesex Local Section – took place on 21 November in Burlington House, a chance for early career researchers to exercise their communication skills and enthuse an audience with a scientific topic of their choice.
The event was conceived by Chris Wallis, Inma Andres, and Will Sharratt of the local section’s committee, as a way of bringing together undergraduates and postgraduates in a different setting to a regular chemistry conference.
"We wanted this event to be about something that would stand out," said Chris. "As the idea developed, we thought it could be an event for people who – for example – have done a degree in chemistry but now want to be a journalist, or work in publishing or communications. It’s a chance for them to show off their communication skills."
Eight finalists gave ten-minute presentations in two categories – four on an inspiring individual, and four on a scientific subject. A winner in each category was presented with a £200 prize, and a third winner was presented with £150 for being the most entertaining overall.
The topics covered went from the well-known to the obscure, from a talk about periodic table legend Mendeleev, to fluorescent protein researcher Osamu Shimomura, and from the chemistry of baking to a talk about deep eutectic solvents. Each of the speakers brought a new angle to their chosen topic, and covered the material in a concise and entertaining way.
Richard Kong – The Chemistry of Baking – winner in the scientific topic category
Richard is a PhD student at Imperial College London. He studies heterobimetallic catalysts that can perform new types of chemical reactions and recycle waste chemicals for use in everyday life. He is a keen baker and says that he saw the advertisement for the competition just as the Great British Bake-off was finishing. "There’s such a nice synergy between chemistry and baking", he says. "Baking takes the methodical nature of science, and you always get something tasty at the end, even if you make a mistake along the way!"
"The logic that goes behind how a recipe works is very scientific. I borrowed a book from a friend called 'The Chemistry and Physics of Baking'… and a lot of the techniques they were using to measure the elasticity of bread for example were the same techniques we use to characterise our compounds."
Richard is enthusiastic about the importance of science communication. "If you look at the outcomes of science, they’re obviously quite important", he says, "but unless you draw the links and draw attention to why it’s interesting no-one will care."
"At the end of the day, scientists are passionate about their subject, and I think sharing that can only be a good thing."
Ben Lewis – Rosalind Franklin – winner in the individuals category
Ben is already a keen science communicator and has previously taken part in similar events and competitions. "For a while I have been thinking as a scientist how to make an impact on the world. Obviously research is one way of doing it – but I think an underappreciated way is how we communicate those findings to the rest of the public. I think about how we can get them to the people who make decisions, and to policy makers."
When carrying out research into Rosalind Franklin’s life, Ben was surprised to learn about Franklin’s less well-known work, such as her research into the structure of different types of coal during the Second World War.
"As soon as I decided I was going to do a person it was always going to be Rosalind Franklin", he says. As a second year PhD student at Imperial College London, Ben studies the structure of DNA himself, following in Franklin’s footsteps. He feels that the story of the challenges she faced not only as a woman, but also as a Jewish person, is an important one for us today. "Her contribution has always been undervalued", he says. "I care a lot about access to opportunity in science, and I think her story is important."
Raquel Fraccari – Osamu Shimomura – winner for the most entertaining overall
Raquel has recently graduated from Imperial College London and now works for a biotech company. She applied to the competition to challenge herself, and improve her public speaking skills.
Her talk was a fascinating whirlwind tour of the life and work of Japanese scientist Osamu Shimomura. Much of his research was focused on fluorescent proteins, which eventually led to him being awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2008. A very hands-on field researcher, Osamu collected hundreds of thousands of fluorescent jellyfish over the course of his career, which eventually enabled him to identify the compounds involved in bioluminescence.
Raquel says that she had not heard of Shimomura until very recently – he passed away earlier this year – and feels that it is unfortunate he was not more widely known. "I think that’s a bigger challenge in society", she says, "that there are so many amazing scientists out there but they’re not always recognised".
Passion for chemistry
Amanda Hardy, chair of the local section, was one of the judges. She explains what she was looking for.
"I was looking to be enthused about chemistry. I was looking for them to share their passion for chemistry, and make that really clear – why the subject mattered, why the person or the subject was really important to them, and to explain it in a very clear and concise way.
"I think the winners did exactly that. They spoke very clearly, and they made very interesting talks."
The committee is planning another similar event next year.
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