Chemistry Lab-In-a-Box Team

I can’t really remember a time when I wasn’t interested in science, I always loved trying to find out how things worked or why things happened. When I was quite a young kid, my dad built me an electrical circuit game from wooden blocks and tin foil which I found fascinating, and a little later, I got a first microscope which really cemented my interest in the way the world around us works (I still have the microscope!). At secondary school, chemistry really excited me as a subject which reached out into not only other sciences, but also elements of engineering and design, and that concept of cross-disciplinary science and development is something that excites me and drives forward my work to this day.

Clearly the Covid pandemic presented huge challenges to education and research in many ways, but the teamwork and innovation that underpinned our work during that time has been amongst the most rewarding parts of my career. From sketching out our initial lab-in-a-box instrument and experimental ideas, through to the development and building of our kits, and seeing the engagement and results of our students, the whole experience was incredibly exciting and has led to developments that continue to have a deep impact on both our teaching and research activities now.

Imperial College has a long tradition of providing our students a high level of laboratory experience, designed to develop the practical, analytical and theoretical skills required to work in the sector. I am inspired by the students themselves, who arrive with a contagious enthusiasm for laboratory classes that grows during their time at the College. We enjoy countless ‘lightbulb’ moments during our time spent in the lab, teaching the students not just how to do the practical things that chemists do, but how to think and problem-solve like a scientist. During lockdown, we saw one of our top priorities as being able to deliver at-home labs in a way that gave as authentic an experience as possible, where those inspiring moments and conversations could still happen.

We all really enjoy being part of a team that is truly collaborative. We celebrate the varied experience within the team and recognize that it’s the collective sum of our strengths that make our projects successful. The remote labs project drew on a huge range of experience extending beyond the core teaching team. Our conversations with suppliers, freight forwarders, safety advisors and so on all came together in the final product. Sharing ideas, troubleshooting together, and most importantly supporting each are all key features of our team.

My motivation comes from seeing our students progress in their studies and their exploration of chemistry, knowing that I have supported their development and inspired them along the way. The support and guidance of my fellow colleagues is essential in this, and our work during the Covid-19 pandemic was testament to our ability to get together and continue our role as facilitators of learning even in difficult times.

It’s great that you’re considering a career in chemistry! My advice would be to find out more about chemistry and chemists – there are lots of great resources on the RSC website and elsewhere online and in local libraries. Also, be aware that there are various routes – e.g. university, vocational courses, apprenticeships – and that you will need to work hard and persevere as you study chemistry and continue learning throughout your career. Finally, don’t worry if you don’t know exactly what career you want, there are a huge variety of jobs within chemistry, with new ones being invented all the time – your career may involve a job that does not yet exist!

Now that the labs are in-person we have taken numerous ideas from the lab-in-a-box to maximise learning outcomes whilst at the same time making the material enjoyable. For example, it is not uncommon for students to view laboratory instruments as black boxes. Unfortunately, this can often result in poor experimental results and interpretation. To tackle this issue, labs have recently been designed to enable students to critically think not only about operating principles of the instrument but also to improve experimental outcomes. Importantly, this allows students to gain critical skills in analytical techniques, Python programming, signal optimisation, and improve problem solving ability.

Chemistry is a truly interdisciplinary science. It is the connecting fabric between physics, materials sciences, biology and medicine. Being a chemist often requires a broad knowledge of these disciplines. Chemistry is a great enabler of all other natural sciences. It provides a versatile toolbox for addressing some of the most significant scientific, economic and social grand challenges that we face today, such as climate change, the generation of novel materials, drug discovery and building artificial cells in the lab.

As with all life's endeavours, the achievement of any goal in science generally requires teamwork. Any individual will have certain strengths but is likely to be better at one or two aspects than be brilliant at all. One team member might excel in practical work, another in the interpretation of the data, while a third might be skilled at getting the results across to the target audience.

In our own endeavour to supply kits and devices to our students during lockdown, the scale of the task meant that a team effort was essential. Our team brought together people with the skills to design the instruments and experiments, prepare the components, those with the dexterity (and patience!) to fit the tiny screws to the assembly, and people applying their administrative and logistics skills to organise the despatch of the finished devices by courier. As a team we acted with fantastic efficiency which was important as time was short.

A difficult choice but I would have to pick bismuth. My own connection with it is its use in solders in which it acts to lower the melting point. I utilise these low melt solders in applications where the metal to be joined has a similar melting point to common solders and thus requires a different approach. Its low toxicity currently makes it a common substitute for the much more toxic lead, in applications requiring mass. In this aspect it is less potentially polluting in the environment.

Yet the thing that is most surprising about bismuth is that for a long time it was expected to be radioactive but for inexplicable reasons did not appear to be so. It wasn't until 2003 that a French team managed to discover that the supposedly stable Bi²⁰⁹ was in fact an alpha emitter, but the half life was in the order of a million times longer than the calculated age of the known universe.