Dr James Dawson MRSC

My passion for chemistry and science in general developed quite late and I actually studied mostly arts rather than science subjects prior to my undergraduate degree. My interest in chemistry really started to bloom at GCSE level and I became fascinated in understanding the structures and properties of molecules and materials and how they relate to their applications.

My scientific curiosity and the excitement from starting a new project and/or collaboration and then obtaining the initial results have been major motivating factors in my career since starting my PhD. Also, now that I have my own research group, I get to share this curiosity and excitement with them!

With the rise of chatbots, such as ChatGPT, AI and machine learning are currently at the forefront of scientific and political debate. The use of AI and machine learning approaches is already revolutionising how we design, carry out and analyse experiments and simulations in chemistry and materials science. I am very excited to see the inevitable breakthroughs that will be made in this area in the near future.

It is a bit of a cliché but chemistry is important because it is everywhere and everything! Walter White expressed it far more eloquently than I can: "Technically, chemistry is the study of matter, but I prefer to see it as the study of change. Electrons change their energy levels. Molecules change their bonds. Elements combine and change into compounds. But that's all of life, right? It's the constant, it's the cycle. It's solution, dissolution. Just over and over and over. It is growth, then decay, then transformation. It's fascinating really."

Coming from a working-class background in Stoke and as the first member of my family to study at university, I have faced a certain amount of classism, particularly in the earliest stages of my career. Whilst challenging and frustrating at times, I find combatting such ignorance to be a great motivator.

Although it would be easy to choose lithium given our focus on battery research, I would have to go for titanium. I have been curious about the chemistry and properties of titanium and its compounds since working on BaTiO3 as a ceramic capacitor during my PhD. Plus, how many elements have number-one singles written about them?