University of Edinburgh School of Chemistry Workshop Team

George Steedman: Mechanical engineer providing mechanical support and technical advice covering machining, maintenance and related safety for laboratory equipment, bespoke projects and some infrastructure.

Lloyd Mitchell: Electronics/electrical engineer providing support to the school.

Stuart Johnstone: Scientific glassblower, designing and manufacturing bespoke scientific glassware and repairing where necessary.

George Steedman: For all of the team, the biggest challenge in dealing with the RAAC [reinforced autoclave aerated concrete] situation was the sheer volume of work required in such a short space of time in order to minimise disruption to the research groups involved who had lost their existing research facilities, at the same time as continuing to supply the normal service that the school demands.

Lloyd Mitchell: Looking back, as it was part of the nomination, our biggest challenge during the COVID lockdown was trying to look after the gloveboxes and their contents, our large industrial nitrogen generator, and other critical equipment. When things did break down, there was little or no manufacturer or service support for weeks. We managed successfully to keep the infrastructure going so that when research did resume, our colleagues could get off to a flying start, which seems to have continued to today.

Stuart Johnstone: The biggest challenge in running my Sri Lankan workshops was trying to teach and impart the knowledge in one month, which would normally take up to two years if training an in-school apprentice.

The team: The three members of the team each have their own speciality, with a little overlap, which appears to cover most of the routine demands put upon Workshop Technical Support. With our combined 100 years of support to scientific researchers, we have the experience to cope with the needs of the school whilst continuously learning ourselves. Because we work as individuals and as a team, we can demonstrably respond to situations such as quickly relocating whole research groups without needing to bring in external engineers, making the whole process much faster and smoother.

The team: We are passionate about supporting researchers at any career stage, but particularly PhD students and early career researchers. A little extra effort can make a huge difference at this stage. It could be helping to save an experiment or providing equipment or ideas. We are committed to excellence and safety in all of the work we undertake. We believe that this has a very positive impact on the research culture within the school. Success breeds and attracts success, also leading to a better teaching environment.

The team: The dedication and expertise of this team have been crucial in addressing not only routine maintenance challenges but also in managing critical emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic, during which they monitored research labs and performed repairs to ensure that vital equipment remained safe and functional. More recently, three research laboratories have been closed because of issues with reinforced autoclave aerated concrete (RAAC). The team ensured that the research teams could continue to function by setting up the infrastructure, equipment and glassware for three new laboratory spaces within only two weeks. Their heroic efforts provided huge amounts of reassurance to the PhD students, postdoctoral researchers and academic staff affected by the disruption.

The team: Our team can't do science by ourselves, but we can help others do great things. We are quite proud of the work this school does, whether it is teaching or research. Most of our research work is inspirational per se, so it is satisfying to help and sometimes be a part of it. It helps when each team member wants to be the best at what they do.

The team: Rather than just working to order, most of the work we do is collaborative from initiation to completion, working directly with our colleagues. It is more about ideas than drawings. The objective is to enable the researcher to accomplish their task quickly, at minimum cost, and with an eye on sustainability whilst upholding the highest safety standards that we can work to. This invariably leads to higher impact science, especially when working with external colleagues.

The team: To us it is all about pride, caring and professionalism. Pride in your own work and in that of your colleagues. Caring in trying to help others maximise their work but also where you have the knowledge and expertise, helping to keep everyone safe through adherence to legislation and best practice.

Lloyd Mitchell: Advice to young people: take the time to look into all of the chemical sciences, as chemistry is the future, and if you want to, you can help change it. Whether it relates to scientific knowledge or industrial, aspects, it affects everyone's lives. There will be work for chemical scientists for centuries to come. You can help make a change on an almost unlimited number of topics. And if you are not actually doing the science, there are careers in technical support, as we have proved.