Leicester scientists take their research to Parliament

Chemistry students at the University of Leicester will be attending Parliament to present their chemistry research to a range of politicians and a panel of expert judges, as part of STEM for BRITAIN on Monday 13 March.

The Department of Chemistry has been very successful in getting 3 posters shortlisted.

Jodie Coulston will be presenting her poster entitled “Nucleation and growth phenomena of silver in physical developer for latent fingerprint development” in the Physical Sciences Session. She will be describing her cutting edge research into methods for visualising latent fingerprints on a range of objects likely to be of relevance in crime detection.

Charlotte Pughe will be presenting her poster entitled “A tale of nanomagnetics: Freezing the atomic spins” in the Physical Sciences Session. She will be describing her work on developing nanomaterials with high magnetic moments that have a range of important potential applications in biomedical diagnosis and treatment and as building blocks in magnetic materials.

Georgina Girt will be presenting her poster entitled “Synthesis of teixobactin analogues: Small cyclic peptidomimetic drugs to combat antibiotic resistance” in the Biological and Biomedical Sciences Session. She will be describing her work on the synthesis of novel analogues of the recently discovered antibiotic teixobactin in studies aimed at the discovery of new agents to treat methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

Professor Paul Cullis has also been asked by the Parliamentary and Scientific Committee and the RSC to be one of the national judges of the Chemistry Posters in the Physical Sciences Session, a role that he has fulfilled since 2009.

The research was shortlisted from hundreds of applicants to appear in Parliament.

On presenting her research in Parliament, Charlotte Pughe said: “Taking part in this event is a fantastic opportunity for me showcase my research and learn about the work of fellow young scientists’ from across the country. I am delighted to have been shortlisted and look forward presenting on the day”.

Stephen Metcalfe MP, Chairman of the Parliamentary and Scientific Committee, said:

“This annual competition is an important date in the parliamentary calendar because it gives MPs an opportunity to speak to a wide range of the country’s best young researchers.

“These early career engineers, mathematicians and scientists are the architects of our future and STEM for BRITAIN is politicians’ best opportunity to meet them and understand their work.”

The students' research has been entered into the chemistry session of the competition, which will end in a gold, silver and bronze prize-giving ceremony.

Judged by leading academics, the gold medalist receives £3,000, while silver and bronze receive £2,000 and £1,000 respectively.