Congratulations to Lynne Bayley who recently gave birth to a Baby Boy. The latest addition to the department is Miles Harrison Bayley. We wish Lynne and her family all the very best.

Research carried out on solvothermal crystallisation of metal-organic frameworks is published as a science highlight at Diamond Light Source.

The work was carried out by Richard Walton in collaboration with colleagues from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge and from National Institute for Materials Science in Japan. Using high energy X-rays at Diamond Light Source, the UK synchrotron radiation facility, it has proved possible to penetrate solvothermal reaction vessels and measure high resolution powder diffraction data during the formation of extended solid structures, such as metal organic frameworks. This has provided unprecedented information about the formation mechanism of these topical materials, including direct observation of phase transformation and exchange of solvent within porous structures during chemical reaction.

The work has been published in two papers in the journal Angewandte Chemie in the past few months:

In situ observation of successive crystallizations and metastable intermediates in the formation of metal-organic frameworks. Angew Chem Int Ed. 2016. DOI: 10.1002/anie.201508763.

Exchange of Coordinated Solvent During Crystallisation of a Metal–Organic Framework Observed by In Situ High Energy X-ray Diffraction. Angew Chem Int Ed. (2016) DOI: 10.1002/anie.201600896.

The science highlight article is linked here:

http://www.diamond.ac.uk/Science/Research/Highlights/2016/I12-MOF-formation.html

An antibody that senses one enantiomer of plant hormone abscisic acid (ABA) is characterised and published by Marsh and Napier groups in Chemistry and Life Sciences in PLOS ONE.

Warwick in Africa is a project delivering big results in Maths and English teaching in secondary schools in Tanzania, Ghana and South Africa. Nick Barker and Vas Stavros recently held a night of Molecular Mayhem and Chemical Chaos all in an effort to raise funds for Warwick in Africa. The lecture was a great success and raised over £800. Congratulations to all involved.

Medherant's painkiller patches have now been showcased in a recent Royal Society publication: 'Translating Innovation'. See page 22 of:

https://royalsociety.org/~/media/policy/topics/industry-innovation/case-studies/DES4113_Translating%20innovation%20booklet_web.pdf?la=en-GB

Nick Barker received the ‘highly commended’ award for Community Contribution in the Warwick Staff Awards Ceremony on Friday night. The evening was an opportunity to celebrate the outstanding contributions and successes of staff from across the University.

Researchers from the University of Warwick’s Chemistry department use their skills to analyse crystals with life changing applications. Their work helps to improve the composition of drugs, improve fungicides, enhance drug development and benefit industry.

Emma Ravenhill, Faduma Maddar, Harriet Pearce and Maria Adobes-Vidal share a passion for chemistry and crystals. With International Women’s Day fast approaching on 8^th March they want to share and celebrate the contributions women make to chemistry in today's world. They are part of the Electrochemistry Group at Warwick University, which is composed of 45% women, with the Head of the Department of Chemistry Professor Alison Rodger also being a woman.

Known on campus as ‘The Crystal Crew’ the chemists use state-of-the-art microscopes and instruments to assist their research into crystals. The images they produce, as well as contributing to the frontiers of research, reveal the innards of a strange and beautiful micro-world, hidden from ordinary sight. ‘The Crystal Crew’ have been working with an artist in residence on a project called ‘drawing on the nanoscale’ using high resolution probe microscopes to allow the chemists to express a different side to their creativity.

Artist in residence at the University of Warwick’s Chemistry department, Mary Courtney said, "It is not like the old days when women were excluded from the Chemistry world. If we were to look into the crystal ball we would see more women rising to top positions as the future for Chemistry".

http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/newsandevents/news/chemists_celebrate_international

We are delighted to be able to pass on news of the arrival of our newest member.

Congratulations to Andrew Dove and Rachel O'Reilly on the arrival of their Daughter Matilda Ann Dove. Born this week weighing 8lb 12oz

On Sunday, Dave Haddleton was presented with an award for “recognition of outstanding service and contribution to the Royal Society of Chemistry Publishing” at the RSC Editors Symposium banquet at the Guildhall in London. The award was given for service on the Board of “Chem Comm”, and for being Editor in Chief – and launching – “Polymer Chemistry”.

Alistair Irvine joined the MOAC Doctoral Training Centre in 2004 and was a valued member of MOAC doing his PhD under the supervision of Claudia Blindauer and Robert Freedman. Today we received the sad news that he died last weekend. His death is a real loss to our widely flung community.

Collaborative work from the groups of Chaplin, Unwin, Rourke, and Wedge (Warwick physics) exploring the organometallic chemistry of paramagnetic complexes of palladium(I) and platinum(I) has been published in Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 

Collaborative research with Warwick Medical School and UHCW NHS Trust reveals new clues to widely prescribed therapeutics' actions in body. Simvastatin sodium salt and fluvastatin interact with human gap junction gamma-3 protein in PLOS ONE Press coverage in Health Spectator.