WEIG members have recently taken part in the University of Warwick's family day on 14th of September 2019. They entertained and educated the masses on the crystallisation and polymorphism of chocolate!

Congratulations to Alex Borrill for winning a prize for the Best Scientific Representation in our Post-doc society Bake your Research competition on 26th of June 2019. She depicted her research into CO₂ reduction using copper nano-particles on a boron doped diamond electrode in cake form which looks and tastes amazing!

From Monday 4th to Sunday 10th July, The Royal Society in London opened its doors to the public as it hosted a Summer Science Exhibition, a week-long free festival of visionary science and technology. The diamond groups at Warwick, along with other institutions, put on an exhibit there entitled "Diamond: More Than Just A Gemstone", which showcased the fantastic properties of diamond other than looking great in jewellery, and promoted its potential as a material for a variety of scientific and engineering applications.

Researchers from Warwick Electrochemistry's diamond group demonstrated the "ice trick" which utilises the thermal properties of diamond, and also a light up electrode stand where visitors could test for themselves the electrical conductivity of boron doped diamond. Warwick Physics's diamond group put together a stand exploring the quantum properties of diamond and the influence of magnetic fields over it. Finally, the team at Aberystwyth University built a glowing LED model of diamond and used it to explain how diamond can be grown in the lab and how different dopants affect its properties. We also had representatives from Cardiff University, University of Bristol, and Element Six on the stand throughout the week.

Over the course of the week, around 15,000 visitors passed through the doors, and our team was noted as always being extremely enthusiastic. Visitors ranged from small children to Nobel prize winners, and we received great reviews from everyone - as could be seen from the popularity of the stand, particularly the ice demonstration! Well done to everyone who took part, for making this event a huge success!

May Day celebrations filled the streets of Earlsdon yesterday as one of Coventry's most popular and cherished events, the Earlsdon Festival, returned for its fifth year to the heart of the Earlsdon community.

The festival featured market stalls, a cake competition, music concerts, talks, poetry, a history walk, antiques valuations and an activity day.

WEIG of course wanted to join in the fun, so our team members Faduma, Maria, Minkyung, Cameron, Dmitry, and Bryn went along with Pat to promote the work of Mary Courtney, our Artist in Residency. Her aim is to uncover the vast mine of beautiful and beguiling images generated by chemists that are never seen by anyone else, and bring them out to the public. We went along to the festival to help share the strangeness and wonder of the stuff our world is made of, the stuff that is out of range of ordinary sight, for example below:

Faduma Maddar, NADH oxidation deposition surface (dubbed "Toast in Space")

Find out more about what went on at the Earlsdon Festival, and read more Mary Courtney's project and collaboration with us.

WEIG are certainly in a celebrating mood! Firstly, this has been in part because of the recent flux of group members passing their vivas: Sophie, Hui, Binoy, Rob C and Rehab have all recently graduated, and we thank them for their hard work and contributions to the group!

WEIG is, of course, at the forefront of everything, including the Chemistry Department's 50th Anniversary. The 26th November saw Warwick's Chemistry department turn 50, and so an event was held to mark the occasion where Chemistry academics and students showcased their skills. Highlights included Tim Bugg playing Gershwin, a Strictly Tango dance, Nick Barker's hilarious school stories, flashback to the 90's with Dave Haddleton's TV win, and some excellent undergraduate and postgraduate bands, all hosted by the great Stefan Bon. But the headline act was none other than our very own Pat Unwin, along with Peter Scott and David Fox as The Fox & The Hounds.

It was a great night enjoyed by everyone. As it's now December, that means Movember has come to a close. We have raised £360 on behalf of Prostate Cancer UK and the Institute of Cancer Research. Thanks to all those who donated and participated!

We have no doubt that the good spirits will continue throughout the Christmas period and beyond, inspiring positivity and some good work to everyone!