Page 2 - PERIODIC Magazine Issue 5

F rom the Head

of Department

Professor Mark Brouard

It gives me great discovery company and Chemistry spin-out, recently
pleasure to introduce featured in Nature as one of the top six biotechnology
the fifth edition companies in the world. It aims to transform healthcare,
of Periodic. This providing new treatment for diseases like cancer,
edition brings news Alzheimer’s and heart failure. Our partnerships with
of a selection of the industry continue to bring benefits to the University,
innovative and exciting commercial organisations and the wider economy.
research in Chemistry The success of the SCG-Oxford Centre for Excellence
over the past year, was demonstrated in a presentation of new chemical
some of which, like technologies to the Thai Royal Family. An exciting
the synthetic retina collaboration with UCB Biopharma to develop novel
created by Bayley methods for the late stage functionalisation of drug-like
group DPhil student Vanessa Restrepo-Schild, you may read molecules is well underway and has a unique structure
about in the national and international press. There has designed to maximise the sharing of scientific expertise and
also been excellent news on the teaching front; Oxford’s resources between academia and industry.
MChem course has been ranked No. 1 in the Guardian’s
University Guide with the highest rating of any UK chemistry Chemistry alumni have an invaluable role to play in the
department. Recent successes in teaching and research life of the Department and it was a pleasure to meet many
have been recognised by many richly-deserved awards of you earlier this year at the magnificent Salters’ Hall in
and prizes, and I applaud my colleagues for their brilliance, London and at the recent alumni weekend in Oxford. On
commitment and dedication. Our outstanding team is behalf of our current students I would like to thank all those
newly enhanced by the appointment of Dr Martin Galpin of you who have been kind enough to offer your help and
as Deputy Director of Studies and I am also delighted expertise – giving careers talks and workshops and offering
to welcome two new Associate Professors; Dr Stephan opportunities for work placements. We bade farewell to
Rauschenbach joins us this term and Dr Madhavi Krishnan in this year’s student leavers with a celebration to mark 100
June 2018. years of the Part II – an occasion much enjoyed by all and
enhanced by the accounts and anecdotes we received from
Our vision is to be a world-leading Department of Chemistry former students, some of which feature on later pages.
in scholarship, research, teaching and learning as reflected
in external recognition, rankings and measures. In spring Our newly-designed practical course will provide future
this year we held our first ever departmental away day, undergraduates with all the skills necessary for academic
bringing colleagues together for wide-ranging discussions to and industrial chemistry in the 21st Century. The teaching
inform the development of our strategic plan, ensuring that labs currently under construction will enable us to provide
the Department continues to be a thriving and stimulating new, fully-accessible facilities with sophisticated state-of-the-
place to work and study, and is fully equipped to meet the art equipment. Much of this has been made possible by the
challenges ahead. generosity and support of our alumni and friends, to whom
we are immensely grateful. We look forward to welcoming
We look towards a future shaped by our scientists’ you back to the Department to see the new labs in action.
innovation. OxStem, a regenerative medicine drug-

On the Cover
Coulomb-explosion imaging using a pixel-imaging mass spectrometry camera. Image prepared with the help of Dr Craig Slater and Dr Karl
Harrison. Read more on pages 16 and 17.

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Periodic The Magazine of the Department of Chemistry