Professor Angelos Michaelides, courtesy Chemistry Photography
1968 Professor of Theoretical Chemistry Angelos Michaelides FRS has given the first talk in a lecture series which will give academics the opportunity to share their research with other department members.
Head of Department Professor James Keeler says: “Throughout the year we enjoy lectures and presentations by the many academics who visit us, but it’s not so often that we hear about the research that fellow colleagues are doing in our own department.
“We therefore thought that we would create an opportunity each term for us all to come together as a department and hear about some of the great work going on in the building.”
Inaugural lecture
Angelos joined the department as 1968 Professor of Theoretical Chemistry in 2019 shortly before the COVID-19 epidemic and lockdown so he had not yet given his inaugural lecture in this role and it seemed fitting for him to launch the series.
Angelos was introduced by Ali Alavi FRS, who is a Professor of Theoretical Chemistry here in the Department and a Director of the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research, Stuttgart.
Below (from left): Professors Angelos Michaelides, James Keeler and Ali Alavi.
Outstanding but accessible
Angelos’s talk, All of chemistry on computers. Close the laboratories, the future is here, was a fast moving and broad lecture which focused on both the history of computational chemistry and his group’s work in the fields of catalysis, method development and nanoconfined water.
Dr Venkat Kapil, a postdoctoral researcher in Angelos’s ICE group, says: “Angelos gave an outstanding talk on his contributions to theoretical chemistry but he also made sure it was accessible to everyone in the room, keeping technical jargon to a minimum for (in)organic chemists. He also hid tiny images of soft toys in his slides for his two little daughters (and the rest of us) to find!”
Computational themes
To kick off the precedings, the talk was preceded by three 20-minute presentations on a computational theme from senior postdocs who work in different research areas across the department. The speakers included:
• Dr Kadi Liis Saar, Research Fellow (St John’s) and Schmidt Science Fellow, who works between the Centre for Misfolding Diseases and the Maxwell Centre.
• Dr Emma King-Smith, Junior Research Fellow (Wolfson) and postdoc in the Gaunt Group.
• Dr Sam Niblett, Research Fellow (Clare Hall) and postdoc in the Grey Group.
Below from left: Dr Sam Niblett, Dr Kadi Liis Saar, Dr Emma King-Smith and Professor Angelos Michaelides.
The day of talks, punctuated by a coffee break and followed by a drinks reception was clearly a success. Angelos’s dog, Woody, even played an exciting role as a surprise guest star.
This academic year the department will be focusing on lectures by each of the holders of our prestigious established Chairs in Theoretical, Physical and Sythetic Organic Chemistry. The next talk will be held in the Lent term.
Below: Deputy Head of Department Dr Nick Bampos enjoying the after-talk networking event with Dr Yolande Cordeaux and Dr Svetlana Menkin.
Below: Woody made a surprise cameo appearance.
