n-AQUA team honoured with Royal Society of Chemistry Faraday Horizon Prize
Image credit: Royal Society of Chemistry Horizon prize
n-AQUA (nanoscale water), a major collaborative effort involving many of our researchers, has been awarded the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Faraday Horizon Prize. The prize recognises the team’s groundbreaking discoveries showing how water’s structure and behaviour change when it is confined to the nanoscale or interacts with low dimensional interfaces.
Researchers from the Zhang Group at the University of Cambridge have uncovered why a class of molecules crucial to emerging green energy technologies rapidly lose performance in water – and developed a simple chemical strategy that could dramatically improve the performance of experimental “living solar panels.”
Cambridge Chemistry Alumni Elected Fellows of the Royal Society 2026
From left: David Rees, Jin-Quan Yu and Garnet Kin-Lic Chan
Three distinguished alumni of the Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry at the University of Cambridge have been elected Fellows of the Royal Society, one of the highest honours in science.
Professor Sir David Klenerman and Professor Sir Shankar Balasubramanian have been recognised with the William Bate Hardy Prize 2026 for their outstanding contributions to chemical science and innovation.
Cambridge scientists win 2026 Princess of Asturias Award for DNA sequencing breakthrough
From left Prof. Shankar Balasubramanian, Prof. Pascal Mayer, and Prof. David Klenerman. Image credit: Michael Webb, Photography and Reprographics, Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry.
Prof. Sir Shankar Balasubramanian, Prof. Sir David Klenerman, and French biophysicist Prof. Pascal Mayer have been awarded the 2026 Princess of Asturias Award for Scientific and Technical Research for their work that transformed DNA sequencing.
In Memoriam: Professor Ruth Lynden-Bell (1937–2026)
Gabriella Brocchetti @University of Cambridge
It is with deep sadness that the Department announces the death of Professor Ruth Lynden-Bell, Professor Emerita of Queen’s University Belfast, an alumna of the Department and a long-standing visiting professor.
Chemistry PhD Andrea Rogolino Wins Gold at UK Parliament
Andrea Rogolino on the right. Image, courtesy of STEM For Britain
Andrea Rogolino, a final-year PhD student in the Reisner group, attended Parliament to present his chemistry research to a range of politicians and a panel of expert judges as part of the Parliamentary & Scientific Committee’s STEM for BRITAIN on 17 March.
The Department is pleased to announce that Emeritus Professor Daan Frenkel ForMemRS is the latest recipient of the Tomassoni-Chisesi Physics Prize, an international award recognising outstanding achievements in physics – officially recorded in 2024 due to administrative delays.
Turning Plastic Waste into Clean Hydrogen Using Battery Acid
Erwin Reisner and Kay Kwarteng with the reactor. Image courtesy by Beverly Low.
The Reisner Group have developed a solar-powered reactor that can break down plastics that are classically hard to recycle using acid recovered from used car batteries to produce clean hydrogen fuel.
Professor Jonathan Goodman was awarded the Outstanding Supervisor Award 2026. This nomination is especially important as it is led by the postgraduates and reflects the importance of outstanding supervision for postgraduates in their academic journey.
How Biomolecular Condensates Shape pH Inside Cells
Image: Courtesy of Rob Scrutton and Hannes Ausserwoeger
Cells are cleverer than we often realise. A new study from researchers at the Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry shows that tiny droplets inside nearly all cells, called biomolecular condensates, can maintain different levels of acidity or alkalinity from their surroundings. These droplets do not have membranes and do not need energy to do this, challenging the long-standing idea that their chemical environment is the same as the rest of the cell.
Funding success will enable Roving Researcher scheme expansion
Courtesey of the School of the Biological Sciences at the University of Cambridge.
The School of Biological Sciences has secured funding from the UKRI EPSRC EDI Hub+ to support a 12-month pilot expansion of the Roving Researcher Scheme to physical sciences disciplines across the University of Cambridge. In partnership with the Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry and the Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy, this initiative will provide opportunities to test and adapt our successful model in a diverse range of fields and team structures.
Scientists at Cambridge Develop 3D ‘Molecular Microscope’ to Watch Life at Work Inside Cells
Image credits: courtesy of Dr Sam Daly.
In a joint research effort led by Dr Sam Daly, researchers from the laboratories of Prof Steven F. Lee (Chemistry) and Dr David C. Gershlick (CIMR) have developed a new microscope capable of tracking individual molecules in three dimensions within living cells, while at the same time mapping the cell’s internal compartments. This innovative approach reveals molecular behaviour that was previously hidden from scientists.
