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Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry

 
Katie Beken at the lab.

Katie Beken taken by Michael Webb ©University of Cambridge

Meet the rest of our summer students who finished eight-week project in a research group in our department

Katie Beken, Clarke group

Katie (Jesus) completed Chemistry Part II last year and is now in Part III.

My project in the Clarke group was to design and implement two undergraduate practicals that will accompany the new Quantitative Electrochemistry course for Part II students. I was particularly interested in this project as the practicals are the part of the degree that I enjoy the most.

A large portion of my work focused on optimising a protocol to produce a glucose biosensor, which had to be robust enough to run a practical. The experience made me appreciate how much work has gone into all the teaching material the department uses and has definitely confirmed my interest in research.

I am grateful to Wyn Lewis-Bevan for the opportunity to gain some invaluable experience of what research can be like and to develop many useful skills that cannot be learned in a lecture theatre.

The project was very rewarding and I am excited by the idea that future Part II students will complete a practical that I helped develop.

 

Joseph Whitby

Joseph Whitby, Dydio group

Joe (St John’s) studied Natural Sciences and specialised in chemistry.

I had previously only done short placements in industry and non-chemistry, so I wanted to get a feel for the cutting edge of what I had learned in lectures and to get some hands-on experience in a synthetic lab.

My project was looking at palladium-based catalysis for a wide range of reactions, which involved preparing and synthesising substrates, testing reactions, and making carbonyl compounds.

I learned a lot about the practical challenges which must be overcome with research, as well as how rewarding it can be when (if) it all goes to plan! I also used a lot of new techniques I had not come across in the teaching labs like using a glovebox, working with pressurised gases and GC-MS characterisation.

I am incredibly thankful to the donors who have helped to give me this amazing insight into the world of research. I’m now considering applying for master’s programmes in organic chemistry, which I had previously not thought of doing.

 

Jessica O'Flaherty in the lab.

Jessica O’Flaherty, Menkin Lab

Jessica (Robinson) completed Chemistry Part II last year and is now in Part III.

I wanted to get some research experience and I was inspired by Dr Menkin’s projects in the battery research sector. I used electrochemical methods to predict and detect soft shorts in zinc aqueous cells. Soft shorts eventually lead to battery failure, a major issue with zinc aqueous cells.

The internship has confirmed that I would love to stay in the battery sector and specifically sustainable energy storage applications.

This internship would not have been possible without the EPSRC funding. It’s given me new confidence that I can do something like this in the future. I think these internships are a very good idea and I would advise anyone who does not have research experience to apply.

 

This article was originally published in Chem@Cam magazine Issue 69.