Will you win a colourful Chemistry cup next time?
Nick Cowan (Downing College 1969) won our Chem@Cam cryptic crossword competition, and has received a colourful and sustainable Chemistry Department travel cup.
Nick, who read Natural Sciences at Downing College, has fond recollections of life as a Chemistry undergrad: “Downing was the nearest college to the Lensfield road labs, which I chose so that I could stay in bed till as late as 8.45 am yet still be in the lecture theatre at 9.05 for Dr Stuart Warren's wonderful Organic series!”
"I don't think of myself as particularly photogenic, but here's a selfie."
Nick was one of only three Downing students to choose Chemistry Part II, where he focused on Inorganic chemistry under "the wise and expert tutelage" of Dr Martin Mays. Although he was offered a place in Martin's group researching Transition Metal carbonyls, Nick opted instead for a joint three-year PhD/PGCE course at Leicester. He says: "The PhD quickly went by the wayside and I realised that I was better (and safer) teaching others than trying things myself."
Nick started teaching in 1973 at the Liverpool Blue Coat School, and was there for 38 years, becoming Head of Chemistry in 1978. He officially retired in 2011 but has continued to offer after-school lessons to students who want to study chemistry further, including training for the Cambridge Chemistry Challenge and the RSC UK Chemistry Olympiad.
Nick says he looks forward to his regular Chem@Cam Magazine, although he adds: “At age 72 I find I understand less and less, but I'm a lifelong Chemistry 'geek' who is still often filled with awe and wonder at creation, and the achievements of those exploring its chemistry.”
Dr Mary Wood, a Human Frontiers Fellow working in the Zhang group, created the crossword, which appeared in the Spring 2023 Chem@Cam (Issue 66). If you haven't already made an attempt, it's reprinted here, and the solution is at the end of this article.
