School of Chemical and Physical Sciences
The Children’s University
The Children’s University recently came to the School of Chemical and Physical Sciences. The students were hosted by Sarah Masters, Justine Cottam, Lily Hermanspahn, Nathan Alexander, Nicole Soriano Ladino and Lauren Kruger. The photos show how intrigued and involved these young students were.
Richard Hartshorn has sent a photo of the IUPAC Council meeting in the Hague in late August. It was his last one last one as Secretary General. Richard is nearing the end of his second term as Secretary General of IUPAC. By the end of the year he will have been in the role for eight years. The Secretary General oversees the work of 2000+ volunteers from all around the world and contributes to the strategic direction of the organisation. There has been a significant shift towards the development of digital standards in chemistry over that time, not to mention initiatives like the International Year of the Periodic Table (which coincided with the IUPAC Centenary) and the Global Women’s Breakfast.
Prizes
PhD completion
Congratulations to Rami Elsayed who passed the PhD oral exam of his thesis entitled, Dicationic bis(triaminocyclopropenium) salts and diaminocyclopropenium salts as ionic liquids. His supervisor, Owen Curnow, remarked, “It has been a genuine pleasure to have him as a student.” We wish him all the best for the future.
NZIC Canterbury
NIWA Canterbury-Westland Schools Science & Technology Fair was held on Saturday 16th September 2023 at the University of Canterbury. There were an unusually large number of interesting exhibits in this year’s lively fair, reflected in the increased number of prizes conferred by NZIC Canterbury judges (usually three or four in total). The NZIC Canterbury prize winners (senior and junior classes) were:
Year 9-13 Science
- First Prize ($140): Year 9 - Taylah Cameron, Elsie Brown & Maya Chiron: Homemade vs Commercial (cleaning agents), Cashmere High School
- Second Equal ($60): Year 9 - Isla McWhirter & Sacha Gelin: Perfect Hokey Pokey Biscuits, Cashmere High School
- Second Equal ($60): Year 9 - Emma Lovegrove: Say Goodbye to Yellow Teeth, Cashmere High School
- Third Prize ($40): Year 9 - Lily Whithers & Mila Hubbard: Which Fabrics are the Most Flammable? Cashmere High School
- Year 7-8 Science
- First Prize ($60): Year 7 - Caleb Brown: CO2 vs Fire, Breens Intermediate
- Second Prize ($40): Year 7 - Blake G. Carter: Oral-E: Finding the Best Elephant Toothpaste Mixture, Breens Intermediate.
