Professor Steven Christie presents his lecture entitled 'Drugs, pollution and (avoiding) explosions: combining chemistry and technology to solve problems.'

About the lecture

The art of synthetic organic chemistry – how we make a whole host of useful chemicals – is almost 300 years old. As a science, it has constantly evolved, but its progress has accelerated rapidly during the past 25 years.

In his lecture, Professor Christie will illustrate some of these changes and how he has used them in his own research. He will show how the preparation of small molecules can now be achieved rapidly by machines, as well as how chemistry can influence biological systems.

Chemistry is also addressing numerous modern environmental concerns. Steve will show how his industry collaborations are helping to solve the challenge of plastic pollution, and how his partnership with engineers – to develop 3D printed concrete that absorbs carbon dioxide – is advancing net zero goals.