Nobel Prize-winner Kroto inspires UK chemistry teachers
Professor Harry Kroto returned to campus in June 2012 to talk to chemistry teachers from across the UK
More than 60 chemistry teachers from schools and colleges across the country visited the University on Friday (22 June) to hear from the Department of Chemistry’s top researchers – including Nobel Prize-winner Professor Sir Harry Kroto - and to try out its state-of-the-art equipment.
The chemistry symposium, organised jointly by Student Recruitment Services and the School of Life Sciences, aimed to demonstrate the University’s facilities and faculty to the people who are teaching and advising prospective students.
The head of the School of Life Sciences, Professor Laurence Pearl, said: “The event enabled us to showcase the variety of cutting-edge research taking place at Sussex. Colleagues from schools and colleges engaged in hands-on practical sessions demonstrating techniques they teach, but rarely get the chance to see in action.”
The day finished with a keynote address by Professor Kroto entitled ‘Carbon in nano and outer space (and Sussex too)’.
Professor Kroto won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1996 for his discovery at Sussex in the 1980s of a previously unknown form of carbon, which was dubbed ‘Buckyballs’.
Having Professor Kroto on the programme was a major draw for delegates. The admissions tutor for chemistry, Dr Hazel Cox, said: “We were delighted that Professor Kroto, an inspirational chemist with such a strong link to the department, was able to provide our keynote address.”
David Winstanley, Head of Undergraduate Student Recruitment, said: “Events such as the chemistry symposium are a great way for us to highlight the quality of our facilities, teaching and research.
“By bringing colleagues from the teaching profession on to campus, we are able to develop links with schools and colleges, as well as raise the profile of the University with key influencers in the decision-making process for prospective students.”
