How chemists are making laboratories more sustainable
A collection of articles sharing tips from researchers who reduced their environmental impact with support from the RSC’s Sustainable Laboratories grants
Sustainable laboratories: Reducing plastics
When to reuse plastic pipette tips and how to overcome psychological barriers to recyling single-use items
Sustainable laboratories: Reducing water
How to adapt water cooling for water-stressed regions and investigate the carbon footprint of different circulation options
Sustainable laboratories: Reducing energy
How to identify an efficient heating mechanism and implement energy-saving measures across the lab
Sustainable laboratories: Cleaner solvents and substrates
How to identify greener replacements for DMF and recover ITO from glass substrates
Sustainable laboratories: Recovering metals
How to scavenge platinum group metals from laboratory waste
Sustainable laboratories: Best lab practice
How to encourage better environmental practices across a department and influence the next generation of researchers
Highlights
Meet the researchers who are making bonds outside of the lab
There are many benefits to participating in extracurricular activities with colleagues
Is work polygamy a new trend or the daily norm for researchers?
While many academics balance more than one role, some take on entirely separate jobs that allow them to explore different careers
Choosing the perfect path to an industrial R&D career
Options abound whether or not you have a PhD
Starting a chemistry PhD as a mature student
The benefits and challenges of returning to academia after a period away
Comic book chemistry
The scientists using visual storytelling to communicate their work – and how you can do it too
How to be a science sleuth
Research integrity experts share their tips for spotting and reporting fraudulent papers
How to get into – and ace – a summer undergraduate research programme
Five tips to help you make the most of these opportunities
How to grow an enormous single crystal
Top tips from David Boyce and his class, who have cultivated a 3kg single copper sulfate crystal
How to make academic service activities count
Five tips for tackling commitments effectively
How to organise a conference
Five tips for successful event planning
How to excel at public speaking
A five-step approach to present effectively
Bursting bubbles break down PFAS
Mantisonix is using ultrasound to destroy fluorochemical pollutants in water
Steve Liddle: ‘Try and do something different to what everyone else is doing’
The organometallic chemist on working with the f-elements, following your instinct and remaining grounded
Breaking bonds and bringing disciplines together to replace one of chemistry’s most controversial molecules
Rebecca Trager meets an organic chemist catalysing the search for BPA replacements by connecting synthetic chemists, data scientists, toxicologists and polymer chemists
How Thuc-Quyen Nguyen’s dreams of capturing the sun led her to organic electronics
Organic solar cell windows will enable the buildings of the future to be energy-neutral, she says
Veronica Vaida: ‘Some Harvard faculty expressed puzzlement at having a woman colleague’
The renowned physical chemist and environmental scientist on growing up in Romania and forging her career as a woman in the US in the 1970s
Embodying polymer chemistry with a purpose by upcycling plastics and trapping PFAS
For Frank Leibfarth, focussing on reactivity and selectivity helps him bridge the gap between fundamental and applied research
Three chemistry Nobel laureates shared their failures – and how they overcame them
Laureates talk about how they faced frustration and self-doubt over whether they were cut out for chemistry before they finally triumphed
How company presentations can be made relevant
Advice on how to engage with your audience and achieve your communication goals
US researchers are advising students not to enter academia
A survey of NIH-grantees in Massachusetts reveals delayed hiring in labs, layoffs, careers being pursued abroad and research scope reductions
Establishing your independent research career
Writing grant proposals is an important skills to develop – and there is plenty of support you can seek
How to use an individual development plan to advance your career
Re-establishing my scientist identity in industry
How taking part in extracurricular activities during your PhD can help you build your CV
The importance of applying for funding early in your career
Should I stay or should I go?
LGBTQ+ in Stem: Using data to foster inclusion – Part 2
Cultural changes need to stop PhD students working for free
Top-down support is needed to stop exploitative PhD practices
How chemists are making laboratories more sustainable
A collection of articles sharing tips from researchers who reduced their environmental impact with support from the RSC’s Sustainable Laboratories grants
Sustainable laboratories: Reducing plastics
When to reuse plastic pipette tips and how to overcome psychological barriers to recyling single-use items
Sustainable laboratories: Reducing water
How to adapt water cooling for water-stressed regions and investigate the carbon footprint of different circulation options
Sustainable laboratories: Cleaner solvents and substrates
Sustainable laboratories: Recovering metals
Sustainable laboratories: Best lab practice
Three chemistry Nobel laureates shared their failures – and how they overcame them
Meet the researchers who are making bonds outside of the lab
The scientific career clock in China