Collections
Research culture
In this collection we explore fostering a positive research culture and scientific practices, covering topics such as reproducibility, open science, diversity and inclusion, leadership and mentorship, career instability, discrimination, misconduct and the evolving landscape of research ethics and integrity.
Leadership
What’s wrong with research culture?
A knotty mess of problems affects people doing academic research in the UK. Rachel Brazil tries to untie the tangle
How to improve research culture
Five ways to make chemistry departments better places to work
How EPSRC fosters inclusion
The pandemic has provided valuable lessons for funders to rethink research culture
Support and wellbeing
Act now to support early-career researchers
The Covid-19 pandemic has further highlighted long-existing issues that leaders need to take a stance on
Mental wellbeing in academia
Not enough has been done to support students during the pandemic
Science and research ‘are dead’ in Afghanistan
Afghan researchers and scholars flee or go into hiding as the Taliban’s return to power sees the science academy and universities closed
UKRI response to Black female academics on funding decisions called inadequate
Pledge to improve understanding and monitoring of inequality comes a year after open letter was first published
Diverse cultures
In situ with Tebello Nyokong
The influential chemist on nurturing confidence in students and taking inspiration from the humanities
The science of team science
Researchers and funders are exploring ways to make large collaborative projects more successful
Science faction
Taking inspiration from nerd culture
Science as a product of culture
The role of background beliefs and assumptions in the development of science
Change at the top
Improving research culture requires effort – but it’s worth it
Impact of Covid-19
Let it go
We have to accept that we can’t catch up on time lost in lockdown
How Covid-19 has changed us
While the pandemic has introduced more efficient and global ways of working, researchers and educators still have challenges to overcome
Pandemic continues to disrupt and depress UK researchers, survey finds
Researchers reported spending more time on peer-review activities, teaching and writing
Leading a lab through pandemic-induced uncertainty
Emphathy is vital to support mentees effectively
Publishing
Depositing hope for the future
The rise of ChemRxiv might mean that chemists can tackle thornier cultural problems
Australian Research Council’s ban on preprints in grants prompts outcry
Move derided as ‘hopelessly outdated’ and a setback for open science by researchers
Chemists react to UK umbrella funding body’s new open access mandate
Agency aligns itself with principles of Plan S by insisting on immediate open access
Four years of chemistry preprints
Nina Notman takes stock of how preprint severs have settled into the chemistry community
BusinessOut of the suburbs: the rise of urban labs
Could empty office blocks and shopping centres provide much-needed space for growing companies?
News‘Exodus will require action’: chemistry laureates warn young researchers will desert US
Trump administration’s targeting of grants, funding and visas creating hostile environment for scientists
BusinessThe hole in the UK chemical industry
Norman Keane thinks ICI’s breakup has left a gap in scale-up knowhow and skills, as well as a lack of facilites
BusinessThe problem of scale-up in the UK
What’s the point of knowledge generation if we’re not creating high value jobs, asks Chris Kay
NewsSerbia limits academics’ research time to just one hour a day
Researchers say controversial policy will block majority of scientists from applying for grants
OpinionWillie May: ‘We need to find and support the “missing millions”’
The analytical chemist on growing up Black in Alabama in the 1950s and 1960s and his journey through NIST, academia and the AAAS presidency
CareersBridging the gap after submitting a PhD thesis
Finding ways to fund students as they search for jobs and complete lab work for publications
OpinionThe value of good software extends beyond its cost
Whether third-party or built in-house, thoughtful design and implementation can improve workflows and make science more inclusive
OpinionI use storytelling to write great lab reports
A formal writeup of an experiment has much in common with a thrilling story
OpinionI can’t believe it’s not…
The analytical techniques revealing the true identity of what you spread on your bread
CareersFrom professional ballet dancer to quantum chemist
Creativity has been central to James Shee’s career across both art and science
OpinionPaul Alivisatos: ‘Physical chemistry brought me back into the fold’
The nanomaterials pioneer talks about coming from a family of immigrants, wandering as an undergraduate and finding his compass
OpinionPaneth’s mirrors and the isolation of methyl radicals
Laying the groundwork for the study of combustion and photochemical reactions
CareersHidden from view: being a scientific advisor for the emergency services
Stephen Yao’s expertise helps the emergency services deal with chemical incidents
NewsHow emergency services prepare for major chemical spills
Meet the experts who prepare emergency responders for the worst case scenario
NewsEleven chemists who have been honoured with a blue plaque
Celebrating the link between historic figures and the buildings they lived and worked in
NewsBlue plaque honours founder of the Chemical Society set up 185 years ago
Historical sign commemorates Robert Warington’s life with tribute at his home
CareersDoes gamification have a place in chemistry education?
Escape rooms, murder mysteries and virtual reality are being used to try to make the subject more attractive to students
BusinessUS reviews chemical incident prevention planning rules
Risk Management Program has been extended and rolled back under successive governments
ResearchIron from single meteorite found in ancient Polish artefacts
Discoveries indicate meteoritic iron was falling out of fashion in the late iron age
NewsAnalysis reveals ethnic minority applicants’ grant success rates still lower
Engineering and physical sciences’ review panels in UK more likely to award white researchers
