Nina Notman
Science writer and editor
After finishing my organic chemistry PhD at the University of Bristol, I had come to realise that I didn’t have the patience required to be a good bench chemist. I started looking around for a career than allowed me to indulge my love for science while not being lab-based, which led me to join the journals team at the Royal Society of Chemistry with a focus on guiding papers through the peer review process. I was also given the opportunity to write magazine-style articles about some of the papers we published, something I relished. I then joined the Chemistry World team, first as a science correspondent and later as the features editor. In 2012, due to a family relocation, I went freelance and now write for a range of different chemistry and science education publications.
ResearchNew tools direct reactions at specific C–H bonds in organic molecules
Elegant catalysts offer quicker routes to complex compounds
FeatureA taste of wine chemistry
Nina Notman talks to the wine detectives uncovering the flavour molecules in our favourite tipples
CareersThe radio telescopes exploring our universe
How astrochemists are identifying molecules light-years away from Earth
FeatureReaching a milestone
The decade-long process to register all chemicals used in Europe has concluded. Nina Notman takes stock of progress and looks to the next steps for chemical legislation in the region
CareersFive ways to secure research funding
How to find your financial feet as an independent researcher
FeatureIntroducing mechanochemistry
Mechanochemical synthesis offers a different way to make compounds. Nina Notman asks whether we should all get grinding
NewsLarge scale experiment probes chemistry inside our homes
Dozens of analytical instruments have spent a month observing the chemistry of the air inside a three bed house
FeatureEthics in chemistry
Nina Notman asks whether chemists should be giving more consideration to the ethics of their research
Feature3D printing in pharma
Nina Notman explores how 3D printing is carving out a niche for itself in the pharmaceutical industry
FeatureCuba: socialism, cigars and biotech
Nina Notman learns how biotechnology could potentially overtake cigars as Cuba’s most famous export
FeatureArtificial blood
Nina Notman reports on progress towards products that can, when necessary, replace donor red blood cells
FeatureLife on other planets
A series of missions to the moons of Jupiter and Saturn has revealed their potential to harbour life. Nina Notman looks to the skies
FeatureEvery breath you take
Nina Notman meets the chemists looking to clear the air around indoor air pollution
FeatureThe science of distilling gin
Do you know your cold compound from your London dry? Nina Notman sorts through the botanicals to find the perfect cocktail
CareersMaintaining the UK's nuclear deterrent
The scientific challenges of working on a weapon that can never be tested
FeatureMOFs find a use
Nina Notman takes stock of the first products containing metal–organic frameworks to hit the shelves
FeatureHow ketamine could help treat severe depression
Nina Notman looks at how the party drug ketamine may hold the key to treating patients with severe depression
