Philip Robinson
Deputy editor, Chemistry World
I graduated several times from the University of Edinburgh, eventually leaving with a PhD in NMR spectroscopy after spending a happy decade in and around the Joseph Black chemistry building. I’ve since worked in education, publishing and project management. Diverse roles, but all linked by communication and, of course, science – a (winding) thread that led to my interest in science writing and journalism.
At Chemistry World, my interest in spectroscopy has broadened to cover the whole ‘spectrum’ of physical chemistry. But much as I love leafing through Phys. Rev. Lett., I’m as interested in the people behind the papers as the science itself, and speaking with scientists about their work is both a pleasure and a privilege. I’m not a cheerleader for science; a good science story is a good story. However, the telling needs some skill, and at least a little knowledge, to do it well. I hope we manage that.
OpinionCovid-19 poses trust issues for science
The pandemic is proving the importance of public trust in science
- Opinion
Science can’t fix Whitehall on its own
There seems to be a genuine effort to put science at the heart of the UK’s government but this comes with risks as well as rewards
- Article
The data behind the Nobel prizes
We’ve looked at over 100 years of data behind who and what wins the Nobel prize
- Opinion
Cutting-edge history
Rewriting the textbooks is our duty, because credit and recognition are much more than a reward for the individual. We use them to show what we value, and what matters to us – what lies behind us to be discovered is just as important as what lies ahead
- News
The Cambridge Structural Database hits one million structures
Warning! Contains extreme crystallography
- Opinion
Douma and Salisbury: a tale of two cities
Events in Salisbury and Douma show how important OPCW has become
- Opinion
Seeing is believing
Cryo-EM may seem more physics and engineering, but chemistry is its killer app
- Careers
Take a tour of the Diamond Light Source
The synchrotron researchers exploring the world in atomic detail
