Victoria Atkinson

Following on from two generations of chemists, perhaps my choice to pursue the same path was inevitable. My childhood was full of home experiments, from the classic bicarb volcano to growing copper sulphate crystals on the window ledge!

I studied chemistry at the University of Oxford and completed my fourth-year master’s project working on catalytic methodology with Darren Dixon (which excitingly led to my first publication). Having caught the research bug, I decided to continue on to do a PhD, this time joining Jeremy Robertson to work on a total synthesis project, employing enzymatic methodology to produce agrochemical products.

Towards the end of my PhD, I found that I was enjoying talking about science much more than actually doing it and I became heavily involved in science outreach. Here I could share my enthusiasm for science with younger students through practical workshops and school visits, something which I always found very fulfilling. Later, I focused on developing new outreach material and have since made the transition to science journalism.

Research
Water-splitting device solves puzzle of producing hydrogen direct from seawater
2022-12-06T14:30:00
System offers scalable way to turn oceans into energy source
Research
New lease of life for waste PVC chlorinating aromatics
2022-11-30T09:30:00
Electrochemical process could tackle hard to recycle plastic
Business
Europe gears up for streamlined patent system
2022-11-09T11:08:00
Delayed Unified Patent Court set to begin operating in April
Research
Controversy surrounds corrected chemical structures
2022-11-08T09:30:00
Researchers used machine learning-powered NMR prediction to correct improbable structures – but some of their revisions have been challenged
Research
Diverse pharmaceutical building blocks prepared with evolved enzymes
2022-10-27T09:23:00
Computation guides enzyme evolution to produce high-value drug compounds
Research
Waste plastics unzipped into useful pieces
2022-10-14T09:03:00
Chemical recycling of polyethylene produces feedstock usually obtained from crude oil.
Research
Designer catalyst with enzyme-like cavity splits water almost as fast as plants
2022-10-12T13:30:00
Catalytic cleft offers new strategy to speed up hydrogen synthesis
Research
Surface reactions can be controlled by bulk stoichiometry
2022-09-21T13:50:00
Computational models demonstrate how the elastic properties of a solid can influence surface chemistry
Research
Artificial active transport offers new way to prepare complex oligorotaxanes
2022-09-07T08:30:00
Novel class of molecular pump is driven by transamidation
Opinion
Angela Russell: ‘We have to not be afraid of failing’
2022-08-19T08:50:00
The medicinal chemist on thinking like a scientist and knowing where you want to go
Research
Artificially evolved enzyme tackles tricky cross coupling
2022-08-18T13:30:00
Directed evolution on the metalloenzyme cytochrome P450 creates a catalyst for making macrocyclic antibiotics
Research
Combining expertise to develop remote-controlled nanomaterials
2022-08-12T09:37:00
Beatriz Pelaz explains how her research tackles bionanomaterials from multiple angles
Opinion
Robert Mokaya: ‘I have been lucky to open a lot of doors’
2022-07-29T08:30:00
The innovative materials chemist on a love of making things and opening doors for others
Research
Record-breaking rotaxane prepared on polymer bead
2022-07-04T14:01:00
Polystyrene beads decorated with 10¹⁴ rotaxane molecules
Research
Graphene-like structure created from a fullerene
2022-06-30T13:30:00
2D material synthesised from nanocluster fullerene for the first time
Research
Molecular machine drills holes in antibiotic-resistant bacteria killing them
2022-06-28T13:48:00
Bacteria aren’t able to develop resistance against nanomotor’s deadly action
Research
Polymer membrane could tap huge reserves of ‘blue energy’ from estuaries’ salt gradients
2022-06-22T08:30:00
Solution to performance stalemate means tidal rivers’ vast electrochemical power could be harnessed
Research
White male scientists have privileges that boost their career beyond merit
2022-06-20T13:30:00
Survey of 25,000 scientists reveals white able-bodied heterosexual men’s advantages can’t be attributed to higher work effort or better qualifications
Research
Light-activated cancer treatment uses tumour-targeting enzymes to cut side effects
2022-06-16T13:30:00
Enzymatic activation of a photosensitive prodrug in cancerous cells shows promise in mice
Research
High-pressure compound contains record-breaking 50% hydrogen
2022-06-14T08:33:00
Unique hydrogen–methane van der Waals compound is stabilised by nuclear quantum effects

More by Victoria Atkinson