Department of Chemistry course timetable

Mass spectrometry is one of the main analytical-chemical techniques used to characterise organic compounds and their elemental composition. This overview will discuss some of the most frequently used mass spectrometry techniques and their specific strengths (e.g., quadrupole, time-of-flight and high-resolution MS), as well as ionisation techniques such as electron ionisation (EI), electrospray ionisation (ESI), matrix assisted laser desorption/ionisation (MALDI) and MS techniques to quantify metal concentrations (e.g. inductively coupled plasma MS, ICP-MS) and isotope ratios.

This training will consist of two sessions, introducing you to use of both Water's MS software and MassLynx and Bruker and Thermo's MS software: MALDI and Orbitrap.

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy represents one of the most informative and widely used techniques for characterisation of compounds in the solution and solid state. Most researchers barely tap into the potential of the experiments that are available on the instruments in the Department, so in this short course we will explore the basic concepts that will allow you to make the most of these powerful techniques for routine analysis, as well as introducing more specialised experiments.

This course will provide an idea of what kind of scientific problems can be solved by solid state NMR. It will cover how NMR can be used to study molecular structure, nanostructure and dynamics in the solid state, including heterogeneous solids, such as polymers, MOFs, energy-storage and biological materials This course will build on a basic working knowledge of solution-state NMR for 1H and 13C, i.e. undergraduate level NMR. In order to highlight the utility of this technique, some materials based research using solid state NMR will also be covered

These lectures will introduce the basics of crystallography and diffraction, assuming no prior knowledge. The aim is to provide an overview that will inspire and serve as a basis for researchers to use the Department’s single-crystal and/or powder X-ray diffraction facilities or to appreciate more effectively results obtained through the Department’s crystallographic services. The final lecture will be devoted to searching and visualising crystallographic data using the Cambridge Structural Database system.

This hands-on course teaches the basics of Latex including syntax, lists, maths equations, basic chemical equations, tables, graphical figures and internal and external referencing. We also learn how to link documents to help manage large projects. The course manual is presented in the style of a thesis and since you also receive the source code you also receive a template for a thesis.

Since introduction in 1986 by Binnig, Quate and Gerber, atomic force microscopy (AFM) has emerged as one of the most powerful scanning probe microscopy technique. The possibility to acquire three-dimensional morphology maps of specimens on a surface in both air and in their native liquid environment with sub-nanometre resolution makes it a very versatile single molecule technique. A conventional AFM topography map provides valuable information on the morphology and structure of heterogeneous biological samples, while single molecule force spectroscopy can interrogate the biophysical and nanomechanical properties of the sample at the nanoscale. Furthermore, the combination of AFM with spectroscopic modes enable to enquire the optical properties of the sample with nanoscale resolution. In these introductory lectures, the general capabilities of AFM with respect to other scanning probe and electron microscopy techniques will be discussed. The general principles governing the functioning of AFM in contact and tapping mode will be given, as well as the principles enabling the study of nanomechanical properties of samples by force spectroscopy and nanomechanical imaging. Other modes such as scattering SNOM, AFM-IR and Raman will be generally discussed. The course will provide the necessary background to acquire a morphology map by AFM. The last session will consist of a hand-on session introducing the students to the use and functioning of an AFM instrument.

These lectures will introduce the basics of crystallography and diffraction, assuming no prior knowledge. The aim is to provide an overview that will inspire and serve as a basis for researchers to use the Department’s single-crystal and/or powder X-ray diffraction facilities or to appreciate more effectively results obtained through the Department’s crystallographic services. The final lecture will be devoted to searching and visualising crystallographic data using the Cambridge Structural Database system.

Research reproducibility can be hard to get right. The aim of this talk is to raise awareness on the common pitfalls so you can confidently share your work for posterity. We will cover the dos and don’ts of data processing, how to comment on a script, and how to share it. Python will be used as an example because a variety of tools exist for this language. The goal is for anyone reading your paper to be able to go from the raw data to your paper figures.

The talk will last 20 minutes and there will be time for questions/discussion afterwards.

This talk is brought to you by the Chemistry Data Champions https://www-library.ch.cam.ac.uk/chemistry-data-champions

This compulsory course will equip you with the skills required to manage the research information you will need to gather throughout your graduate course, as well as the publications you will produce yourself. It will also help you enhance your online research profile and measure the impact of research.

This compulsory session introduces Research Data Management (RDM) to Chemistry PhD students. It is highly interactive and utilises practical activities throughout.

Key topics covered are:

• Research Data Management (RDM) - what it is and what problems can occur with managing and sharing your data.
• Data backup and file sharing - possible consequences of not backing up your data, strategies for backing up your data and sharing your data safely.
• Data organisation - how to organise your files and folders, what is best practice.
• Data sharing - obstacles to sharing your data, benefits and importance of sharing your data, the funder policy landscape, resources available in the University to help you share your data.
• Data management planning - creating a roadmap for how not to get lost in your data!

The main aim of giving a presentation to the public or a science venue is to present information in a way that the audience will remember at a later time. There are several ways in which we can improve this type of impact with an audience. This interactive lecture explores some of those mechanisms.

The main aim of giving a presentation to the public or a science venue is to present information in a way that the audience will remember at a later time. There are several ways in which we can improve this type of impact with an audience. This interactive lecture explores some of those mechanisms.

This session will require 4-5 volunteers to provide a 10 min talk which the session will show how to improve. Presenters in the following week's Peer to Peer presentations will be given priority booking for this event.