Four ‘generations’ of chemists at graduation

victoria-university-of-wellington

Tue May 18 2010 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)

Four ‘generations’ of chemists at graduation

Tuesday, 18 May 2010, 5:18 pm
Press Release: Victoria University of Wellington

Four ‘generations’ of chemists at Science graduation

Four academic generations of chemists will be present at Victoria University’s Science graduation ceremony this evening.

Two are receiving doctoral degrees. Russell Hewitt, the youngest, graduates with a PhD in organic chemistry, and Victoria alumnus Professor Martin Banwell is being awarded an honorary doctor of science degree.

Mr Hewitt’s supervisor Dr Joanne Harvey (herself a doctoral student of Martin Banwell’s from the Australian National University) and Professor Banwell’s former PhD supervisor Emeritus Professor Brian Halton will also be present at the ceremony.

“To the best of our knowledge, this is a unique event in New Zealand chemistry. The international nature of scientific research and the size of New Zealand’s science community mean that the simultaneous gathering of multiple generations of PhD graduates is rare,” says Dr Harvey.

“Added to this are the doctoral achievements of Martin and Russell that will be celebrated at the graduation ceremony.”

The four generations have all made significant progress in the understanding and use of three-membered ring (cyclopropane) compounds. These can be used in a number of ways, including in the synthesis of important pharmaceutical and pharmacological end products now in use.

“We intend to continue exploiting the chemical reactivity present in cyclopropanes to gain access to a wide range of useful products,” says Dr Harvey.
“Victoria has been a leading centre of research on strained organic chemicals, including cyclopropanes, through Brian Halton’s work over the past 40 years. We hope to continue that tradition in our investigations of cyclopropane reactions, inspired by the successes of Martin Banwell’s group at ANU.”

A symposium celebrating Professor Banwell’s honorary doctorate is being hosted by the School of Chemical and Physical Sciences on Thursday 20 May. This full day event will feature research seminars by all of the four generations of chemists mentioned above and also highlights chemistry in the Wellington region.

ENDS

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

a.supporter:hover {background:#EC4438!important;} @media screen and (max-width: 480px) { #byline-block div.byline-block {padding-right:16px;}}

Using Scoop for work?

Scoop is free for personal use, but you’ll need a licence for work use. This is part of our Ethical Paywall and how we fund Scoop. Join today with plans starting from less than $3 per week, plus gain access to exclusive Pro features.

Join Pro Individual Find out more

Find more from Victoria University of Wellington on InfoPages.