Start date: 01-10-2015
Academic department: Chemistry
Title of research project: Tripodal ligands for small molecule activation
Academic supervisor: Professor Nicholas Long and Dr Philip Miller
Native country: United Kingdom

How has the scholarship award enabled you to pursue your ambitions?

I decided to pursue research in Chemistry after my undergraduate studies mainly because I enjoy it so much. Research can be so rewarding, and I particularly like the intellectual challenges that chemical research offers. The scholarship award has allowed me to fund my studies throughout my research degree at Imperial, thus allowing me to start a future research career of my own.

Why did you choose to study at Imperial?

Studying in London really appealed to me because I wanted the opportunity to study in a vibrant and cultural city. Imperial College in particular is renowned for it's excellence in research, and I wanted to complete my research studies within a world-leading institution such as Imperial.

What have you been up to on the programme so far?

I am currently in my second year of my PhD in the Department of Chemistry. My project involves synthetic organometallic chemistry that aims to tackle the problem of the global and unsustainable production of ammonia by the development of novel metal complexes that catalyse the formation of ammonia under mild conditions. I am really enjoying my research so far, as well as all the other opportunities that studying at Imperial offers, such as getting involved within the departmental postgraduate committee.

The scholarship programme has allowed me to integrate with other PhD students in different disciplines within the Faculty of Natural Sciences. I have attended the annual Schrödinger lecture events alongside fellow scholarship students, which give all the cohorts the chance to socialise and discuss the variety of scientific research that we are all involved in.