21 Aug 2014
Each year, SCI awards scholarships to help members support their studies. Tanatorn has been just been awarded a scholarship. Here he tells us a bit more about himself.
Tanatorn Khotavivattana was born in Thailand in 1990, where he attended Mahidol Wittayanusorn School, the first science school in Thailand. He was awarded two silver medals from the 39th and 40th International Chemistry Olympiad in Moscow, Russia (2007) and Budapest, Hungary (2008). He was later awarded the Development and Promotion of Science and Technology Talents Project (DPST), a full scholarship from the Royal Government of Thailand to study in the UK.
After completing a one year A-level course at Rochester Independent College, he began his undergraduate studies in chemistry at the University of Oxford. During the course, he has acquired several academic prizes such as the Bruker UK Limited Prize for achieving 1st place in the Preliminary Examination, the Eisai Limited Undergraduate Award for achieving 2nd place in the Part IA Examination, and the Phillips Prize for achieving 2nd place in the Part IB Examination. In his final year, he undertook a research project investigating hydrotrifluoromethylation of alkenes using photoredox catalyst under supervision of Prof Veronique Gouverneur. In 2013, he obtained a first class honours degree in Chemistry and received the GlaxoSmithKline Award for the two highest ranked Oxford graduates.
In the same year, he then pursued doctoral degree in Organic Chemistry at the University of Oxford and continued to work under the supervision of Prof Veronique Gouverneur. His current project focuses on the development of novel methods to introduce the fluorine-18 isotope into organic molecules. This work serves as a platform for the synthesis of radiolabelled tracers and drug targets to be utilised in Positron Emission Tomography (PET scan).
In his spare time, Tanatorn enjoys cooking and baking; he was the head of cooking in several events for the Oxford Thai Society. He also participated in several voluntary camps and was a Vice Chairman of Tor Sang I camp (academic camp set for students in rural areas of Thailand).
Tanatorn Khotavivattana
University of Oxford
Visit Blog