19 July 2017
For over thirty years, SCI has supported and recognised the excellence of early career people, by aiding their studies in the form of an SCI Scholarship.
Since 1985 around 71 scholarships have been awarded which have not only given the recipients financial assistance, but have enabled them to broaden their network, and strengthen their skills and knowledge. SCI Scholars receive access to publishing and mentoring opportunities and are given a platform to present their work amongst esteemed scientists and industrialists, thus raising their profile within the scientific community. In the past nine years alone, SCI has generously bequeathed over £115,000 of its charitable funds to SCI Scholars and the scientists of the future.
Amy Flinn was awarded an SCI Scholarship in 2017. Here, she tells us about herself and her research project.
‘I was born and grew up in Warrington, Cheshire. My interest in Chemistry was inspired by the excellent teachers I had during my A-Levels at Priestley Sixth Form College, where I won the Solvay Interox award for achievement. I went on to pursue this interest at the University of York, beginning an undergraduate MChem in 2012. My first taste of academic research came in 2013, when I carried out a summer placement under Professor Martin Bates running computational studies of liquid crystal phases. During my undergraduate degree I also undertook two industrial placements, at Innospec Inc. (Widnes, UK) and Hexion B.V. (Pernis, the Netherlands). The time I spent on these sites excited me about potential scale-up applications of research while increasing my awareness about the technical issues separating academia and industry. As part of my final year, I carried out research into the photo-physics of Rhenium complexes in the lab of Professor Robin Perutz. I graduated with a first class degree in July 2016.
‘I began my postgraduate studies at the University of Nottingham in September 2016, having been awarded a GSK Case Award. My research focuses on continuous flow photochemistry, under the supervision of Professor Mike George, Professor Sir Martyn Poliakoff and Dr Helen Sneddon (GSK, Stevenage). My research project is to define the scope of pharmaceutically-relevant photochemistry for a variety of photoreactors, both novel and traditional, as well as developing alternative synthetic methodologies for efficient, scalable photochemistry. My research also has a strong focus on greener and more sustainable synthesis, in line with the ethos of both the University of Nottingham and GSK.
Outside of my research, I enjoy doing STEM outreach and have taken part in Science in the Park (British Science Week, 2017), Pint of Science (Nottingham), Science Fair and Wonder (University of Nottingham).’
Amy Flinn
PhD Student
University of Nottingham
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