Welcome New Members Update - July 2021

We would like to welcome all new NSW members who joined the RACI in July 2021. As a professional membership organisation, we provide networking and special interest events during the year. Details of all Branch events can be found on the website.

Name Member Type
Carly Baker
 Post Graduate Student
Stephanie Chua
 Post Graduate Student
Zixi Xie
 Post Graduate Student
Lyndon Hall
 Post Graduate Student
Catherine Au
  Member Chartered
Kathy Tou
 Post Graduate Student
Keshav Curriman
  Member Chartered


New Member Interviews

  

 

Aleksei Marianov

 

Why did you decide to join  RACI?

I joined to expand my professional network and stay in contact with like minded people.  I also like the regular updates regarding conferences, events, and seminars. 

What is your current occupation?

 

I am employed as a Research Associate at the School of Engineering, Macquarie University.

What made you get into chemistry?

 

My grandfather was working in a chemistry-related field, and we used to talk about reactions all the time. Then I started experimenting in my shed with electrolysers and ended up graduating with MSc majoring in Chemistry in 2015 and a PhD in Engineering in 2020.

Do you use chemistry in your everyday life? If so, how?

 

Yes, I do, this is my job now.  I work on the development of the materials and reactors for electrochemical reduction of CO2 in aqueous medium.  It also requires a good knowledge of organic chemist as well spectral methods of analysis.

Do you have a favourite chemical reaction?

 

I have two.  First is combustion because it literally made the humanity what it is today. And second is electrolysis as in this case we literally start and stop a chemical transformation like an electric appliance which is impossibly awesome in my opinion!

What do you like to do outside of chemistry?

 

I play the guitar and do hobby robotics projects.  The latter helps in my current role as I automated quite a lot of experimental work in the lab.

How can the  RACI help you in your current role?

 

I believe the conferences, seminars and networking events hosted by RACI are fantastic!  Should an opportunity arise, I would also love to present my research as we published very interesting works recently.

 

Jawairia Khan

 

How did you learn about RACI? 

RACI is one of the biggest platforms with an established network of professionals, organisations, and students, all related to chemistry in Australia.  I’m originally from Pakistan, and I started my PhD in analytical chemistry in Australia in July 2017.  That was the time when I first learnt about RACI from my peers in the field while seeking networking opportunities in Australian scientific communities.  Since then, I have been following RACI on almost all social media.  Recently, I also volunteered as an invigilator in an RACI titration competition among Year 11-12 students from the Illawarra region held at the University of Wollongong, which has broadened my perspective of the role of RACI in developing interest in chemistry among students.

 

Why did you decide to join RACI? 

Although I have very much connected with the RACI on different social media platforms for the last four years, I officially joined RACI in July 2021 after submitting my PhD thesis.  I feel, I now need to stay connected with the scientific community, especially that related to my field and be informed of new opportunities to foster my career endeavours.  Additionally, I believe RACI is the best platform to extend my professional contacts and establish a network of colleagues and friends associated with chemistry and relative fields.  Moreover, living in such unprecedented COVID times added the extra need for strong connections among the relevant scientific community through a core organisation such as RACI. 

 

What degree program are you studying? 

I have successfully achieved my final milestone and submitted my PhD thesis for evaluation in a multidisciplinary field of analytical chemistry/material science.  This amazing research journey equipped me with many advanced scientific skills, extended from advanced manufacturing techniques (3D printing, laser cutting, plasma surface modification/surface coatings) to characterisation and spectrometric/microscopic techniques (SEM, Raman, FTIR-ATR, UV-Vis, XRD, TLC, mass spectrometry) to data analysis including image analysis and programming skills (Origin Pro, Image analysis, MATLAB, statistical analysis). 

 

What made you get into chemistry? 

Well, to be very honest, I got into chemistry accidentally.  When I was in school, I didn’t have much inclination towards chemistry (as I noticed in many students I have interacted with at University of Wollongong too).  However, chemistry was the only subject where I always performed the best.  Based on my good grades in chemistry, I decided to pursue further studies in chemistry.

 

Do you use chemistry in your everyday life?  If so, how? 

Chemistry is everywhere, and I don’t think anyone could avoid chemistry in his/her daily life.  First and foremost, I use chemistry while breathing air, cooking food, then eating the food through my digestive system, cleaning with chemicals, and the list continues.  Most importantly, I’m living chemistry every time through my changing emotions, which is also the result of different chemical reactions in my body.  So how can one avoid chemistry?

 

Do you have a favourite reagent or a reaction? 

Being a chemist, I have a long list of interesting reagents and reactions, but I would mention Iron and Carbon - because these are the elements of strength and life.

 

What do you like to do outside of chemistry? 

I love to read different scientific articles and discoveries in all fields, and apart from that, I love nature, travelling, and hiking.

 

How can the RACI help you in your current role? 

I believe RACI can help me boost my Chem-Network and help me in transitioning into my professional life.  I just achieved the final milestone of my student life and it’s time to look for future endeavours.  RACI plays a significant role in career development of many professional chemists through developing their skills and providing them opportunities to build strong connections.  I’m looking forward to becoming an active member of the Australian chemistry family.

 

Chen Jia

 

How did you learn about RACI?

The first time I heard of RACI was when my supervisor asked if I was interested to give a presentation at the 21st Australia and New Zealand Electrochemistry Symposium in 2019 organised by RACI.  The symposium was very successful.  I really enjoyed the atmosphere there and I had learnt a lot from others, while sharing my study with other delegates.  More importantly, there were many opportunities to communicate with other experienced researchers.  Overall, my first impression of RACI was great.

 

Why did you decide to join RACI?

This is the last year of my PhD study and I am mainly focussing on my PhD thesis and future academic career.  I came across RACI again when I recently summarised my experiences and achievements.  I visited the RACI website and learnt that RACI is an authoritative institute of chemistry in Australia made up of many professional members in chemistry.  Therefore, joining RACI will provide an excellent opportunity for me to meet and communicate with experienced chemists and learn from their experience.  In addition, there are various webinars and online workshops in career development, which are all of interest to me.  Therefore, I decided to join RACI without any hesitation.

 

What degree program are you studying?

I am pursuing my PhD in Chemistry at UNSW, researching into electrochemical CO2 reduction to fuels and value-added chemicals.  Electrochemical CO2 reduction is a promising strategy to address current environmental issues attributed to escalated global CO2 emissions.  This reaction, however, requires efficient electrocatalysts to lower the overpotential and suppress side-reactions.  My PhD project focusses on the development of highly efficient carbon-based catalysts including metal-free heteroatom doped porous carbon materials, single-atom metal-nitrogen-carbon structures and molecularly modified carbon catalysts.  Currently, I am designing a flow-based reaction system of commercial scale for CO2 reduction.

 

What made you get into chemistry?

I choose chemistry as my major due to my initial interest in chemistry.  I still remember my first chemistry class in high school in China when I was 14.  Our chemistry teacher showed us a piece of blank A4 paper and stuck it on a blackboard in front of the classroom.  Next, she sprayed some transparent ink on the paper.  Immediately, red Chinese characters for “Chemistry” appeared on the paper.  That was amazing and later we learnt that was phenolphthalein changing into red in the presence of an alkali.  From that time on, I found chemistry very fascinating.

 

Do you use chemistry in your everyday life?  If so, how?

I like cooking and I feel cooking is very similar to a chemical experiment.  For example, you need to control the temperature and time as well as the order of adding all ingredients.  By the way, my cooking skill has improved a great deal during this lockdown period.

 

Do you have a favourite reagent or a reaction?

My favourite reaction is the electrochemical reaction of CO2 to CO, CO2 + 2H+(proton) + 2e–(electron)  CO + H2O.  Electrochemically reducing CO2 to value-added chemical and fuels using renewable electricity has great potential to reduce CO2 emission and mitigate global warming.  Among all CO2 reduction reactions, CO2 conversion to CO is the easiest reaction with the least electron consumption and the highest activity and selectivity.  Additionally, this reaction yields a simple product, not requiring complex separation and collection processes.  So far, we have shown in the laboratory that our electrocatalysts have maintained their activity in CO2 conversion to CO at a commercial level, which exhibits extensive potential for industrial application in future.

 

What do you like to do outside of chemistry?

I like sports, music, and cooking.  Currently, we are in lockdown, so I spend lots of time in cooking.  Previously, I often played basketball on campus with my lab mates.  Also, I like watching soccer games and FC Bayern Munich is my favourite football club in Germany.  Meanwhile, music always calms me down so that I can focus on my writing.

 

How can the RACI help you in your current role?

I am in the last few months of my PhD study and currently I am starting to plan for my future career.  I think there are many online workshops I like to participate to learn how to start my career.  In addition, I hope to communicate with experienced chemists in RACI and learn from their experience.