As the academic year 2024/25 draws to a close, I am delighted to share the news that this year’s MacKenzie group M.Chem. project student, Olivia Whitley, has been awarded the 'The Professor D.C. Sherrington F.R.S. Award'.

The award is bestowed by the University of Strathclyde Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry for the best thesis in preparative chemistry. The prize is named after Prof. David Colin Sherrington, who was a very well regarded Professor of Chemistry, Prof. David Colin Sherrington, who was a very well regarded Professor of Chemistry at Strathclyde. The Royal Society provides a wonderful account of Prof. Sherrington’s life and times here. It's safe to say his legacy lives on beyond names on awards as his former students and colleauges will no doubt tell you.

Olivia’s award winning thesis is titled “Investigating the synthesis of chrial gold nanoparticles”. It does what it says on the tin. It is the MacKenzie’s lab first foray into synthesis of chiral nanoparticles. It was supported by a Carnegie Trust Research Incentive Grant.Thanks to all the group members and colleauges who helped with the project, especially Dr Alastair Wark, without whom, our foray into gold nanoparticles would have been a lot trickier! I hope the group will be able to expand upon chiral nanomaterials in future.

Well done again Olivia!

Lewis. 10th June 2025.