Workshop on Chemistry and Light at Nossal High School

Drs. Chris Ritchie and Lars Goerigk from the School of Chemistry in collaboration with Chemistry alumnus Dr Kerwyn Alley have successfully conducted a workshop entitled “Chemistry in action through light” with selected year-11 students at Nossal High School in Berwick. The workshop allowed students to get a glimpse of real-life chemical research by investigating how light can induce changes in molecular structures and in their colours. The workshop introduced the students to both experimental and computational chemistry techniques, the latter being a completely unexplored territory for high-school students. This workshop has been funded by the Dean of Science’s Engagement Seed Funding and shows our ongoing commitment to engaging with local schools to bring our research closer to the chemists of the future. More on this workshop, including the students’ overwhelmingly positive feedback, can be found on pages 10-11 in Nossal High School’s newsletter.