Trio of Manchester scientists win Royal Society of Chemistry prizes – The University of Manchester

Three scientists from The University of Manchester have been awarded with prestigious prizes by The Royal Society of Chemistry for their research. Professors Sarah Haigh, Jason Mickleford and Chris Hardacre have all been honoured and will each receive a prize and medal for their contributions.

Professor Sarah Haigh has been named winner of the Royal Society of Chemistrys Analytical Division mid-career Award. Based at the University of Manchester, Professor Haigh won the prize for the development of transmission electron microscopy methods for advancing understanding of the dynamic behaviour of 2D materials and nanomaterials.

After receiving the prize, Professor Haigh said: Im very excited to have received this prize and thank the RSC for the honour. It is a testament to the hard work of my fantastic research group who very patiently put up with me. I am very grateful to them for their great ideas, persistence, enthusiasm, and collaboration. This prize is evidence that you can continue to succeed in science with a young family even with the huge additional challenges and stresses imposed by the pandemic over the last years.

Most science and engineering processes occur in liquids or gases. Professor Haighs research group uses electron microscopes to study these processes, dynamically, with atomic spatial resolution and chemical sensitivity. Electron microscopes are similar to optical microscopes, but they use electrons instead of light. Electrons can be accelerated to very high speeds, when they have a wavelength 100,000 times smaller than visible light, which gives us the possibility to see atoms.

Applications of their research include studying the early stage synthesis of nanomaterials, the charging and discharging of batteries, the production of electricity from fuel cells or of green fuels from renewable energy, and the corrosion of pipelines or offshore wind turbines. Her research group is particularly interested in the applications for clean energy generation to support the net zero energy transition.

Professor Jason Micklefield has been named winner of the Royal Society of Chemistrys Interdisciplinary Prize. Based at the University of Manchester, Professor Micklefield won the prize for innovative research spanning organic chemistry to molecular genetics, leading to the discovery, characterisation, and engineering of many novel enzymes.

After receiving the prize, Professor Micklefield said: I am very pleased to win this award. I am particularly grateful to my very talented research group for their hard work, dedication and excellent research over the years, which has made this possible.

Nature uses enzymes to catalyse reactions building all of the molecules required for life. Enzymes also break down molecules to release energy that enables all living organisms to move forward. Professor Micklefields lab discovers novel enzymes from unusual bacteria in nature. They characterise these enzymes to determine their structures and mechanisms. With this knowledge, they are able to re-programme the enzymes to create variants that can catalyse new reactions.

These engineered enzymes are used to produce novel antibiotics to combat antimicrobial resistance, antiviral agents that entered clinical trials for COVID-19, anticancer agents and other useful molecules. The enzymatic pathways they develop are cleaner and more sustainable than the traditional chemical synthesis routes that are currently used to prepare pharmaceuticals and other molecules.

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Trio of Manchester scientists win Royal Society of Chemistry prizes - The University of Manchester