• Question: what do you specialise in

    Asked by sidmon to Martin, Alan on 6 Mar 2018.
    • Photo: Martin McCoustra

      Martin McCoustra answered on 6 Mar 2018:

      There are two answers to this question.

      When it comes to teaching, I teach aspects of those areas of chemistry where we using physical principles and mathematical tools to build models of the behaviour of atoms and molecules and their interactions. This is an area called Chemical Physics.

      In terms of research, although I am broadly an astrochemist, my own group works on the processes that occur dust grain surfaces in space which make small molecules (allowing the accumulation of ices); which use light and charged particles to convert simple molecules into more complex molecules; and which use light, charged particles and heat to return molecules to the gas phase where astronomers can see them more easily.

    • Photo: Alan McCue

      Alan McCue answered on 7 Mar 2018:

      My answer is similar to Martins however, I’ll only describe the research part. My area of specialty is designing and making catalysts. These are amazing compounds which allow us to make chemical in a quicker and simpler way (when they work well ;-)). In fact almost all chemicals we use are made using a catalyst so they are very very important in the ‘real world’!

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