Nobel Laureate to visit New Zealand for Chemistry Centenary Nobel Laureate Professor Robert H Grubbs, a Hood Fellow of the University of Auckland, will visit New Zealand as part of the centenary celebrations of the School of Chemical Sciences being held this month. Professor Grubbs received the Nobel Prize in 2005 for the development of catalysts for metathesis, a reaction widely used in organic synthesis. Metathesis is an important type of chemical reaction with significant potential in the preparation of pharmaceuticals and polymers in the biotechnical industry and in foodstuffs production. However, the reaction requires a catalyst to proceed with high selectivity to yield the desired products. The Grubbs catalyst based on the metal ruthenium was the first well-defined metathesis catalyst that is generally applicable, air stable and easy to synthesise. The discoveries by Professor Grubbs have helped solve some of the major challenges of our time. The metathesis reaction has been successfully used in the synthesis of herbicides, additives for fuels, polymers with special properties and the development of pharmaceuticals such as those used for treating bacterial infections, hepatitis C, cancer, Alzheimers disease, osteoporosis, arthritis, inflammation, fibrosis, HIV/AIDS, and many more. Professor Grubbs was raised in rural Kentucky. His … Continue reading →

A chemistry teacher accused of planning to fight alongside Islamic State in Syria is due to be sentenced today. Jamshed Javeed, 30, pleaded guilty to two terror charges in August. Jamshed Javeed, 30, from Levenshulme in Manchester started supporting the group's cause in August 2013, police alleged. Officers claimed his family had been so worried about him travelling to the war-torn country that they hid his passport in a bid to stop him. The married father-of-two obtained a replacement and was arrested by counter-terror police in December of that year following fears that he was preparing to fly out imminently to Syria with equipment bought for use on the battlefield. Javeed - a teacher at Sharples High School in Bolton - admitted he intended to travel to Syria to join rebels fighting against the Assad regime, but insisted he "has never supported and does not support the aims of Isis as now revealed and understood," the court heard. He pleaded guilty last October to two counts of engaging in conduct in preparation of terrorist acts. The first charge states that he provided funding and bought equipment with the intention of helping others commit an act of terrorism, while the secound … Continue reading →

A chemistry teacher who planned to travel to Syria to fight alongside Islamic State prepared himself to commit "multiple acts of murder", a court has heard. Jamshed Javeed, 30, was among a group of young Muslim men who became radicalised and "determined to fight Jihad" in 2013. He helped his younger brother Mohammed and two other men join the terrorist group in Syria by providing money for flights as well as clothing and equipment, Woolwich Crown Court in London heard. Javeed is then said to have prepared to travel to the country with another member of the group, Nur Hassan, to fight with Isis and their fellow Britons against government forces. In November 2013, he bought clothing, equipment and flight tickets but he was stopped from travelling by his family, who hid the clothes he had prepared, along with his passport. Javeed, who is married with a young child, pressed ahead with his plans despite the pleas of his wife and family not to go, prosecutor Simon Denison QC said. He said: "He persisted, buying more clothing and equipment to take with him for himself and others, and applying for a replacement passport." The teacher, from Levenshulme, Manchester, was arrested … Continue reading →