Andrea standing in his lab in front of a Schlenk line.
My name is Andrea Sella. I’m a rare earth and materials chemist at UCL in Central London and I am very fortunate to hold an EPSRC Senior Media Fellowship until 2012.
For as long as I can remember, I have loved chemistry and been infuriated by people who, when I tell them that I am a chemist, reply that they always hated chemistry or were completely rubbish at it. Come on! If you tell me you’re an accountant, do I tell you that I think it’s boring or that I can’t do arithmetic?
Chemistry is one of the cornerstones of our world and whether you like it or not you are made of “chemicals”. I want people to embrace chemistry, one of the key ways that we can transform our world. And I try to do this by doing public science, either on stage (especially through the Cheltenham Science Festival), in print or through TV and radio.
In my research, I worry a lot about the lanthanides (or rare earths), exotic-sounding elements at the bottom of the periodic table but which light up our world. I am basically a synthetic chemist, which means that I am interested in making stuff and studying its properties. I also make materials made of carbon, silicon or germanium that have unusual properties. You can check out my UCL webpage.
I am also pretty keen on cooking, bicycles, and finding ways to reduce my family’s carbon footprint.
This blog will focus on chemistry that catches my eye, science communication, and issues related to energy use and climate change.
