Join Professor Matthew Davidson on Tuesday 7 January (7-9 pm) to discover how advances in chemistry are paving the way for solutions to plastic pollution.
Plastics are essential for modern life: they keep food and medicines fresh and safe, enable light-weight vehicles and aircraft, insulate and protect buildings, and serve as critical components in countless manufactured goods, from consumer electronics to medical devices. However, their widespread use presents significant environmental challenges. Plastic production relies heavily on fossil resources, and discarded plastic pollutes the natural world. This talk will explore how developments in chemistry can help replace current plastics with new materials made from sustainable building blocks, designed for easier recycling at the end of their life, and engineered to have a lower environmental impact.
Matthew Davidson is Whorrod Professor of Sustainable Chemical Technologies, Executive Director of the University of Bath Institute of Sustainability and Climate Change, Executive Director of the Innovation Centre for Applied Sustainable Technologies and Director of the CDT in Sustainable Chemical Technologies: A Systems Approach. His research focuses on the application of molecular chemistry and catalysis to sustainable chemical processes such as the manufacture of renewable fuels, chemicals and plastics.
He graduated in Chemistry from the University of Wales, Swansea and received a PhD from the University of Cambridge. Following a Research Fellowship at St John’s College, Cambridge, he held Lectureships in Chemistry at the University of Cambridge and Durham University before being appointed to a Chair of Chemistry at Bath in 1999. Much of his work involves close collaboration with industry and he has held a Royal Society Industry Fellowship. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and a previous recipient of its Harrison Memorial Prize.
Register your interest for an evening with Professor Davidson.
No scientific knowledge is needed to take part. A selection of light refreshments will be available in return for a donation on the night, or you are welcome to bring your own drinks and snacks with you.
