WMCTC Prgramme for the Year 2026-27 Below you will find the lecture programme for the year; for most lectures there are details of the lecturer and a description of the lecture content in brief. These details should go onto the website www.wmctc.co.uk very soon. Please visit the site to check on additional events and details where I have not included them here. Lectures start at 7pm in the Haworth Lecture Theatre. Please apply for (free) tickets at wmctclecture@gmail.com:state number required, your school's name and give an email contact. All students must be accompanied at all times when on the university site and in the lecture. A risk assessment is available on our website. We look forward to seeing you at these events. Best wishes, Justin Wade Secretary

ALL THE EVENTS ARE SPONSORED BY THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF CHEMISTRY

Date	Title
Tuesday 6th October 2026 7pm (Sixth Form Lecture)	"POETRY, CHEMISTRY AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN: SIR HUMPHRY DAVY'S NOTEBOOKS"	Details
Tuesday 3rd November 2026 7pm (Sixth Form Lecture) P.F.FRANKLIN MEMORIAL LECTURE	"INFLUENCING DRUG DELIVERY THROUGH CHEMICAL BIOLOGY"	Details
Tuesday 17th November 2026 7pm (Sixth Form Lecture)	"ATOMIC STRUCTURE AND BONDING"	Details
Tuesday 24th November 2026 7pm (Sixth Form Lecture	"IR SPECTROSCOPY"	Details
Tuesday 26th January 2027 (Sixth Form Lecture)	"EXPLOSIVES: THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE"	Details
Tuesday 2nd February 2027 7pm (Sixth Form Lecture)	"WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CHEMISTRY AND BIOLOGY?"	Details
Tuesday16th March 2027	WMCTC Interschool Quiz for Years 9 and 10 Details for this event will appear on the website and be emailed out later in the year	Details to follow
Tuesday 2nd March 2027 (Sixth Form Lecture)	Photochemistry - shining light on molecules	Details
Tuesday 27th April 2027 (Revision Session	Organic Reaction Mechanisms	Details
4th May 2027	"ADVANCED LEVEL REVISION"	Details to follow

Tuesday 6th October 2026 7pm (Sixth Form Lecture) "POETRY, CHEMISTRY AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN: SIR HUMPHRY DAVY'S NOTEBOOKS" Professor Sharon Ruston, Lancaster University. For the past four years, over 3500 volunteers from around the world have been transcribing the notebooks of Sir Humphry Davy (1778-1829). Best known for his miners' safety lamp, the 'Davy lamp, Davy also isolated a number of chemical elements and was the first person to inhale nitrous oxide. The transcription of 11,416 pages of his notebooks reveals evidence of these chemical experiments and much more besides. Davy also wrote poetry throughout his life, even while in his laboratory, on notebook pages burned and torn with the corrosive chemicals he was working with. He was the friend of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who wrote 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner' and of Lord Byron. Davy's chemistry influenced the poetry of these and others, as well as Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. This talk will follow Davy's career using illustrations from the notebooks themselves. Professor Sharon Ruston is Chair in Romanticism in the English Literature and Creative Writing department at Lancaster University. She has published a number of books including: The Science of Life and Death in Frankenstein (2021), Creating Romanticism (2013), Romanticism: An Introduction (2010), and Shelley and Vitality (2005). She co-edited The Collected Letters of Sir Humphry Davy for Oxford University Press (2020) and currently leads the Arts and Humanities funded Davy Notebooks Project: https://wp.lancs.ac.uk/davynotebooks/. TOP of PAGE

Tuesday 3rd November at 7:00pm (Sixth Form lecture) P.F.FRANKLIN MEMORIAL LECTURE "INFLUENCING DRUG DELIVERY THROUGH CHEMICAL BIOLOGY" Professor Andrew Wilson, University of Birmingham Biomedical discovery is key to improving life quality, and the pharmaceutical sector plays a leading role in translating discoveries into new drugs. However, the cost of a new drug is extremely high which in part arises due to failure in clinical trials that largely stem from insufficient understanding of disease biology. Chemical Biology - the art of using chemistry to understand biological process provides tools that can accelerate the discovery of new medicines. These physical science tools are needed to understand and modulate dynamic biological processes; they can lead to development of treatments for diseases with huge societal burdens e.g. cancer (130k UK deaths p.a.) and cardiovascular disease (leading global cause of death for over 65s). This interactive seminar, will highlight the role of chemical biology in drug discovery alongside careers in academia and industry. TOP of PAGE

Tuesday 17th November 2026 7pm (Sixth Form Lecture) "ATOMIC STRUCTURE AND BONDING" Dr Peter Hoare, University of Newcastle upon Tyne This lecture will include coverage of the fundamental topics at the start of most A-level chemistry courses - atomic structure, electron arrangements, relative atomic mass and a review of chemical bonding, including the different types of intermolecular interactions. The lecture is thus suitable for both yr12 and yr13 chemistry students and will be interactive with A-level exam style questions answered by the audience using an online audience voting system (Vevox) - please bring your mobile device! Early in the year or in the course this is an excellent point at which to review a part of the course that is fundamental to many other topics, The lecturer is a assessor and moderator for one of the big A-level boards so his insights to exams and exam technique will be helpful to all. The speaker is a former A-level chemistry teacher (20 yrs) now working in STEM outreach at a UK University and is a very experienced A-level chemistry examiner (31 yrs) for one of the main UK exam boards. TOP of PAGE

Tuesday 24th November 2026 7pm (Sixth Form Lecture) "IR SPECTROSCOPY" Dr Mark Read, University of Birmingham How do forensic scientists identify unknown substances found at a crime scene? How do Formula 1 engineers monitor the performance of cutting-edge fuels and lubricants? How do art conservators reveal the pigments used by famous painters without damaging priceless masterpieces? Infrared (IR) spectroscopy is a powerful analytical technique that helps answer all of these questions and more. By studying how molecules absorb infrared radiation, chemists can identify the functional groups present in compounds and build up a molecular fingerprint of unknown substances. IR spectroscopy is used across industry, from pharmaceutical development and environmental monitoring to materials science, forensic investigations, motorsport engineering and the analysis of historical artworks. For A-level chemists, IR spectroscopy is a key part of the compound identification toolkit, working alongside techniques such as mass spectrometry and NMR spectroscopy to determine molecular structure. Dr Mark Read is an Honorary Lecturer in the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Birmingham and is part of the Environmental Safety Case team for the Low Level Waste Repository with Nuclear Waste Services. Mark has extensive experience in science communication and outreach, having contributed to numerous public engagement activities and educational events. He was also involved with the Royal Society of Chemistry's "Spectroscopy in a Suitcase" programme, bringing hands-on spectroscopy activities directly to schools and colleges. Combining real-world industrial applications with practical examples from the A-level curriculum, this talk will provide an accessible and engaging introduction to one of chemistry's most important analytical techniques. TOP of PAGE

Tuesday 26th January 2027 (Sixth Form Lecture) "EXPLOSIVES: THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE" Professor Jackie Akhavan, Cranfield University. Explosives have been part of our lives for many years with the first recording of an explosive powder being used in China in 220BC. In the 13th Century Roger Bacon experimented with explosives by making black powder and by the end of the 13th Century explosives were being used by many European countries. Nowadays explosives are part of our everyday life; they are in airbags, ejector seats and fireworks as well as propulsion for space shuttles, demolition aids and under water cutting charges for off-shore gas lines. Professor Jackie Akhavan introduces the various types of explosions and explains the conditions under which a chemical reaction becomes an explosive. She explores the inputs to initiate the explosive and the subsequent outputs. In looking at the past she covers explosive mixtures and then introduces the concept of molecular explosives which are used today. Looking into the future she highlights current research activities. Her expertise is in high explosives which includes polymer bonded explosives and pastes, synthesis of energetic polymers by flow nitration and synthesis of smart polymers for detection of explosives, and control of particle size by spray drying. The unique facilities at Cranfield University allows Professor Akhavan and her team to manufacture up to 0.5kg of explosives, carry out safety and hazards tests as well as performance trials. TOP of PAGE

Tuesday 2nd February 2027 7pm (Sixth Form Lecture) Lecture) "WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CHEMISTRY AND BIOLOGY?" Dr Stephen Fielden, University of Birmingham As we look around us, some things are living and others not. For example, my dog is alive but the table with my computer on isn't. Why is this the case? It is because my dog is able to obtain energy from food, convert it to waste (poo!) and use it to perform tasks. As chemists, we are starting to learn how to make materials that show life-like properties and perform tasks. Whilst these systems are much less sophisticated than my dog, their development should usher in a new era of smart materials. This is enabled by cutting edge chemistry research into molecular machines and nanotechnology TOP of PAGE

Tuesday 2nd March 2027 (Sixth Form Lecture) Photochemistry - shining light on molecules Professor Basile Churchod, University of Bristol Chemistry is the science of studying the properties and reactions of matter. Most chemical reactions involve molecules interacting with other molecules. What happens, though, when a molecule interacts with light instead? Light, carrying energy, will excite the molecule and trigger many exotic (and often unexpected) chemical reactions! In this presentation, I will explain why photochemical reactions challenge our understanding of chemistry and how theoretical and computational chemistry can provide deeper insights into these processes. I will also discuss the importance of photochemistry in our daily life - focusing particularly on atmospheric chemistry and air pollution. TOP of PAGE

Tuesday 27th April 2027 (Revision Session) Organic Reaction Mechanisms Dr Peter Hoare, University of Newcastle upon Tyne This revision lecture will cover the definitions and principles of organic reaction mechanisms - electrophiles & nucleophiles and where curly arrows should start and finish; then a review of the major organic reaction mechanisms found in most A-level chemistry courses - including electrophilic addition to alkenes and substitution of benzene, nucleophilic addition to carbonyls and substitution of haloalkanes, acid-catalysed and base-induced elimination reactions and finishing with addition-elimination. Attendees will each be given a booklet of Revision Notes. The lecture is suitable for both yr12 and yr13 chemistry students and will be interactive with A-level exam style questions answered by the audience using an online audience voting system (Vevox) - please bring your mobile device! The speaker is a former A-level chemistry teacher (20 yrs) now working in STEM outreach at Newcastle University and is a very experienced A-level chemistry examiner (31 yrs) for one of the main UK exam boards. TOP of PAGE