An evening extravaganza…

This event is just great – kids (and parents!) all over the place, having a good go at everything thrown at them – from non-Newtonian fluids to diamond. Obviously, I couldn’t let them walk away without getting a taste of what computational physical chemistry is all about…

Armed with a seriously straightforward setup (check this out, it’s great stuff!), a couple of ridiculously large screens, and the invaluable help of The Amazing Jim, we had quite a few brave souls trying to unfold a protein in real time. It was good fun – and those smiles are totally worth the late evening.

I’ll see you next year… with a shiny new VR setup, folks – be there!

“When we think about science, more often than not we tend to picture somebody wearing a white coat, busy with either colourful flasks or huge pieces of equipment. And yet, theoretical and computational scientists do not have labs at all: they harness instead the power of computers to get molecular-level insight into processes happening on time/length scales so short/small that even cutting-edge experiments struggle to tackle them.

On the night, you will get a taste of what computational chemistry is all about – by simulating in real time the binding/unbinding of pharmaceutical compounds to some of ourproteins… with just a few clicks of the mouse!”