Archive of news
September 2025
Latest News New group members and University open dayWelcome to Alyna and Laura!
Alyna (from Germany) is investigating ionic liquids as propellants for ion drives, such as those used in satellite propulsion.
June 2025
Latest News PhD funding available, PhD confirmed, Talks, Fellowships/Funding.Tricia gave a talk to the PG community at VUW as part of the VUW Science Collective, the title was: Chemistry with Computers (not Chemicals)
Tricia will be speaking at the Royal Society Te Aparangi on 6th July, on Hydrogen Bonding in Ionic Liquids
Tricia will be giving a keynote presentation at COIL-10 12-25 Nov in Perth, Australia on A Molecular Window into the Future of Satellite Propulsion: Quantum Chemical Insight into Cluster-Ion Behaviour in Ionic Liquid Electrospray Thrusters
Tricia has been named as one of the two inaugural New Zealand Mana Tūārangi Distinguished Researchers.
Tiny Droplets with Big Potential: Designing stimuli-responsive liquid micro-structures for sustainable chemistry and future technologies Pickering emulsions – tiny droplets stabilized by nanoparticles – are getting a high-tech twist with ionic liquids (ILs), salts that stay liquid at room temperature! ❄️💧 These innovative IL-derived systems can respond to heat and even help preserve cells in freezing conditions – making them perfect for next-gen responsive materials and cryopreservation.
In this project, we are creating and studying IL-Pickering emulsions to unlock their physical and molecular properties using cutting-edge lab and computational techniques. 💻 🔎
The project is part of the MacDiarmid Institute
Application details here
#Science #IonicLiquids #Nanotech #Cryopreservation #Emulsions #MaterialsScience
Qurat has passed her 1st year proposal and is now a fully fledged PhD candidate, congratulations!
More good news is that Tricia is part of a large international group that has successfully won € 1.7million ≅3.1 million NZD in a European wide program on Antimicrobial Resistance. The award is for the project NanoHeal: Bridging Bench to Bedside for Advanced Nanomaterials in Wound Care and Infection Prevention
Dec 2024
Latest News Presenting at the NZIC Conference, a Poster prize, 1st year PhD transfer, new Summer student, a Fellowship, funding and Christmas dinner.The group went to the NZ Institute of Chemistry Conference in Dunedin from 24-28 November, this was everyone's first time in Dunedin.
Tricia gave an invited talk, while Qurat Al Ain and Irelie Ebardo presented posters. Hamza patel, part of our extended collaborative team on a Marsden grant, also gave a talk. Congratulations to Qurat who won a poster prize!
Irelie and Qurat at their posters at the NZIC conferenceIrelie Ebardo has recently passed her viva and 1st year "proposal" and is now officially confirmed in her PhD. Congratulations!
Victoria Li has joined the group as a summer research student to learn more about research and computational chemistry.
Tricia has been named as one of the two inaugural New Zealand Mana Tūārangi Distinguished Researchers.
More good news is that Tricia is part of a large international group that has successfully won € 1.7million ≅3.1 million NZD in a European wide program on Antimicrobial Resistance. The award is for the project NanoHeal: Bridging Bench to Bedside for Advanced Nanomaterials in Wound Care and Infection Prevention
We celebrated an early Christmas group dinner as Muhammad needed to leave for home in November. A walk in the park behind Tricia's house, with her dog Deo
July 2024
Latest News Keynote Talks, a Nature Energy paper and new Group membersTricia gave an keynote presentation at the 3rd Women in Science-Erlangen Symposium, 22-24 July, Germany
Irelie gave a talk at the MacDiarmid Annual Symposium within the Catalytic Architectures theme, New Zealand, April 3-4, 2024.
Our paper "Separation and concentration of carbon dioxide from air using a humidity-driven molten-carbonate membrane" has been published in Nature Energy Tricia undertook the computational study that explains how the process works within the molten salt membrane. Find out more here
Musa has earned a 1st class MSc, congratulations!
Muhammad has joined the research group from Pakistan
November 2022
Molecular orbital of the month
November 2022
Latest News Tricia giving a plenary lecture, students presenting at a conference and a large grant is funded.Tricia gave a plenary talk at the 27th international Thermodynamics conference, in Bath UK.
In charged molecules the individual atoms carry small pieces charge, these do not always reflect the total charge on the ion. For example, an atom in an anion can carry a high positive charge! This talk explored how to calculate the partial charges and what information the partial charges impart. How we think about the partial charges influences the chemistry we attempt, thus partial charges can have a strong influence on the development of an ionic liquid.
Julian has presented a talk and Gavin has given a poster at ASIL: the 10th Australasian Symposium on Ionic Liquids
Gavin was part of the group that won "best presentation" at the 2022 Doctoral Training Camp for PhD students involved in the National Health Protection Research Units (HPRUs). Gavin is part of the Chemical and Radiation Threats and Hazards sub-theme where he is studying Ionic Liquids for the Decomposition of Chemical Warfare Agents
We are very pleased to announce that the project Unravelling the electronic structure of highly charged hydrogen- and halogen- bonds; rational chemical design and the creation of novel ionic liquid materials has been funded.
Tricia has been talking about how hydrogen bonding makes water a "weird"" liquid on the BBC Radio 4 podcast The Curious Cases of Rutherford & Fry. Two episodes:
The Weirdness of Water Part 1
The Weirdness of Water Part 2
For the non-specialist:To see more check out the links to the left