Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Dom Willcox @domrwillcox.bsky.social · 26d

Good to see Heriot-Watt climbing back up the rankings! 8th for chemistry now

The Guardian @theguardian.com · 26d

The Guardian University Guide 2026 – the rankings

Find a course at one of the top universities in the country. Our league tables rank them all subject by subject, as well as by student satisfaction, staff numbers, spending and career prospects Continue reading...

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Dom Willcox

Morrill Group @morrillgroup.bsky.social · Sep 3

We are recruiting for a Lecturer in AI/ML applied to Drug discovery at @uniofbath.bsky.social @bathchem.bsky.social www.bath.ac.uk/jobs/Vacancy...

AP13001 Lecturer in AI/ML applied to Drug discovery - Jobs at Bath

Lecturer

www.bath.ac.uk

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Peter Kenny @pwk2024.bsky.social · Sep 2

Opportunity for senior lecturer (associate professor) in School of Chemistry at University of Bristol (UK) ref: ACAD108220 | closing: 30-Sep-2025 #UKChemJobs #ChemJobs #chemsky 🧪
www.bristol.ac.uk/jobs/find/de...

Details | Working at Bristol | University of Bristol

www.bristol.ac.uk

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Royal Society of Chemistry @rsc.org · Aug 29

📢 Our Education team’s new policy position calls for a major rethink of how chemistry is assessed in schools. Current exam-heavy models narrow the curriculum & undervalue vital skills like practical investigation & critical thinking. buff.ly/7GvP2pZ #ChemEd #AssessmentReform #EduSky #ChemSky

Group of students in a school hallway exchanging papers and discussing their contents.

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BismutoLab @bismutolab.bsky.social · Aug 19

A new chapter in Small Inorganic Ring 💍🧪in @chemicalscience.rsc.org
Congratulations Palui and all the coauthors for the great job. Thanks @tonifrontera.bsky.social for the great computational support. #Bismuth #Antimony

pubs.rsc.org/en/Content/A...

Azadistibiridines and Stabilised-iminobismuthane: Reactivity of Small Inorganic Rings in Heavy Main Group Chemistry

Small organic rings are important molecular entities that have long played a crucial role in organic synthesis and medicinal chemistry. Similarly, small inorganic rings have shown promise in promoting...

pubs.rsc.org

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Dom Willcox @domrwillcox.bsky.social · Aug 21

Big day #chemsky

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Andy Lawrence @biomimetic-chem.bsky.social · Jul 29

A postdoctoral position, funded by @leverhulme.ac.uk for up to 36 months, is available to join my group @edinburghchem.bsky.social. The project focuses on biomimetic approaches to natural product synthesis.

Deadline: 28th August 2025.

elxw.fa.em3.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...

Postdoctoral Research Associate

Applications are invited for a Postdoctoral Research Associate position to work under the supervision of Prof. Andrew Lawrence on a project funded by the Leverhulme Trust.

elxw.fa.em3.oraclecloud.com

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Reposted by Dom Willcox

Thomas Group @spthomasgroup.bsky.social · Jul 25

We are very happy to announce that our collaboration with the Garden Group, Joseph Cockcroft's paper 'Highly Acyclic Selective Cobalt Catalysts for Butadiene Dimerization' has been published in ChemCatChem! You can read it here: doi.org/10.1002/cctc...
#chemsky #chemistry

doi.org

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Alchemy @aichemyhub.bsky.social · Jul 21

🎉 Today’s the day! We're thrilled to be hosting our (Gen)AI in Education workshop, bringing together brilliant minds from 26 universities across the UK!

We’re diving into how generative AI is shaping the future of teaching, learning, and research — and we can’t wait to explore it together.💬🤖📚

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Dom Willcox @domrwillcox.bsky.social · Jul 21

Does @science.org have the technology for institutional log in that doesn’t put you back to the home page? All the other journals manage it… #science #chemsky

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Dom Willcox @domrwillcox.bsky.social · Jul 14

Some good news from the recent NSS survey. Chemistry at @heriotwattuni.bsky.social has been ranked 1st in Scotland based on Overall Satisfaction. Additionally, it is ranked 2nd in Scotland across all questions and 8th in the UK. It's great to see everyone's hard work recognised! #chemsky

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Reposted by Dom Willcox

Robin Bedford @bedcatalysis.bsky.social · Jul 11

As promised, postdoc positions at BristolUni.bsky.social available in homogeneous catalysis and computational chemistry exploring the replacement of palladium catalysts by Earth-Abundant Metals: www.bristol.ac.uk/jobs/find/de...

#ChemSky #CompChemSky #ChemJobs #UKChemJobs

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Dom Willcox @domrwillcox.bsky.social · Jun 26

If you have ever used simple Lewis acids like AlCl3 and GaCl3 in your chemistry, you may be interested to learn how they react with non-nucleophilic bases. Anna did an amazing job with this and has discovered some really exciting new chemistry! Read the Accepted article in Angew. Chem. #chemsky

Intermolecular sp3C‐H Metalation of Non‐Nucleophilic Brønsted Bases Using Simple Lewis Acids

2,6-Di-tert-butyl substituted pyridines (tBu2-py) are widely used non-nucleophilic Brønsted bases. Their ubiquity is due to their highly hindered basic site and chemically robust nature. Herein we re...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

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Dom Willcox @domrwillcox.bsky.social · Jun 24

Absolutely ground-breaking work from the Grimme group. Looking forward to having a go!

Marcel M @mrclmllr.bsky.social · Jun 24

After years of development and preparatory works which you might have seen on this profile, a major milestone is achieved:
g-xTB marks not just an evolution, but a revolution in the capabilities of semiempirical quantum chemistry. Convince yourself! A thread.
🔗 chemrxiv.org/engage/chemr...
#compchem

g-xTB: A General-Purpose Extended Tight-Binding Electronic Structure Method For the Elements H to Lr (Z=1–103)

We present g-xTB, a next-generation semi-empirical electronic structure method derived from tight-binding (TB) approximations to Kohn–Sham density functional theory (KS-DFT). Designed to bridge the ga...

chemrxiv.org

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Reposted by Dom Willcox

Andy Cooper @aicooper.bsky.social · Jun 10

Alchemy Frontier Fund 2025 now open (aichemy.ac.uk/aichemy-fron...). Apply for 2-year projects of up to £1.25m to advance the frontiers of AI for chemistry. Deadline = Sept 12th 2025. Webinar to launch the fund on June 18th. For information, email: [email protected] @ukri.org #EPSRC #AI

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Reposted by Dom Willcox

Sarpong Group @sarponggroup.bsky.social · May 8

Congratulations to Ryan and Moto on the publication of their 1,2-acyl transposition in 2,3-dihdyrobenzofurans in @science.org!

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

1,2-Acyl transposition through photochemical skeletal rearrangement of 2,3-dihydrobenzofurans

Saturated heterocycles are commonly adorned with groups that influence their biological properties. Synthetic methods that transpose existing substituents on saturated heterocycles to multiple peripheral positions are therefore highly valuable. In this ...

www.science.org

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Dom Willcox @domrwillcox.bsky.social · Apr 28

To be honest I hadn’t really thought of a broader scope. I am happy to be connected with anyone with connective tissue issues!

Dom Willcox @domrwillcox.bsky.social · Apr 28

Does anyone know of anybody else who has Marfan’s Syndrome working within chemistry? I’d be interested in chatting with others with the condition to build up a little network. Marfan’s is a genetic disorder that affects connective tissues in the body (see more: www.marfantrust.org) #chemsky

Marfan Trust | Home

for people with Marfan & Loeys-Dietz Syndromes

www.marfantrust.org

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Reposted by Dom Willcox

Royal Society of Chemistry @rsc.org · Apr 17

We want everyone in the chemical sciences community to feel welcome, supported and valued, so we're sad to see some people seize on yesterday's supreme court ruling with anti-trans messages. Today, we're highlighting our resources on allyship for trans colleagues and friends
➡ rsc.li/4j6lojs

LGBT+ toolkit

This kit provides the tools for everyone to take part in positive change: employers, colleagues, and LGBT+ individuals.

rsc.li

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Nature Portfolio @natureportfolio.nature.com · Apr 8

A paper in Nature presents a method for breaking down perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), environmental contaminants known as ‘forever chemicals,’ while recycling the fluoride contained within them. https://go.nature.com/3Rk1dCf #chemsky 🧪

This is figure 1, which shows the synthesis of fluorochemicals from PFASs.

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Boron: Beyond the Reagent EPSRC Programme Grant @epsrcboron.bsky.social · Apr 3

Prof Ingleson is looking forward to speaking at the University of Gothenburg on Monday 7th April!

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Mark Levin @levinchem.bsky.social · Apr 3

If you're interested in a break from the doom-and-gloom, may I recommend our article, online today @nature.com

A solution to the pyrazole alkylation problem, leveraging S-to-NR atom replacement. Skeletal editing has strategic value, outside of late-stage!

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

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Synlett Journal @synlettjournal.bsky.social · Mar 18

Uncover the fascinating world of #SiliconSwitch!🔍Our #synpacts article by Dominic Willcox explores the latest developments in syntheis of complex silyl heterocycles using 1,1-carboboration.

👉 thieme-connect.de/products/ejo...

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Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS) @jacs.acspublications.org · Mar 21

We are now LIVE on #ChemSky – joining @pubs.acs.org, @acs.org, and @cenmag.bsky.social!

Follow us for the latest significant research from the world’s preeminent journal of chemistry and interfacing areas of science.

Learn more about JACS: buff.ly/efZCTEt

Image of a phone screen with the text displayed: "The Journal of the American Chemical Society is now on Bluesky!"

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Reposted by Dom Willcox

Boron: Beyond the Reagent EPSRC Programme Grant @epsrcboron.bsky.social · Mar 4

If you're near University of Oxford, Department of Chemistry on 11 March, come & hear Prof Mike Ingleson deliver the Royal Society of Chemistry Sir Geoffrey Wilkinson Prize lecture - 2 pm, ICL, Department of Chemistry.

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