Final Seminar
Wednesday 20th October 2010
Whitechapel
Programme:
- 5-5.20pm: Dr Isaac Abrahams"Great
Undulations: Recent Advances in Structural Characterisation of Materials"
- 5.20-5.30pm Discussion
- 5.30-5.50pm Dr Sandra Parker "Development of soft polymers for dental and other biomedical applications"
- 5.50-6pm Discussion
- 6-7pm Refreshments
Speakers:
Dr Isaac Abrahams, Senior Lecturer, Inorganic Chemistry, Biological and Chemical Sciences
Dr Abrahams’ main area of research can broadly be defined as solid state and structural chemistry. Much of his work has been in the field of solid state ionics focussing on ionically conducting solids for application as electrolytes in batteries, fuel cells and gas sensors. In addition to the synthesis of new materials, he has developed expertise in defect structure determination using neutron and X-ray powder diffraction techniques and in conjunction with a.c. impedance spectroscopy studies has used this to examine structure-conductivity relationships and conductivity mechanisms in a variety of materials, most notably the BIMEVOXes. In addition to work on crystalline solids, the Abrahams group is very much involved in the study of amorphous solids for applications such as biomedical materials. This work utilises a variety of structural probes such as solid state NMR and EXAFS. As part of its research, the Abrahams group makes extensive use of EPSRC central facilities at Daresbury and the Rutherford-Appleton Laboratories and the ILL at Grenoble. Dr Abrahams recently successfully negotiated the setting up of a central X-ray diffraction facility, XCIF at Queen Mary, funded under SRIF-III, which offers a diffraction service as part of the Queen Mary’s Centre for Materials Research.
Email: i.abrahams@qmul.ac.uk
Dr Sandra Parker, Lecturer, Institute of Dentistry.
Sandra Parker graduated with an upper second in Ceramics in 1973 followed by an MPhil,"Clay Coatings for the protection of Metals from Corrosive Liquids" in 1978, both from Leeds University. In 1977 she started work for the old LHMC as a research assistant on an MRC grant to develop new denture soft lining materials. In 1982 she obtained her PhD entitled “The Development and Evaluation of New Elastomeric Prosthetic Materials" from the University of London. In 1983 she became a lecturer in the Dental Materials through the “new blood” lecturer scheme. From 1993-6 she was in charge of the day-to-day running of the NIH grant “Development and evaluation of denture soft lining materials” supervising a research assistant who obtained his PhD in 1997. In 1996 she became co-ordinator of Project 8 Soft Prosthesis Materials, part of the Dental Applications Programme of the Interdiciplinary Reseach Centre for Biomedical Materials, in the same year also became an IRC core staff member. She became thread convener for dental materials science teaching in the undergraduate Dental course in 2001 and also organises postgraduate teaching.
Email:s.parker@qmul.ac.uk
