Grant for attractive research

Chemists in Scotland are part of a UK team that has been awarded funding to buy one of the largest magnets in the world.

The researchers are part of a group awarded £4m by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) to set up a new large-scale Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) facility based at Warwick University.

NMR exploits intense magnetic fields to study the chemical environment of atomic nuclei. It is used by chemists and physicists to investigate the properties of molecules, crystals and polymers. The magnet at the new facility alone will cost £2.5m and will be one of the largest in the world.

Dr Sharon Ashbrook of St Andrews University and Professor Steve Wimperis of Glasgow University, together with colleagues from Cambridge, Durham, Nottingham and Warwick, will manage the new facility.