Rugby Chemists Present Original Research at Warwick Conference

Six LXX Chemistry students represented Rugby School at the Metals for Life Student Conference at the University of Warwick on Sunday 5 July, presenting the results of a year-long research project alongside students from schools across the UK.

Supported by Warwick’s Department of Chemistry, the students investigated the effect of the rare earth element gadolinium on the growth of arabidopsis thaliana (Thale Cress). Using advanced analytical equipment, including ICP-MS: capable of detecting concentrations as small as a single drop in 200 Olympic-sized swimming pools! The students discovered that plants watered with a 50 μM gadolinium solution grew significantly better than those exposed to lower or higher concentrations.

The students presented their findings through both a scientific poster and an oral presentation, before answering questions from an audience of more than 200 students, teachers and university academics. Their findings were sufficiently novel that further collaboration with the University is now being explored.

The conference was led by Professor Peter Sadler, a recent recipient of the prestigious Davy Medal, and opened with a message from Nobel Prize winner Professor Sir Paul Nurse welcoming students to the event.

“Our students experienced science at its very best- asking original questions, generating new knowledge and sharing their discoveries with leading academics. It was a remarkable achievement.”

Dr Stephen Belding, Director of Academic Programmes for Rugby School Global Partnerships

Rugby School is extremely grateful to the University of Warwick’s Department of Chemistry, particularly Professor Sadler and his colleagues, whose support gave students an exceptional opportunity to engage in genuine scientific research and experience the excitement of discovery first-hand.