RSC Applied Interfaces publishes interdisciplinary work with an applied focus, which can be read for free here. To celebrate the excellent articles that have been published so far in our journal, we asked some of our authors to discuss their work in more detail.
In this post, we hear from Simon Kellner at Imperial College London, as they discuss their recently published article entitled ‘Engineering macroporous carbon film supports for freestanding Fe–N–C cathodes at high current densities‘.
We announced our inaugural Advisory Board for RSC Applied Interfaces in early September. In this series of blog posts, we will be shining a spotlight our new Early Career Advisory Board members and introducing them to you!
This week we are delighted to introduce Amit Kumar Mandal and Lucien Weiss as members of our inaugural Early Career Advisory Board.
Amit Kumar Mandal, Raiganj University, India
ORCID: 0000-0001-9249-5052
Amit Kumar Mandal currently serves as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sericulture and as the Director of the Centre for Nanotechnology Science (CeNS) at Raiganj University. He earned his MSc and PhD from the University of North Bengal and previously held a faculty position at Vidyasagar University under the UGC-Innovative Programme. With over a decade of academic and research experience, he has published more than 80 SCI-indexed papers and holds three patents. His research interests include chemical biology, nano-omics, and molecular diagnostics targeting infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance.
“I am deeply honored to be selected as a member of the Early Career Advisory Board of RSC Applied Interfaces. This opportunity allows me to actively contribute to the journal’s vision of advancing impactful research in applied interface science. I look forward to engaging with the scientific community and supporting the journal’s growth and development through collaboration and innovation.”
Lucien Weiss, Polytechnique Montréal
ORCID: 0000-0002-0971-7329
Lucien Weiss is an Associate Professor at Polytechnique Montréal. He obtained his BA in Chemistry from Harvard University in 2010, and his PhD in Physical Chemistry in 2017 from Stanford University, where he trained with W. E. Moerner. His postdoctoral research was performed in Yoav Shechtman’s Nano-bio-optics lab at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology supported by a Zuckerman STEM Fellowship. He began his independent career in the Department of Engineering Physics at Polytechnique Montréal in 2021. There, the Weiss Lab develops the instruments and methods needed to understand and engineer the behaviors of bio-material interactions over an extremely broad range of spatiotemporal scales: from single molecules to biological cell populations, and from microseconds to weeks.
“I’m excited to be participating in the RSC community and help identify opportunities to accelerate our understanding of the exciting chemistry and physics that occur at interfaces and how this knowledge can be deployed in solving the challenges of today and tomorrow.”
Please join us in welcoming our new Early Career Advisory Board members to the journal community! See our full line-up of Early Career Advisory Board members here.
Please join us in welcoming our new Advisory Board members:
We are excited to welcome our new Early Career Advisory Board members to our journal community and look forward to working with them as we shape and grow our journal.
Keep an eye on our journal blog page where we will be introducing our new members and discussing their current research interests.
Stefano Oscurato and Komang Januariyasa have developed a groundbreaking technique that uses holographically structured light to mold three-dimensional azopolymer microstructures with unprecedented precision. Their work could impact everything from microrobotics to advanced optical devices.
Read ‘Molding three-dimensional azopolymer microstructures with holographically structured light’ in RSC Applied Interfaces, and learn more about this work in the interview below.
RSC Applied Interfaces publishes interdisciplinary work with an applied focus, which can be read for free here. To celebrate the excellent articles that have been published so far in our journal, we asked some of our authors to discuss their work in more detail.
In this post, we hear from Swapnil Das at New Jersey Institute of Technology, as they discuss their recently published article entitled ‘Interaction of vapor-phase and liquid organophosphonates with inorganic surfaces‘.
On 7 March, in celebration of International Women’s Day, the 2025 ‘Celebrating Women in Chemistry Conference and Careers Event’ was held at the Trent Building in the University Park Campus of University of Nottingham.
Originally founded by three PhD students, the Women in STEM Group at the University of Nottingham now consists of eleven members and its annual event has developed into a large celebration of women in STEM, with over 150 attendees attending its latest instalment.
This year’s event featured a diverse range of activities, including talks on inclusion and diversity, career insights, a discussion panel and multiple opportunities to network with fellow researchers and invited companies.
Dara O’Brien, one of the event’s co-founders, delivered the welcome remarks, and shared further insight into the event’s purpose: bringing together the scientific community to celebrate women in STEM. The Breaking the Barriers report, published by the Royal Society of Chemistry, served as one of the key motivations for organizing this event.
Andy Nortcliffe gave an introduction to allyship, outlining practical ways individuals can become effective and active allies across STEM, helping to foster a diverse and inclusive STEM environment.
Throughout the event, seven speakers (see full line-up here) shared their career journeys as women in STEM. A diverse range of careers across various industries—including academia, industry, patent law and consumer goods development—were showcased, highlighting the endless possibilities for women in science. Speakers also shared personal experiences, discussing the challenges they faced, particularly as women in STEM, while emphasizing the importance of the allyship and support they’ve received along the way.
PhD students, regardless of gender, were given the opportunity to present their research at the event in the style of a 3-minute thesis competition. Big congratulations to the prize winners Celia Rocton and Alexandra Brochoire.
Alongside this, PhDs and postdocs presented posters of their research in a poster competition, with prizes awarded to Jasmina Silmemaj, Neda Jeddi, Isabel Wood.
A highlight of the event was a panel discussion featuring four of the speakers (from left to right: Charlotte Crowhurst, Dara O’Brien, Anabel Lanterna, Mickella Dawkins). The audience were invited to submit real-time questions, and panel experts offered their insight and advice on these issues of interest. This led to in-depth discussion about work-life balance, challenges of women in STEM (and career progression), imposter syndrome and more.
Throughout the event, during lunch and break sessions, delegates were able to network with various companies and find out about career opportunities.
The Royal Society of Chemistry was proudly represented at this event, offering resources on inclusion and diversity. At our stand, attendees had the opportunity to learn more about our efforts to promote access to and inclusion in the chemical sciences. We also provided information on academic journals, publishing career opportunities, and the latest research in chemistry, further supporting the growth and advancement of individuals in STEM.
This fully inclusive event provided a supportive environment for young researchers, fostering stimulating debate on gender equality and diversity within the scientific community, while celebrating the outstanding science being conducted at the University of Nottingham, by its alumni, and beyond.
We’d like to extend our thanks to the event organizers for inviting us to this wonderful occasion. Events like these play a crucial role in creating a sense of belonging in the chemical sciences. We hope that you have enjoyed reading about this impactful conference.
RSC Applied Interfaces publishes interdisciplinary work with an applied focus, which can be read for free here. To celebrate the excellent articles that have been published so far in our journal, we asked some of our authors to discuss their work in more detail.
In this post, we hear from Professor Raz Jelinek at Ben Gurion University of the Negev, as they discuss their recently published article entitled ‘High-performance functionalized anthracene organic supercapacitors‘.
RSC Applied Interfaces publishes interdisciplinary work with an applied focus, which can be read for free here. To celebrate the excellent articles that have been published so far in our journal, we asked some of our authors to discuss their work in more detail.
In this post, we hear from the research team led by Associate Professor Song Li from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, as they provide insight into their recently published article entitled High-efficiency prediction of water adsorption performance of porous adsorbents by lattice grand canonical Monte Carlo molecular simulation.
High-efficiency prediction of water adsorption performance of porous adsorbents by lattice grand canonical Monte Carlo molecular simulation
Zhilu Liu, Wei Li and Song Li
RSC Appl. Interfaces, 2025, 2, 230-242, DOI: 10.1039/D4LF00354C
RSC Applied Interfaces publishes interdisciplinary work with an applied focus, which can be read for free here. To celebrate the excellent articles that have been published so far in our journal, we asked some of our authors to discuss their work in more detail.
In this post, we hear from Michael Dooley from Professor Shubham Vyas’ group at the Colorado School of Mines, as they discuss their recently published article entitled ‘Light-driven interfaces for PFAS detection and destruction’.
RSC Applied Interfaces has published its first articles which can be read for free here. To celebrate publishing our first articles, we asked some of our authors to discuss their work in more detail.
In this post, we hear from Scott E. Crawford. Dr Scott Crawford is a research physical scientist at the National Energy Technology Laboratory, where he researches materials for luminescent and quantum sensing of various energy relevant analytes, including economically critical metals. He discusses his recently published article entitled ‘Zinc adeninate metal–organic framework-coated optical fibers for enhanced luminescence-based detection of rare earth elements’.
Scott E. Crawford, Ward A. Burgess, Ki-Joong Kim, John P. Baltrus and Nathan A. Diemler
RSC Appl. Interfaces, 2024,1, 689-698, DOI: 10.1039/D4LF00001C
RSC Applied Interfaces is a dedicated, interdisciplinary reference journal for cutting-edge research on the applications of surfaces and interfaces. In addition to the applied focus, work considered for publication in RSC Applied Interfaces is expected to be highly original and of top quality. The journal seeks to report major scientific advances beyond the state of the art, at the cutting edge of this interdisciplinary field.
Zinc adeninate metal–organic framework-coated optical fibers for enhanced luminescence-based detection of rare earth elements