Under Pressure

I’ve just returned from a very rewarding trip to the Georg-August-Universitat Göttingen to visit the labs of Professor Michael Buback. Professor Buback is a world leader in understanding the kinetics of polymerization reactions – especially under extreme conditions. We are hoping that he can help us to understand the mechanisms behind some of our catalysts – no “pressure” though, guys!

Much thanks is deserved for the great hospitality during my visit, especially from the ATRP team (Hendrik Schröder, Nicolai Sörensen, Sebastian Smolne and – of course – Michael Buback). I enjoyed the opportunity to talk about our synthetic work to a physical chemistry audience and to learn a bit about the intriguing work that the Buback team is doing (thanks Hendrik and Nico!) and the amazing tools they have at their disposal. I focussed my evening efforts on debating the health benefits of Gluhwein and Creme Brulee with Team ATRP!