Using robotic laboratories and AI, our researchers will study molecular behaviour to develop new chemicals and materials more efficiently, thanks to funding worth £1.7m (€2.1m).
The use of robotic chemistry combined with AI will enable a move away from the current trial and error approach. It has the potential to significantly speed up how fast scientists can discover new functional molecules - from decades to weeks.
Dr Filip Szczypiński from our Department of Chemistry will lead a team of researchers, funded by the European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grant.
Nature's building blocks
Nature can build extraordinary machines from simple building blocks where complexity arises from molecular organisation. Scientists currently lack the design rules needed to replicate this and must instead rely on trial and error.
This project aims to figure out the rules behind these secret molecular handshakes that let them recognise each other.
The team will use robotic laboratories, which can run thousands of experiments automatically, and explainable AI, which can identify patterns and explain why certain molecules assemble successfully.
Sustainable Development Goals
Being able to predict how molecules assemble could lead to the development of new chemicals and materials.
These could include new sensors that detect diseases and dangerous chemicals and catalysts that make industrial and pharmaceutical processes faster and cleaner.
The work will contribute to several UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) including helping to develop new materials for affordable and clean energy (Goal 7) and supporting climate action (Goal 13) by supporting the creation of more sustainable chemical processes.
I'm excited to build a community of researchers mixing chemistry with modern AI. For me, the best part is the opportunity to work with brilliant students and find scientific questions we don't even know we can ask yet!
Talented early-career researchers
ERC Starting Grants are awarded to talented early-career researchers who have already produced excellent work, are ready to work independently, and show the potential to become research leaders.
