九州影院

Julian Gargiulo, Assistant investigator at CIBION, Argentina applied for our Research Fund Picture: Julian Gargulio

Julian Gargiulo, Assistant investigator at CIBION, Argentina

鈥淚 would advise people in not well-funded institutions but with a strong will to continue their research to apply for a Research Fund from RSC, it can be of great help!鈥�

I study how metal nanoparticles can confine the energy of light in the nanoscale for more efficient photocatalysis. I applied for the Research Fund to help in the development of a novel thermometry capable of accurate measurements of temperature in operando conditions of individual nanoreactors.

I returned to Argentina in 2020, after two postdoctoral stays in Europe, and my return was not smooth. It was planned for March 2020, coinciding with several countries announcing travel restrictions due to COVID-19.

In recent years, the funding for scientific research in Argentina has reduced dramatically to historically low figures. The pandemic made it worse. During 2020, the Argentine Peso (ARS) devaluated around 40%. While our grants are fixed in ARS, the great majority of laboratory supplies are imported and thus paid in foreign currency, so they constantly lose purchase power. Despite our laboratory containing advanced and versatile setups, scarcity of funding for consumables and maintenance compromises our ability to continue with research activities. The grant in the more stable sterling pound enabled us to do proper planning of expenses and to keep moving during very complicated times. This is particularly important for my career development because my employer has regular performance reviews that determine eligibility for future grants and promotions.

I would advise people in not well-funded institutions but with a strong will to continue their research to apply for a Research Fund from RSC, it can be of great help!

Sophie Benjamin, Senior Lecturer at Nottingham Trent University applied for our Researcher Enablement Grant Picture: Nottingham Trent University

Sophie Benjamin, Senior Lecturer at Nottingham Trent University

鈥淚 had a PhD student who had to take a lot of time off their projects during COVID-19 and we had not quite finished what we wanted to do. That was my first time as a supervisor, and we really needed his expertise to get the lab back up and running.鈥�

I initially saw the grant in an email newsletter and it was quite close to the deadline. But this was also a time when I was thinking just 鈥渉ow are we going to get things to work?鈥� I had a PhD student who had to take a lot of time off their projects during COVID-19 and we had not quite finished what we wanted to do. That was my first time as a supervisor, and we really needed his expertise to get the lab back up and running.

I applied for the Researcher Enablement Grant to keep him on as a research assistant for three months. He鈥檇 finished his PhD but he hadn鈥檛 passed his viva 鈥� and this grant kept him in the lab for another three months which was really, really useful. It also helped us to support some of the Masters students, as they were late starting their projects and needed some extra support, and we were even able to start off a new small project. Having this continuity improved knowledge transfer and helped get us all on our feet again. Applying didn鈥檛 take me a long time, and that was important because I didn鈥檛 have a lot of time to spend, with trying to do all their online teaching, labs 鈥� all of that stuff.

It鈥檚 very difficult to get PhD students at the moment. That鈥檚 the thing when you go on maternity leave and you don鈥檛 apply for grants, it affects you not at the time that the impact happens 鈥� it鈥檚 like a year or two down the line. I feel like COVID-19 did exactly the same thing.

Laurie King is Senior Lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University Picture: Laurie King

Laurie King, Senior Lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University

鈥淭his pot of money was great for early career researchers like me who didn鈥檛 have the big grants to keep us going at the pandemic鈥檚 onset.鈥�

This is my first academic post in the UK, and I started a year and a half ago 鈥� so when COVID-19 hit I was still just starting to build up my reputation in the UK. Due to COVID-19, funding that had been available, especially for early career researchers, dried up or was paused 鈥� and so this pot of money offers a great opportunity for researchers like me who were just getting started at the onset of the pandemic.

I found this was particularly useful for getting exploratory work done 鈥� which will hopefully lead on to bigger projects and more funding opportunities. I work in the space of materials chemistry for application in renewable energy, and we are trying to synthesise some mixed metal oxide materials as catalysts for electrochemical production of hydrogen peroxide. Without the grant, I wouldn鈥檛 have had the funds to buy the chemicals and pay for TEM time at another university 鈥� that鈥檚 really exciting for us, because we don鈥檛 have access to that instrument normally.

I hope that we can publish our results and then build from there, in terms of writing larger grants where this would be the preliminary data, or at least evidence of our experience and expertise in the field.

The application form is nice in that it鈥檚 relatively short, and I found it straightforward to lay my proposal out. For those thinking to apply I would say it鈥檚 definitely worth applying, as it鈥檚 a launchpad that can hopefully lead you to something bigger. I would also recommend asking colleagues to review your application, as this was a great help to me.