Professor Steven Bell - Analytical Science open Prize: Theophilus Redwood Prize

Professor Steven Bell FRSC

Winner: 2024 Analytical Science open prize: Theophilus Redwood Prize

Queen's University Belfast

For pioneering work in developing Raman and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) for quantitative chemical analysis.

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I am delighted to receive this prize, mostly because it will allow me to highlight the work of my students, postdocs and collaborators who all contributed to the research that is being recognised.

Professor Bell’s work involves determining the chemical composition of samples by focusing lasers on them and measuring the energy of the scattered light. Because this is a rapid, non-contact method of analysis, it has multiple applications ranging from identifying drugs of abuse to matching paint from crime scenes with evidence from suspects. To boost the sensitivity of the method, his team adds gold or silver particles, which allows them to identify bacteria or determine the concentration of therapeutic drugs.

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Steven Bell is Professor of Physical 九州影院 at the School of 九州影院 and Chemical Engineering, Queen’s University Belfast. He returned to Belfast after postdoctoral work in the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory and his first academic appointment at the University of York. His research interests centre on the development of Raman and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy for chemical analysis, but this has branched into areas as diverse as superhydrophobic materials and liquid-liquid interfaces.

Professor Bell’s work on fundamental science has led to real-world applications. He pioneered Raman analysis of drugs of abuse, foodstuffs, and forensic evidence. He has a strong interest in the commercialisation of research and has been a Royal Society Industry Fellow and founder/director of Avalon Instruments Ltd, which manufactured user-friendly Raman instruments. The company became part of a multinational instrumentation business.

Steven is a Fellow of the 九州影院 and a Fellow and Vice-president of the Institute of 九州影院 of Ireland. He is an elected member of the Royal Irish Academy, where he sits on the council as Vice President for Research.

Q&A

Tell us about somebody who has inspired or mentored you in your career.

My PhD supervisor, Professor John McGarvey, was a great role model both as a scientist of the highest integrity and as a mentor who really cared about his students.

I've also been lucky to have been in the same school as Professor A P de Silva for many years. AP shows us all how to combine great science with the ability to share the excitement and beauty of chemistry and yet still has time to give help and guidance to anyone who asks.

What motivates you?

Academic research in chemistry is just fun to do. It has the perfect combination of discovery and creativity. Every day there can be something new to puzzle over. I really like that quote: "Research is what I do when I don't know what I'm doing". Away from the selfishness of just wanting to do something I enjoy for its own sake, getting to help the next generation become independent scientists in their own right is a privilege.

What advice would you give to a young person considering a career in chemistry?

The main thing is to find something that you want to do because you feel it is exciting and important. Everyone has setbacks in their research and careers, so you need to have a good reason to dust yourself down and press on; a long-term goal that you believe in and are working towards can provide that motivation.

Why is chemistry important?

Since chemistry really has a central role in addressing so many of the big issues in the world, ranging from climate change to antibiotic resistance, we need to ensure that the discipline stays strong by inspiring young people to study it. We will need the skills and imagination they will bring to solve these problems in the future, so it is important that we tell them about how becoming a chemist will mean they can go out and make a difference in the world. This is a great message and one that we can be proud to promote.

What does good research culture look like/mean to you?

A good research culture should be one that allows people to risk following new paths instead of making safe, incremental advances in known directions. This can be difficult in a metric-driven system.

Why do you think collaboration and teamwork are important in science?

Over the years I've been lucky to collaborate with not just chemists but people from a huge variety of backgrounds. Of course, these included academics from different disciplines, but it is also really stimulating to work with researchers from industry and the public sector who bring a completely different set of challenges and mindsets.

Collaboration is vital because the problems we want to address are often complex, and we simply can’t make progress without combining our ideas with the knowledge and insight that only real experts in other areas can provide. It is easy to waste a lot of time doing things wrong because you don’t simply don’t know that there is a better way. Conversely, it’s really exciting that you find when casually chatting to a colleague that you already have just the answer that they have been looking for.

What is your favourite element?

I really like the coinage metals, mostly because of the way the properties of the bulk metals are so completely different from their coordination compounds but they then have a whole new set of useful properties when we use them as nanomaterials.