Young chemist wins international PhD award

Publication date
Wednesday, 29 Apr 2015
Body

Former ANU PhD student Dr Ganna Gryn'ova has become one of a few Australian scholars to win a prestigious international award in chemistry.

Dr Gryn'ova was recently awarded the 2015 IUPAC-SOLVAY International Award for Young Chemists for her PhD thesis exploring radical stability and its role in materials degradation.

Whilst at ANU, Dr Gryn'ova discovered that molecules of a special kind called free radicals are responsible for the degradation of many organic molecules, and can also be used to stop or at least slow this process down. Her research has broad implications from controlling how materials stand up to the harsh Australian environment to understanding how we age.   

We asked Dr Gryn'ova to share some thoughts on her time at ANU.  

Tell me about your PhD research…

My PhD research was focussed on organic free radicals or species with unpaired electrons and their role in polymer chemistry. Polymers are very long chains of many repeating molecular units and are found in living organisms in the forms of proteins and DNA. Synthetic polymers—often called ‘plastics’ such as polystyrene—are produced on a large scale and used in many applications, from plastic cups to spacecraft.

Under the supervision of Professor Michelle Coote, I initially focussed on gaining a better understanding of how and why these polymers, and organic molecules in general, degrade at high temperatures and under harsh UV light, typical of an Australian summer.

By modelling these processes on a computer I discovered that many polymers break down much quicker than they should because of anomalies in their structure, called ‘defect units’. These units are easily converted to highly reactive molecules called ‘free radicals’ which promote the damage. But what’s exciting is that to stop, or at least to slow down the degradation we can use other, special free radicals, called nitroxides. These nitroxide radicals became one of the centre points of my PhD research and I studied how they can be used to not just stabilise the polymers, but also to manufacture them in a controlled manner in the first place.

How does this relate to the world around us?

This broad field of radical stability is relevant to many crucial aspects of everyday life. Ageing in living organisms and weathering of materials both involve free radicals as damaging species and the stabilising agents. Understanding the molecular-level mechanisms of these processes helps the development of more stable industrial materials and more efficient techniques for manufacturing them.

What do you find most fascinating about chemistry?

I love chemistry for its diversity. For my work as a computational chemist I use the laws of physics to model chemistry by the means of applied mathematics. There are so many fascinating molecules already and they can be altered and tailored in an infinite number of ways. Sometimes even the slightest structural variation can lead to a huge change in properties.

Why did you decide to do a PhD in chemistry?

I really enjoyed chemistry in high school and got even more fascinated by it during my bachelor’s degree. Through my master’s I was captivated with research and realised I was after an academic career, rather than getting ‘a normal job’. A PhD is a natural step towards becoming a researcher, it is a way to get to know what fundamental research is all about—freedom, creativity and inspiration.

What was the best thing about being at ANU?

It’s hard to choose just one thing—it’s a top university, it offers great facilities, it has an amazing campus… But the best thing for me personally is the relaxed yet effective approach to work, adopted throughout ANU, and in particular in the Research School of Chemistry and my former research group. All my experiences—from tutoring the undergrad students to writing my PhD thesis—were challenging in an enjoyable rather than stressful way. I was given the freedom to express myself through research, and the guidance to ensure I’m on track with it.

What would you say to someone who is thinking about doing a PhD in chemistry?

I would suggest thinking hard about what you want to do a PhD in chemistry for. It is important to understand that there are not so many career pathways afterwards. Mainly, it is research, either in an industrial R&D lab or at the university. Other common career pathways include scientific publishing, commercialisation and patenting.

Keep in mind that a PhD in chemistry is about original research—so you are guaranteed late nights and weekends in the lab, steep learning curves and small salary for 3-5 years, but you are not guaranteed positive results. If you’re up to it, a PhD can be an amazing experience. You still live a fun student life while others deal with adulthood, you get to travel overseas to conferences and summer schools. You wake up at 3 am with ‘an idea!’, and your research may change the world!

Dr Gryn'ova is currently working as a postdoctoral researcher at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland. A summary of her PhD thesis is available on the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry website. 

Find out more about postgraduate study at ANU and our Postgraduate Information Evening