Friday, 9 August 2024 11:00am – 12:00pm

This seminar will be delivered in Lecture Theatre 3

Speaker: Dr Joy Jiang

Host: Dr Kaye Kang

Title: Plasmas, magnetism, and polyphosphates

Abstract: Nature inspires us with how it utilises energy: lightning strikes (plasmas) cause nitrogen and water to combine to form ammonia and nitrates as fertilizers. Earth’s magnetic field protects its surface from harmful solar winds via the Lorentz effect. In biology, cells use high-energy bonds between phosphate groups (e.g., in ATP) as their energy currency. Here we present plasma (air gap)-electrochemistry, magneto-electrochemistry, and polyphosphates as three innovations for a lower carbon future.

Bio: Joy completed her Ph.D. in Chemistry (Warr group) from USyd, developing nanomaterials and functional ionic solvents. She then did a postdoc in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology (Whitesides group) and Astrophysics (Sasselov group) at Harvard University, where she worked at the intersection of chemistry, materials science, and engineering, as well as exploring the chemical origin of life. Joy returned to USyd in 2024, as a Sydney Horizon Fellow and group leader in the School of Chemistry.