They're angry at plans to cut funding for organic synthetic chemistry.
Professor Poliakoff explains the problem in our latest video on The Periodic Table of Videos.
(A number of Professor Poliakoff's colleagues at the University of Nottingham have signed the letter)
Not an organic chemist himself, Professor Poliakoff was not a signatory.
But he did write a letter to former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (who was a chemist herself!)
His letter, from 1987, has a similar theme to the more recent one.
Below is his missive and the replies he received. You can click on the images to see bigger versions on Flickr.
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I hope that The Professor gets the funding needed to operate, and so do the other chemist. Chemistry is very important work, as are the other sciences. Everyone is taking cuts right now, but we have to also think about our scientific future.
ReplyDeleteIt's really sad that civillian research is always pushed onto the back-burner in times like these. :(
ReplyDeleteWe need to have all the existing complex formulas programed into a machine (eg 3d printer) that can synthesis them instantly, thus bringing the cost of production down and opening up advances in research and progress in designing new and effective drug medicines.
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