Why Study Chemistry at Liverpool University? Innovative Labs

Hi, I'm Jerry. I'm a second year undergrad and I'm going to talk you through one of our first year organic experiments. After oxidizing your cyclohexanol, you'll have your product mixed in with a bit of junk, so to purify it out via distillation. The Asyn hot plate, Asyn block, distillation adapter, waterless condenser and vacuum brand, vacuum gauge all come together easily without any leaks. Even with these big red annoying gloves, the great build quality makes you less anxious about breaking your equipment on the first day. The slim form factor of the equipment really helps when you're sharing your bay with a pair and without having to worry about tubing and other fat, you feel much more comfortable in your experiment. Thanks to Asyn, you're using sustainably driven, energy saving and industry standard equipment right from the jump. I kind of fell upwards into a degree in chemistry. Originally, I didn't really have much vision of what I was going to do in the future. I applied to dentistry here on a whim. During that time, I noticed that the university offers a medicinal chemistry integrated masters and taking a review of my whole situation, I realized that chemistry was what I loved and I wouldn't change it for the world. At first, moving away from home can be scary and I didn't know what I was doing, but the culture, the community, all the vibes that Liverpool brings are unmatched and I couldn't have seen myself growing up and becoming an adult anywhere else. Something that really stands out to me doing chemistry at Liverpool is the community that we have here. It's not just your friends or maybe other years, but the lecturers themselves who you build trust with, you build rapport with and who become your friends, support you for everything, even when you're struggling and having a hard time. You've just got a massive support network around you. Being a chemist at Liverpool has also helped me to develop my practical skills so much more. It's always been something I struggled with, but through the support here at Liverpool, I've been able to work through all my mistakes and be proud of my practical skills now. The experience that stands out most to me through my two years so far was actually during an outreach session that I was involved with. I got to demonstrate how to prepare an NMR sample. This was a massive evolution in my career, I guess, since I remember right at the start, when I was first learning all this, I was terrified. Through working hard in labs and through my growth, I realised how easy it was and how easily I could teach others, which made me really proud of myself. Might be a bit of a boss mate, but my favourite part of the labs in the CCL so far has actually been the physical labs. Changing your experiment every week can be very beneficial if you've had an off one, especially when you're first starting out and learning, and just interacting with all the different equipment and learning the ins and outs helps you become such a more well-rounded person. Through my two years here so far, these waterless condensers by Ascent have been involved so frequently. From our first ever organic labs, we use them for reflux, for distillations, helping us learn the fundamentals of chemistry. Through second year, they become second nature. You're using them every other week to purify, to oxidise, to do all sorts of reactions. Being able to quickly pop them on anywhere, not having to worry about any tubing, any faff, makes your lab sessions go so much faster, so much cleaner, and removes so much stress from your work. The reduced environmental impact of these waterless condensers also makes me feel so much more satisfied as a chemist, especially with a big lab. You're worried about your impacts on the world, but you know that you're doing the best you can with the best products you can. Every day is a learning day, and if you're open to anything, who knows where you'll go. You might find something that you would have never thought of before, and find a brand new career pathway that can take you to amazing places. Chemistry is a hard degree. It's stressful, and it's going to take up a lot of your time, but you chose it for a reason, and I'm sure you're going to have a blast.