Lab News

This page documents the latest news and updates, be they academic or social, coming out of the SCoTCH group

Feb 2026

Bridge Building, not Burning!

Last week the SCoTCH lab partook in a team building exercise to build bridges, both physically and socially. The group was divided into small teams, with each given paper, craft sticks, string, and tape to make the best bridge they could. Each construction was then ranked objectively on its carrying capacity, and subjectively based on judging from the other teams. In all, it was a wonderful time, and fun was had by all on an otherwise dreich Thursday afternoon. The team of Ross and Jack, along with one of the lab's Masters' students Eilidh, were the only ones to build a bridge capable of withstanding the entire battery of weights, and thus were deemed the winners of bragging rights. Congratulations to them!

Jan 2026

Ross Celebrates Viva Defence

Congratulations to Dr. Ross Urquhart, who recently celebrated the successful defence of his PhD thesis. Entitled 'Chemical Space Exploration: Beyond Anthropogenic Reaction Features', Ross' viva was examined by Marc Reid (University of Strathclyde) and Fernanda Duarte (University of Oxford), with Sebastian Sprick (University of Strathclyde) acting as Convener. When asked about the defence, Ross said it was 'thought provoking', and stimulated ideas for 'current and future' research. However, he was 'delighted to be done'. Everyone in the SCoTCH lab congratulates Ross and wishes him all the best in his next steps. But he hasn't travelled far at all - Ross is now a postdoc in the Tuttle lab, and so is sitting at exactly the same desk!