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UCL academic attempts world-record in this year’s London marathon

25 March 2019

Professor Angelos Michaelides (UCL Physics and Astronomy) will be attempting to set a new world-record for “fastest person to run a marathon dressed as a scientist (male)” in the London Marathon this April.

Angelos Michaelides

Professor Michaelides’ run will be an official Guinness World Records sanctioned attempt and requires him to wear a lab coat, safety glasses, lab gloves, trousers, and to carry a piece of scientific equipment. He is doing this to raise sponsorship for WaterAid; an international charity that brings clean water and sanitation to people all over the world.

The choice of WaterAid is particularly apt given his research interests. In particular, his group focusses on better understanding the chemistry and physics of water and ice. For example, they are working towards the molecular-level insight needed to develop innovative solutions to some of the world’s water problems. This includes work aimed at understanding water flow through membranes and the formation of ice nanoparticles in clouds.

Professor Michaelides said “Global issues such as climate change, the need for cleaner renewable forms of energy, and the lack of clean drinking water could all be improved through better understanding of the physics and chemistry of water. Our team at UCL is working to obtain the fundamental understanding that one day could bring long-term solutions to these problems, and at WaterAid they are working right now in some of the toughest places in the world to provide clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene. Through this (ridiculous!) world record attempt I hope to raise awareness of the value of fundamental scientific research into water and the great work that WaterAid are doing. 

One recent example of research from Angelos’ group, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, has indeed made a major breakthrough in understanding the properties of water and ice. In particular they used computer simulation approaches to capture the initial birth phase of ice nano-crystals in liquid water, revealing in intimate detail how the mobility of the water molecules change as the crystals form.   

Although ice crystallization is ubiquitous and shapes life as we know it – from intracellular freezing to the formation of clouds – at the molecular level it remains poorly understood. The insights in the recent paper suggest new ways to control the formation of ice through the addition of impurities which alter the mobility of the water molecules immediately prior to crystallisation. Indeed, in on-going work, avenues to both prevent ice formation (as desired for de-icing applications) and accelerate ice formation (for cryopreservation applications) are being explored.

To support Angelos in his world record attempt or to learn more about his research please follow the links below. 

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