On June 2nd, I received an email informing me that I have been selected to represent Bohrium, Bh (Element 107) in the Periodic Table of Younger Chemists for the celebration of 100th Anniversary of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC100) and the International Year of Periodic Table (IYPT2019).
I was over the moon when I saw the email but time seemed to have slowed down when I saw the statement in the email about keeping the information confidential until the official announcement from IUPAC at the 14th International Symposium on Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry was posted on the IUPAC100 website.
No kidding, the wait was dreadful and due to time difference, the announcement was live online the day after, on June 3rd.
At this point you might be wondering, what’s so special about this “award”? Well, let me explain.
The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, IUPAC
“IUPAC is the world authority on chemical nomenclature and terminology, including the naming of new elements in the periodic table; on standardised methods for measurement; and on atomic weights, and many other critically-evaluated data.”
Not only is IUPAC involved in nomenclature and the naming of elements, it is also a neutral and objective scientific organisation established to unite a fragmented, global chemistry community for the advancement of the chemical sciences via collaboration and the free exchange of scientific information.
Because of this, chemistry students would generally know IUPAC from the nomenclature sections in textbooks.
International Year of Periodic Table, IYPT 2019
The United Nations has designed 2019 as the international year of the periodic table of chemical elements as it coincided with the 150th anniversary of the table’s creation by Dmitry Mendeleev.
IUPAC’s Periodic Table of Younger Chemists
As part of the celebrations as mentioned before, IUPAC and the International Younger Chemists Network (IYCN) announced the creation of #PTChemists which showcased a diverse group of 118 outstanding younger chemists from around the world who embodied the mission and core values of IUPAC.
About 8-10 elements were revealed each month (in order of scientific discovery) beginning in July 2018, with the final 6 elements being revealed at the IUPAC World Chemistry Congress in Paris, France on the 8th of July.
“The resulting periodic table was made to highlight the diversity of careers, creativity, and dedication of the young chemists leading us into the next century.”
Therefore, with all that said, it was such an honour to be able to be a part of this historical table as Bohrium. Not only that, I was one of the three Malaysians representing Malaysia!
Spot the Malaysian Flag!
IUPAC2019 - #PTChemists Final Announcement Ceremony
On July 8th, the final 6 elements were revealed on stage together with a video recap of the other 112 elements. The ceremony was so grand that it was pity I didn’t get to attend it in person.
The final six will be reveiled shortly. Hereby the 112 persons that are now in the Periodic Table of Younger Chemists.@IUPAC2019Paris @IUPAC #PeriodicTable pic.twitter.com/MtcChzN0XT
— IYPT2019 (@iypt2019)July 8, 2019
The Periodic Table of Younger Chemists is now complete!
And guess what?! During the council meeting in Paris (IUPAC2019), Institut Kimia Malaysia (IKM) successfully won both bids to host IUPAC2025 (in Kuala Lumpur) and MACRO2026 (in Kuching) in Malaysia!
I was very lucky and exceptionally grateful to be given the opportunity to contribute and play a part in preparing slides for both bids.
Thank you IKM for trusting in my abilities to deliver.
So the @iupac 2025 Congress goes to Malaysia.@RoySocChem @AmerChemSociety @NRC_CNRC @CIC_ChemInst pic.twitter.com/e5qYe9E6DP
— Zoltan Mester (@zoltan_m_)July 11, 2019
Looking forward to welcoming delegates to my home country, Malaysia!
By yvonnechoo
I am delighted to be presenting my first invited research seminar post-Ph.D. on Tuesday the 7th at 1pm @Southampton_MY. Can’t wait to share some insights on my Ph.D research @ChemistryNCL (Benniston group) on #fluorescent #membranes #polymers. See you there! 😀 #YC_UoSM pic.twitter.com/5KJDHfdFMs
On the 7th of May 2019, I presented my first invited research talk post-Ph.D. at University of Southampton Malaysia. I am grateful to be given the opportunity to speak about my Ph.D. research on fluorescent membranes/polymers and engage with the next generation of engineers.
In terms of research, none of it would have been possible without the support and guidance of my supervisor, Prof Andrew Benniston (Newcastle University - MPL) and collaborators, Dr Marta Giamberini and Dr Jose Antonio Reina (Universitat Rovira i Virgili - METEOR). I’d also like to extend my appreciation to Dr Ng Jo-Han for the arrangements and for liaising with the UoSM team who have invited me.
The following is a pictorial recap of my session including a tiny snippet of my talk.
First up, mandatory photo with the title slide :)
My talk started off with a brief self-introduction, some ice-breakers and house-keeping rules before diving into “the Science”.
Artificial Photosynthesis: Water Splitting and how it is cleaner compared to hydrogen gas obtained from fossil fuels via steam methane reformation.
Receiving a token of appreciation from Professor Neil G Stephen, Head of Academic Affairs Malaysia Campus.
A photo with Dr Ng, an influential figure who’ve inspired me to inspire the future generations via teaching/education. He has been very supportive of my journey since the beginning (2010) which I am forever grateful.
To read about how we met online (March 2010) and in person (March 2019) exactly 9 years later, click on #YCStoryTime.
With Hooi Yee and Jerryl, both whom I have met during their joint session with Dr Ng Jo-Han and Ms Isabelle Wong at Bett Asia Leadership Summit 2019 back in March. Thank you for your presence and for being in charge of filming my session :)
And lastly, a group photo with the students/attendees (future engineers) :)
Several students came to me at the end of my talk to tell me how much they enjoyed the talk; that totally made my day! My goal that day was to inspire and share my passion for the science that I do and I guess, I’ve achieved my goal :) Still plenty of room for improvement but let’s take a few baby steps at a time.
To end, here’s a tiny snippet of my talk:
By yvonnechoo
I met Dr Kesaven from @UMT_Official for the very 1st time at his pocket talk session #minggusainsnegara. Didn’t get the chance to talk to him back then. Exactly a month later, we met again at #ITEX2019. What a coincidence! Congratulations on winning🥇for PHAMat and 🥈for PHAVax! pic.twitter.com/BIKWgd1z2y
— Yvonne Choo (@yvonnechoo_sl)May 3, 2019
By yvonnechoo
I have a thing for science centres and have visited 10 others around the world. Since it’s #minggusainsnegara (a.k.a. National Science Week), I couldn’t miss the opportunity to revisit Malaysia’s National Science Centre after 6 years! From witnessing the setting of a Malaysia Book of Records to experiencing their new Science Valley, I had a blast!
For now, I will let the following pictures and videos do the talking.
The new Science Valley gallery was launched by our Prime Minister, Tun Mahathir bin Mohamad (Dr. M) on the 2nd of April in conjunction with the official launch of National Science Week 2019. Seeing their new interactive displays (upgrades) made me very happy and proud! (Click on the picture below to view the video on Flickr)
Besides Chemistry, other areas of Science were covered too! The interactive displays looked amazing! (Click on the picture below to view the video on Flickr)
On my visit, I attended a science show on biodegradable plastics which was very much in line with Malaysia’s Ministry of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment & Climate Change (MESTECC)’s roadmap towards zero single-use plastics 2018-2030.
I later attended the “Meet the Scientist - I am a Biology Researcher” Session. Dr Nurul Yuziana from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia did a fabulous job inspiring visitors with her very well designed session! I was very inspired!
By yvonnechoo
Last Tuesday (12th), I met Dr @jo_usmc and Ms @IsabelleBBE for the very first time in 9 years! Here’s how it all began… (1 of 2) #YCStoryTime pic.twitter.com/hsksLBPK1J
— Yvonne Choo (@yvonnechoo_sl)March 17, 2019
(2 of 2) #YCStoryTime pic.twitter.com/nbVs6ZzJiR
— Yvonne Choo (@yvonnechoo_sl)March 17, 2019
By yvonnechoo
Sorry for the delay in updates, I’ve given myself a good few months break to rest, spend time with family and friends, reorganise and recharge back home. Can’t believe it has been almost three months since my congregation ceremony last December. Still feels a little weird whenever people addressed me as Dr. Yvonne or Dr. Choo but I am sure I will slowly get used to the new title. It has taken me years of hard work, lots of tears, sweat and laughter - basically one heck of a rollercoaster ride (both intellectually and emotionally) to get to the finish line and boy I am glad I survived!
Here’s a photo of me in an academic dress taken on the actual day of my congregation. With a little bit of “magic”, I was able to shrink myself to the size of a pen!
I can’t imagine how hard and daunting it would be to write a thesis that’s so many times bigger than I am. Well I guess, we (Ph.D. graduates) all managed to do it! - regardless of how difficult it has been to fit years of lab work into a single thesis or how intimidating it has been to dive into the world of unknown in a specialised research area just to be able to contribute to new knowledge. You get my point ;)
If you take a closer look of this picture, you might be able to see what’s written on the page of the opened thesis. Chapter 3 has contributed to the following paper:
Y.S.L. Choo, P.G. Waddell, A.C. Benniston, Synchronized “Click” and Templated Synthesis of a Fluorescent Pyrene Crown Ether, Eur. J. Org. Chem., 2019, 14, 2560-2565. doi:10.1002/ejoc.201900125
By yvonnechoo
It’s official, I can finally call myself Dr Yvonne Choo! I have been awarded a PhD in Chemistry! It has taken months for the paperwork to be reviewed, approved, processed and for the pass list to be issued by the university. So so glad the pass list came out just in time for me to make it to the winter congregation this year! 😍🎓🎉 Can’t wait to share pictures of my special day 😘❤ Stay tuned for new blog posts this December!
This blog has been created to document my journey of becoming a scientist.
To read more about the past activities I’ve participated throughout my journey, kindly scroll down for more. You can also search for keywords/tags from the search bar (click on menu icon, top left corner).
To know more about me, click on the menu icon or any of the links below:
If you’d like to follow me on my social media, click on the icons at the top end of this blog. Till then, I hope you’ll have a good time reading :)
To get you started with some of my PhD highlights, simply click on the following pictures to be linked directly to the corresponding blog posts.
By yvonnechoo
Thank you @litandphil @RSCNewcastle @ChemistryNCL for having us at today’s event. It was great fun to be able to share insights of a PhD 😀 pic.twitter.com/1Zs9gpZxAL
— Yvonne Choo (@yvonnechoo_sl)September 6, 2017
By yvonnechoo
The School of Chemistry’s annual PG Research Day was held on Friday, the 26th of May. As a third year PhD student, I had to give an oral presentation of which I have chosen to talk about “The Discovery of Molecular Jellyfish and its Polymerisation“.
It was my first oral presentation (to an external audience) and I was lucky enough to be awarded 2nd Prize!
With the Acting Head of School, Prof Benniston, who is also my PhD supervisor :) 
Close-up of my certificate.
Last but not least, a mandatory group photo of the day :)
By yvonnechoo
I have been invited to be part of a panel (as an experienced research student) at “Preparing for Progression” Workshop as part of the Postgraduate Research Development Programme for PhDs 😊
Together with several other members of the panel, we were able to provide more insights regarding the expectations of the Annual Progression Review. It was an eye-opening experience for me to be part of a panel for the very first time!
Thank you SAgE for the opportunity.
By yvonnechoo
On the 7th of April, my colleague, Nils Poldme and I jointly conducted 2 sessions for Year 12 Get Ahead entitled “New Hope: The Return of Climate Warriors”.
Nils talked about solar energy, hydrogen fuel and artificial photosynthesis while I talked about polymers and their applications (with emphasis on energy-related applications).
We included fuel cell demonstration and the use of Turning Point Clickers. Overall, it’s another good learning experience for the both of us :)
By yvonnechoo
2 years ago, I visited Maker Faire as a visitor. I had so much fun back then that I decided to come back as a maker/volunteer thinking that it would be an eye-opening experience visiting the faire from a new perspective (and a good learning experience too!) Thanks to the RSC (especially to Lucy Tetley for this very special opportunity), this tiny dream of mine came true! So 2 years later, here I am back at the Centre for Life for 
The activities on both days were based on RSC’s global experiment this year entitled Mission Starlight.
There were 3 stations as follows:
1. Experiment - Observing which materials block the most UV light
2. Experiment - Chemistry of sun cream using UV marker pens
3. Maker Station - Make your own UV bead bracelets/keyrings
To attract younger kids, some toys (with UV beads attached) were used instead.
Check out what happens when you expose the Buzz community to UV light in the video below: 
I had so much MORE fun sharing my passion for Chemistry that I was a bit sad to leave when they wrapped up the event.
Had so much fun at Maker Faire 2017. Guess it’s going to be my last UK Maker Faire (maybe?). Anyway, no regrets coz this was a great one!!
By yvonnechoo
On the 29th of March 2017, I have been invited to attend one of the special events hosted by Newcastle University to recognise and celebrate successes within the University.
I was there to celebrate the winning of the 2016 Joyce Lockhart Prize. I was over the moon when the Vice-Chancellor mentioned my name out of many other remarkable achievers across the university. *grateful*
A picture with Professor Chris Day, the Vice-Chancellor of Newcastle University and Professor Andrew C. Benniston, my PhD supervisor.
With Professor Benniston :)
By yvonnechoo
