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Biography

Professor Hugo Bronstein was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina but grew up in London, UK. He studied chemistry at the University of Oxford, before going on to do a PhD at Imperial College London with Professor Charlotte Williams. He then spent a year at the University of Washington in Seattle working as a postdoc for Professor Christine Luscombe. After this, he returned to Imperial College to work as a postdoctoral researcher with Professor Iain McCulloch. He was awarded an Imperial College Junior Research Fellowship in 2012 before becoming a lecturer at University College London in 2013. In 2015 he was awarded an ERC starting grant and then in 2017 he became a joint lecturer for the physics and chemistry departments at the University of Cambridge. He was awarded an EPSRC fellowship in 2019 and promoted to professor in 2022.

Being awarded this makes me feel accepted by the UK community and perhaps reflects the softening of boundaries between the traditional disciplines.

Hugo Bronstein

Q&A

Can you tell us more about your work?

Research in my group involves the synthesis of new organic materials for use in next generation technologies such as flexible solar panels, light emitting diodes, transistors and sensors. I am particularly interested in synthesising materials that help understand and utilise unusual electronic states due to their unique and fascinating properties. 
 
Traditionally, much of the development of new materials has come from a ‘top-down’ approach with a particular application focus. My aim as a scientist is to begin the research process from the ‘bottom up’. By developing a true understanding of how structure (both chemical, and morphological) affects the fundamental properties it will be possible to make rapid advances across all fields. In particular, using this approach I believe it is possible to make great advances in areas which I believe represent some key challenges for modern science (such as clean energy generation and quantum technologies).

Who or what first sparked your interest in chemistry, and how has that interest evolved over time? 

I remember the first time I saw a TEM of gold atoms in book when I was doing work experience in secondary school. I already knew about atoms, but I thought it was amazing that you could actually see what the world was made of. I felt like I was looking at the pixels of the universe.

What has been the most rewarding or memorable highlight of your career so far? 

The most memorable was when I was a PhD student working for Professor Charlotte Williams. My lab partner (Dr Rachel Platel) and I were quenching potassium by ourselves for the first time. We did a really good and careful job, but something went wrong at the last minute and Rachel's arm caught on fire. I had to use the fire extinguisher on Rachel and it was all over in a split second and then we both looked up and slowly saw the smoke hit the fire alarm, which subsequently went off and I remember thinking "uh-oh..." However, everyone (especially Charlotte) was really understanding and supportive as we had tried to be as safe as we could and we had done our risk assessment.

What future directions or opportunities do you see for your work? 

I think there are some really exciting opportunities for conjugated materials in the quantum area. It’s a very exciting time as it’s a brand new area of science and no-one really knows where it will go (in my opinion). I think some of the unique features of organic materials could have real potential for use in this area. More broadly, I would like to get to a point with my own work and understanding where I can look at a molecule and know its optical properties – similar to how organic chemists can look at a molecule and predict its reactivity.

What do you wish more people understood about your field or the chemical sciences in general? 

I wish more people understood the importance of the chemical sciences in advancing new technologies and mitigating climate change.

How important would you say collaboration is for producing high quality science? How has collaboration influenced your work? 

I collaborate extensively with a wide range of different people/groups etc. Without them and their hard work and insights my work would be meaningless. I have learnt so much from other people that I have collaborated with.

What is your favourite element and why? 

Mercury (Hg) – it has two letters from my name, and it’s a liquid metal at room temperature.