The guest speakers for our November Lunch are Professors Brendan Abrahams and Stuart Batten
The lunch is to celebrate last year’s Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, Professor Richard Robson.
Professor Robson read Chemistry at Oxford (BNC) and completed his DPhil in the Dyson Perrins (organic chemistry) laboratory in 1962.
After a couple of post-doctoral fellowships in the USA, he moved to the Chemistry Department in the University of Melbourne in the mid-1960s and has worked there ever since.
In the 1970s, he discovered a new type or class of molecule, now known as Metal Organic Frameworks (MOFs) which have subsequently been developed for all sorts of applications and are especially useful in separation technology. A key attribute of MOFs is their very large internal surface area compared with their volume.
Two of Professor Robson’s post graduate students in the early days of developing MOFs in Melbourne were Brendan Abrahams and Stuart Batten, now Professors of Chemistry at the University of Melbourne and Monash University, respectively.
At our lunch, Professors Abrahams and Batten will describe what MOFs are, how Professor Robson got the idea of developing techniques to make MOFs and what they subsequently have been used for. The actual Nobel award ceremony itself will also be described, including what it was like to be in Stockholm for the ceremony.
To understand Professor Robson’s ground-breaking work, check out: https://www.nobelprize.org/the-2025-chemistry-prize-mofs-molecular-structures/ and to view his acceptance speech see: Nobel Prize lecture: Richard Robson, Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2025 - YouTube .
Lunch is at the Kelvin Club (www.kelvinclub.com) where we meet from 12-30 pm onwards. A two-course meal is served at 1 pm and the formal part of the proceedings will conclude around 2-15 pm.
The price for OUSV and CSV members and guests is $75. Drinks may be purchased at the bar in advance. For non-members the price is $85.
Queries: please contact secretary.ousv@gmail.com
secretary.ousv@gmail.com
.png)