A new Editorial Board Chair for Materials Horizons

Following the Royal Society of Chemistry's policy, our inaugural Editorial Board Chair, Seth Marder, who has worked with us over the last 8 years, stepped down from his position earlier this month. Seth has been a great advocate and leader of the journal during these years. We have really enjoyed working with him towards his vision of a new journal serving the materials science community and would like to take this opportunity to thank him for his many contributions throughout this time.

We are delighted to introduce and welcome Professor Martina Stenzel of the University of New South Wales in Australia as the new Editorial Board Chair of Materials Horizons. Martina has also been with the journal from early on as a Scientific Editor on the Editorial Board and we are very much looking forward to working with her more closely during the years to come to further drive the journal forward and continue its success.

To better introduce Martina to our community, we have spoken to her about how and why she pursued a career in materials science and her aspirations for the journal in the years to come.

 

What attracted you to pursue a career in materials science and how did you get to where you are now?

Martina: Like many others, I was really inspired by my chemistry teacher. I was amazed how you can react two gases and suddenly you can get a liquid, for example. You can put two compounds together and you get something very different! Of course, the bangs and smells in my school chemistry lab helped with the excitement. I will never forget the experiments when my teacher threw sodium or potassium into water. During my school years, I started appreciating that chemistry underpins all processes of life and that we can use this knowledge to create something new. I always liked the creative part of being a scientist and that there are no limits to your imagination. This led me to study chemistry, but this was also a very practical choice as I thought that a degree in chemistry in Germany is a guarantee for a good job in the chemical industry. However, after my PhD and postdoc I found myself unemployed for a few months, writing application after application to various companies. As there was nothing on the horizon, I jumped at the opportunity of a research position at the University of New South Wales in Sydney. This then led me to the lecturer position and the rest is history. I never planned to be an academic, it just happened! I think I learned a valuable lesson during my period of unemployment about expectations, a suitable plan B and about keeping an open mind about alternative opportunities!

Why did you choose to specialize in your specific research field?

Martina: I always enjoyed the versatility of polymer science. All you need is a few building blocks and to change a few functionalities and suddenly you have new materials that can be used for coating, as structural materials, in electronics, in medicine and so on. There are really no limitations to the use of polymers. There is certainly a lot of awareness about the problems associated with the excessive and often unnecessary use of plastics, but I am more interested in using these materials in areas where small amounts of polymers can have high impact, such as in drug delivery. I like to combine synthetic polymers with nature's building blocks, such as carbohydrates and proteins, as I get the best of both worlds: the design flexibility of synthetic polymers combined with the bioactivity or degradability of biopolymers. The combination of both make great biomaterials. I found the area of nanomedicine fascinating as you work on the interface between materials and biology.

What career would you have chosen if you had not taken this career path?

Martina: I always liked art, art history and archaeology. It is very eye-opening when you walk into an old building such as a medieval church and you discover that the design of every corner has a meaning and it wants to tell a story. Studying art history was at some stage on the agenda, but I realised that this also makes a pretty good hobby. I am currently in a reading club on science in art conservation where I can combine both passions.

What is your biggest passion outside of science?

Martina: Aside from my passion for art and medieval history, I really enjoy nature. This can come in different shapes such bushwalks or camping trips with my family, but I also like working in my garden. I enjoy the feeling of accomplishment after I manicured my overgrown garden.

Which of your publications are you most proud of, and which is your favourite piece of your own research?

Martina: I think we all have a soft spot for our first publication; in my case it was my first publication as an academic. It was a paper on the synthesis of block copolymers with degradable features. I was still hands-on and worked with my student in the lab. This paper also started my passion for self-assembled nanoparticles. Back then, we were on a steep learning curve, but more than 15 years later I find that there is still so much to discover about polymer self-assembly. Recently, I have started looking more and more into the effect of drug loading on the properties of nanoparticles, which is something that is often overlooked. I have teamed up with a physicist and we try to understand the physicochemical properties of drug loaded nanoparticles and link this to their biological activity. We recently published several papers in this field where we showed that small changes can influence the fate of the nanoparticle in a biological setting.

What do you see as the biggest challenges facing researchers at the moment?

Martina: Apart from the obvious such as the funding shortage for science in many parts of the world, I think the biggest challenges is the way we work together and how we share data. This does not only apply to my field, but I would think that it applies to all science and engineering fields. We are producing more and more data at a faster rate. A lot of data makes it into publication yet others, the “failed experiments” are discarded. Often students come to me and want to do a certain experiment because, according to them, “nobody has done it yet”. My answer is usually that “maybe ten groups tried it already, but it just does not work”. I wonder often how many times a researcher tried something and failed, but it was never published. I sometimes ponder if there are better ways of sharing what has been tried but was unsuccessful. At the same time, can we store our data in a better way that makes them accessible to other researchers? There are approaches around the world to data sharing for specific fields, but I would like to see it rolled out across all fields of science. Of course, this is only one challenge that scientists might face, but this is something that keeps my mind busy at the moment.

What do you see as the most important scientific achievement of the last decade?

Martina: I could list specific examples such as CRISPR Cas, the detection of the Higgs Boson or the development of quantum computing, but I also like the story of the identification of the bones of Richard III, the English king from the 15th century who died on the battlefield. The identification of his resting place more than 500 years after his death was achieved by the close collaboration between historians and scientists. I think this example shows what teamwork can achieve and is a good example of how researchers have learned to work more closely together. In the past, scientific achievements were often the result of one person/group working alone, while I think the ability to work in large teams across continents is a scientific achievement in itself. Finally, I would also like to mention the development of the Covid 19 vaccine as a fantastic scientific achievement.

Why should young people study chemistry?

Martina: I think most young people have a natural curiosity and want to understand how things work. What stops them from studying natural science is often some uncertainty around the job market (at least in Australia) and some of them might be seduced by the salaries of other professions. I think though that a degree in science has so much to offer. For one, we will always need scientists, no more than ever as we face problems such as climate change, food shortages and health care challenges. Moreover, a degree in science can also help you to gain other skills, such as becoming a creative thinker and being able to assess data in a critical way. These skills can help you if you decide to take a different turn in your career.

What are the most exciting Materials Horizons papers that you have read recently?

Martina: I don’t want to highlight a specific paper, but I really enjoy reading the Materials Horizons Emerging Investigator Series. They are always a great summary of the authors work, the challenges and where they think the future lies. It is also great to see that there are quite a few female leading authors among them highlighting the achievements of researchers from diverse backgrounds. There is so much talent in this new generation of researchers!

Where do you see the journal in 5 years’ time?

Martina: I have been with Materials Horizons since the beginning of the journal, and I have always liked how the journal tries to involve researchers at various stages of their career. Alongside the traditional advisory board staffed with established researchers, we set up a community board of young researchers. I am very much looking forward to working with this board to hear their thoughts on publishing and what a publisher can do to help young researchers. For me it is important to be inclusive and have a journal that represents all researchers and is respectful of their opinions. As Editorial Board Chair I would like to see that Materials Horizons reflects the changes in science and society.

Martina Stenzel, Editorial Board Chair, Materials Horizons (ORCID 0000-0002-6433-4419)

Michaela Mühlberg, Executive Editor, Materials Horizons

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