The Business Liaison Association, in conjunction with the University of Queensland and the Royal Australian Chemical Institute presented the 2017 O'Donnell Schools Lecture "Virtual Chemistry".
Dr Elizabeth Krenske from the School of Chemistry and Biosciences at the University of Queensland did a road trip and addressed students from Trinity Bay State High School, Cairns State High School, St Augustine's Catholic College, Mareeba State High School, Atherton State High School, Innisfail State College and Tully State High School.
One of the emerging trends in the molecular sciences is the use of computer simulations to design new technology - ranging from new medicines through to new aerospace materials. The lectures described how computer simulation techniques work, how they have reached impressive levels of sophistication and how they can go where experiments cant't, revealing atomic-level insights about the shapes of molecules and how they behave.
"We had a great visit from Elizabeth. Her talk was pitched at the correct level for students and she covered concepts that we have in our curriculum. We sent out Chemistry classes and year 10 Maths Science Enrichment classes. Thanks again to the Business Liaison Association for this opportunity".
Robyn Cowie, HOD Science, Cairns State High School