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CNIE group members Maria Mourkou, Nidhi Kapil, Matthew Chin, Ibrahim Alnutaifi and Shuxian Jiang conducted lab tours for the Year 12 students during the Taster Day event on 13 February. The purpose of these tours was to introduce the students to the field of Chemical Engineering and illustrate how the Nature-Inspired Solutions Methodology can address significant challenges in Health, Materials, Energy, and Catalysis. The participants showed great enthusiasm for the innovative research showcased during the tours, asked plenty of intriguing question indicating their keen interest in the field. This experience provided them with fresh perspectives and insights into the role of Chemical Engineering in addressing real-world issues and contributing to societal advancements.

On 14 February, Marc-Olivier Coppens also presented a Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²ÊÖÐÌØÍø Masterclass in Chemical Engineering on the topic of Nature-Inspired Chemical Engineering (NICE). This was for the 4^th year in a row, and was attended by 105 Year 12 students (16-17 years old, widening participation). Many of our attendees were from London boroughs, but we also had students joining us from Norfolk, Middlesborough, Bedfordshire, Stoke-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire, Kent, Surrey, Leicester, Durham, Sutton, Wakefield, Northumberland… almost every county! It was wonderful to receive so many excellent questions and see the audience engaged.This young talent gives hope for the future.

On 24^th February, Marc-Olivier and Matthew participated in the Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²ÊÖÐÌØÍø Chemical Engineering Centenary Alumni Event, where Marc-Olivier gave an oral presentation on NICE and the CNIE to alumni spanning eight decades. Marc-Olivier also gave a tour of the Department of Chemical Engineering, during which there was a chance to show the NICE labs, where alumni were greeted by Matthew, who also showcased the direct laser writing facility (Nanoscribe) for high-resolution 3D printing. During the tour, Matthew presented how the Nanoscribe instrument was used in the context of his research – fabricating microscale structures to model complex tumour microenvironments. The event was a huge success with a lot of the alumni impressed by the breadth and depth of research conducted at the CNIE.