Research

Petra's poster success

Published 23 September 2011

A presentation on the work of University of Brighton scientists has won an international award.

The prize for an outstanding poster presentation was awarded at the 7th European Conference on Mineralogy and Spectroscopy in Potsdam, Germany, to Dr Petra Kristova, a technician and PhD candidate in the university's School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences.

The presentation, supervised by Dr Ken Rutt from the school and Dr Laurence Hopkinson from the School of Environment and Technology, focused on the university's work on quantification of carbonate mineral mixtures by Raman spectroscopy.

The purity and quality of commercially-important carbonate minerals found in nature vary considerably hence characterisation of their mixtures is of great interest to mining and other industries.

Raman spectroscopy is an analytical technique that offers rapid identification of materials, with unique fingerprints for materials and their polymorphs. Minimal sample preparation and recently developed portable equipment enable in situ monitoring. This technique enables testing on site and, therefore, saves industry time and money.

Dr Rutt, a senior lecturer, said: "During the time that Petra has been working on this project at the interface of chemistry and geology, she has proved to be an outstanding research scientist and it is great that her endeavours have been recognised internationally."