Manjot and Catherine here! Today is our last day at LIYSF! Wow these two weeks just flew by! We started off the day with breakfast and then our final keynote lecture with Professor Lee Cronin on Chemputation. Dr. Cronin is a Professor of Chemistry at the University of Glasgow. Dr. Cronin talked about his recent work on the digitization of chemistry and creating a programming paradigm for matter and organic synthesis and discovery called Chemputation which uses the world’s first universal programming language for chemistry called XDL! His team designs and builds their own programmable chemistry robots!
After the lecture we had a short break for lunch and then it was time for the participants forum. Here we were given three topics and got to debate for or against them as a group. One topic was whether there should be a database with everyones DNA sequenced. Another topic was on the automation of work and the last topic was on the safety of GMO crops and animals. After the debate session was the closing ceremony! We still can’t believe this is our last day at LIYSF! At the ceremony we thanked all the staff, LIYSF supporters, and all those that made the forum possible. We watched a video with highlights from the forum!
We had some time after the ceremony and before dinner so we started packing! After we finished packing we headed out for our last dinner at LIYSF and the farewell party! At dinner we got to sign our friend’s shirts and notebooks. It was a mix of emotions, a bittersweet moment as we said goodbye to our friends! These past two weeks have been a blast from interesting lectures to scientific excursions, and exploring London together! The absolute highlight of the forum was getting to meet fellow science enthusiasts from all over the world! We learned about their cultures, made some awesome friends, and we’re just so thankful for this incredible experience that’s given us lifelong memories! -Manjot and Catherine <3