Giving Research a New Spin

PEPR Symposium brings experts together from diverse research disciplines to discuss current and future research directions that exploit electron spins

On the 12^th and 13^th of June the Centre for Pulse Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (PEPR), located at Imperial’s White City Campus, gathered approximately 150 researchers from across London, the UK and the EU to assess the status quo and map out the future of Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) spectroscopy.

PEPR was launched in September 2021 and provides the tools to study electron spins across chemistry, physics, engineering, life sciences and medicine. Although it is widely known that electron spins can help to answer a diverse set of research questions, it is much less clear how they can do so. The PEPR symposium contributed to closing this gap through discussions between EPR experts and non-experts, across very different disciplines.

The first day of the Symposium focussed on the role of electron spins in Biology and was supported by the Frances Crick Institute and the Institute of Chemical Biology. The second day explored the importance of unpaired electrons in Materials and Catalysis, with support from the London Centre for Nanotechnology. The programme featured talks by experts in the field of EPR spectroscopy as well as talented young researchers and non-EPR experts.

Introducing an innovative format, each session was followed by a discussion panel comprising both EPR- and non-EPR experts. This format enabled conversations in a wider scientific context, with audience participation. Discussions were continued over Poster sessions and drinks receptions on each day. Young researchers that contributed with talks and posters looked forward to generous prizes sponsored by the International ESR Society (IES), the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) and PEPR.