School of Chemistry Colloquium: Dr Valentina Erastova (University of Edinburgh)

Title: Let's talk about dirt: from environmental sorptive materials of Earth to biosignatures in Space.

Abstract
‘Where to land the next Mars rover?' and ‘How much drugs are in our soils?' – to answer these questions, we must look at the fundamental processes at the mineral and material interface.

In this talk, I will discuss work within my group and our approaches to the development of molecular models of two important sorptive materials – black carbons and smectite clays. I will also show how the use of atomistic simulations provides us with information about the physicochemical processes at their interface, which I find so exciting!

The goal of my group is to facilitate the uptake of molecular modelling, and to assist in the development of environmental pollution remediation materials, understanding seasonal fluctuations of the pollutants in water bodies, constructing mineral-assisted origin of life hypotheses, and guiding our search for biosignatures in Space.