The latest Tonbridge Profile features Professor Neil Allan (Sc 74-78). Neil recently spoke at the Tonbridge International Science Festival, for students from Tonbridge and other local schools, about his passion for Chemistry and his work within the subject area.

Neil left Tonbridge in 1978 but has kept in touch, working with the late Mike Clugston on a number of Chemistry publications over the years. After leaving Tonbridge, Neil read Chemistry at the University of Oxford and, after successfully gaining his DPhil, became a lecturer in Chemistry at University of Bristol. Neil still works at Bristol, which he describes as having the best Chemistry Department in the country.

His research in the areas of quantum, inorganic and computational Chemistry has taken him around the world. Although he is a great fan of nanostructural modelling, his proudest work has been using nanoparticles to remove mercury from the rivers of Colombia, therefore reducing pollution and the likelihood of poisoning. Neil spoke passionately to staff and students at the International Science Festival about the continuation of this work and how it must be developed further to ensure new pollutants are removed.