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\u2018We often learn about the same well-known scientists,\u2019 says Anisah Hussain, a fourth-year student at Imperial College London, UK. \u2018I was really interested in the opportunity to shed light on some scientists who have equally as important contributions to chemistry but have perhaps been overlooked.\u2019<\/p>\n
Hussain is one of a group of students and staff from Imperial, Queen Mary University London and the University of Greenwich who have teamed up to produce a series of\u00a0resources<\/a> \u2013 including posters, videos and podcasts \u2013 highlighting minoritised chemists. The \u2018Missing Elements\u2019 project has now profiled over 100 past and present black, Asian or minority ethnic figures in chemistry. \u2018There\u2019s quite a stereotypical view of who a scientist or chemist is,\u2019 says Hussain, adding that she hopes that students and lecturers using these resources will help change that. \u2018It\u2019s important to have a diverse range of people who can offer different perspectives.\u2019<\/p>\n Tippu Sheriff<\/a> at Queen Mary University London tells Chemistry World that the project initially started after two students approached one of their lecturers, asking: \u2018How come in chemistry we only hear about white scientists?\u2019 The lecturer\u2019s response, Sheriff says, was that if they knew of more examples of minoritised chemists and their contributions to chemistry, they would happily use them in their lecture. Helpfully, the students \u2013 who were heavily involved in the university\u2019s chemistry society \u2013 had already produced some videos and lecture slides.<\/p>\n Sheriff then approached the students to see whether they would be interested in taking their resources further and, aided by a grant from the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), they formed a small team in the summer of 2020.<\/p>\n The project grew after Sheriff reached out to Sweta Ladwa, who was developing similar materials at Greenwich, and James Wilton Ely at Imperial. \u2018That\u2019s how the three universities come together,\u2019 says Sheriff, describing it as \u2018a natural fit\u2019. Since then, the team has grown to have a steady number of around 12 students and staff, he says. Many of these work on resources alongside their studies or during the summer holidays.<\/p>\n The group initially focused on expanding the range of lecture slides and fact files to cover a broader set of minoritised chemists, but has also developed short videos and is now foraying into the world of podcasts.<\/p>\n A student\u2019s perspective<\/p>\n Queen Mary University PhD student Samaneh Aranji<\/a> says that being involved in this project was meant to be. She says that she often feels like she has three targets on her back. \u2018I\u2019m Iranian, I\u2019m female, I\u2019m also Muslim,\u2019 she explains. \u2018So sometimes I may walk into a room and feel inadequate because of this, but this is just not the case.\u2019 She continues: \u2018These are not reasons why you are any less of a person in comparison to the person next to you.\u2019<\/p>\n When she told her mum about the Missing Elements project, \u2018her face just lit up\u2019. \u2018Imagine other people\u2019s reactions when they see that we are doing something towards making the curriculum more inclusive and more diverse,\u2019 she says.<\/p>\n Aranji became involved in the project during a secondment split between the RSC\u2019s race and ethnicity team and the Missing Elements group. She has since continued to be involved in the project, now by acting \u2018as \u2018a bridge between students and academics\u2019. This primarily involves quality-checking resources that other students make before handing them over to staff, like Sheriff.<\/p>\n Beyond helping to produce materials on a range of minoritised chemists, supervising students has shown Aranji that getting involved with the project has had other benefits. For example, she helps train students how to work professionally, share their ideas in meetings and communicate science to a wide audience.<\/p>\n
![\"Amir](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/552160_picture2_357004_crop.jpg\")
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