fb-pixel Dr Ahu Gumrah Parry visits Mill Hill School - Mill Hill Schools

News

Dr Ahu Gumrah Parry visits Mill Hill School

On Monday our Lower Sixth Form pupils studying Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Design and Technology, and Art were invited to listen to an excellent guest speaker. Dr Ahu Gumrah Parry visited us from the University of Manchester’s School of Materials to talk on the subjects of Women in Science, Nanomaterials, and Biomimicry.

“I work on Biomimetics, in particular mimicking the structural colouration in nature. It is an unusual way of making colour, creating a metallic iridescent and very striking colouration just by organising a material at nanoscale. Butterflies and beetles do this very well. Studying them and understanding how they achieve this has inspired us to produce materials with very unusual properties.” Ahu Parry 

The pupils filled our Music School recital hall at lunchtime to listen raptly to the talk and examine a range of butterfly wings and beetle carapaces. Dr Parry was kind enough to share some cutting edge results from her research. Our pupils were engaged and attentive throughout and many stayed behind afterwards to ask questions and inquire about summer research opportunities.

Mr Watterson, Sciences