About the lecture

In the first and only mini-lecture, the speaker discusses the properties of hydrocarbons like alkanes (Topics 6.2j-6.2o). We mention how alkanes are commonly used as fuels and undergo complete and incomplete combustion, and their sometimes dangerous products. The finite nature of fossil fuels prompts the exploration of alternative sources such as hydrogen, which produces only water as a waste product. However, challenges remain in terms of hydrogen production and handling. Crude oil serves as the main source of hydrocarbons, and fractional distillation is used to separate different hydrocarbon fractions based on their physical properties. The lecture also mentions cracking as a process to convert long-chain hydrocarbons into shorter, more useful hydrocarbons, including alkenes.

About the lecturer

Noha graduated from the School of Pharmacy in Egypt and obtained her MSc and PhD in the field of Medicinal Chemistry. She worked in teaching and research across a number of universities in Egypt and the UK. She joined the department of Natural Sciences at Chester as a lecturer in June 2018. Noha’s main focus of research activity is the discovery and development of novel small active molecules as drug candidates to compact disease with primary interest in cancer research. Her research interests include: the selective apoptosis induction in cancer cells; protein-protein interactions as cancer drug target; and the development of kinesin inhibitors as anticancer agents. At the University of Chester she teaches Chemistry Fundamentals II and Analytical Chemistry.