MacDiarmid Emerging Scientists Association (MESA)

The MacDiarmid Emerging Scientists Association (MESA) was formed in 2010 to expand the opportunities available to MacDiarmid Institute PhD students and postdoctoral researchers. It works to improve networking among them and establish a sense of community.

MESA provides a valuable role in the management structure of the MacDiarmid Institute, acting as a hub for our emerging scientists. MESA was an initiative of our emerging scientist cohort and is a representative grouping encompassing all PhD and PDRs supervised by MacDiarmid Institute Investigators. MESA actively initiates and delivers a range of workshops and seminars, creates and delivers on outreach opportunities and networking, and works with the Director and Deputy Directors to help deliver on initiatives such as the new Industry Internships and the commercial scoping projects.

The Chair of the MESA Committee is a member of the Science Executive; this together with the formal structure and function that MESA have adopted, offers an outstanding avenue for developing leadership throughout our membership.

Contact us and get involved

MESA encourages all PhD students and postdoctoral researchers within the MacDiarmid Institute to participate with the many technical workshops and networking events organized throughout the year. There are many ways to get involved and see what events are coming up. Follow us on social media or contact us through email to get started.

The annual bootcamp is a three-day retreat in some scenic location focusing on a specific topic (in the past 'spectroscopy', 'soft matter', and 'surfaces' have been themes) attended by around 35 MESA members. MESA currently awards ten international travel grants for conference attendance and research trips, split over two rounds per year. Other events and activities include video/media competitions to publicise the Institute's science, outreach programmes (often coordinated with local schools), and whatever else the committee might be passionate about that year.

MESA Executive

The MESA executive consists of the traditional triumvirate of chair, treasurer, secretary, joined by a representative from each university at which the MacDiarmid Institute has a presence to form the rest of the committee.

Centre Representative and other general committee roles are self-nominated (so get in touch if you're interested!), and if there is competition they are voted on at the AGM held at the annual Institute Symposium each year. The executive roles are filled in the same way, with some weight given to those who have served in another position on the committee previously. Centre representatives are responsible for organising at least one workshop and one social event at their university each year, and for liaising between MESA members at their location and the wider institute.

The entire committee works together to administer the larger projects like the annual bootcamp and international travel grants, and meets by videoconference every second week to discuss these projects, ensuring regular communication between all centres.