From Laboratory to Lectureship: A Physical Chemist's Career Journey 

In this talk, Dr. Benjamin Arenas will share his career journey from undergraduate chemistry student to Lecturer in Chemistry Education. He will (very briefly) delve into his scientific research background before exploring his current role at the University of Edinburgh. In mapping out the path that got him to his current position, he hopes to share some perspectives that will be useful for you – whether you are a new postdoc or a seasoned researcher, and whether your next step is a postdoc contract, a junior professorship, a role in industry, or something entirely different! If time permits, he also hopes to share some recent results from his portfolio of chemistry education research. 

Date: 21st July, 2025
Time: 4:30 PM
Venue: Seminar Room 3, Building 1b, Second Floor

About the speaker: 



Since 2023, Ben is a lecturer at the University of Edinburgh in Physical Chemistry Education. He teaches physical and analytical chemistry to undergraduate and postgraduate students and his research portfolio has a focus on education research, encompassing themes such as inclusive learning environments and enquiry based learning in the teaching laboratory.

Ben studied chemistry at the University of Edinburgh. This was followed by a PhD under the supervision of Prof. Melanie Schnell, first at the Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter, and then at DESY and CAU Kiel. Ben is an alumnus of the IMPRS-UFAST and the PIER PhD program. His thesis concerned the study of astrochemically relevant molecules with high-resolution rotational spectroscopy and electrical discharge experiments. After this, Ben continued as a postdoctoral researcher in DESY’s Spectroscopy of Molecular Processes group or FS-SMP, which was coupled with weekly teaching duties at CAU Kiel. In 2022, Ben took up a Teaching Fellowship in Physical Chemistry at Durham University. 

Jointly organised by the PIER Education Platform (PEP) and the Clusters of Excellence CUI: Advanced Imaging of Matter and Quantum Universe.

Photograph: University of Edinburgh