The chemistry of Ijeoma Uchegbu

Published by Hodder Press, Chain Reaction is a dive into the chemistry that underpins our everyday existence. 

Woven within this narrative on the chemistry of everything is a further story about Ijeoma's life - charting her journey from a childhood in foster care in 1960s England, to her move to Nigeria in the 1970s after the end of the Nigerian civil war, to her return to the UK as a single mother of three children studying for a PhD, where she ended up designing medicines to tackle blindness.

For this special event, Ijeoma discussed her book and her journey as a writer with John Naughton, Emeritus Professor of the Public Understanding of Technology at the Open University, a columnist for The Observer, and a past Vice-President of Wolfson.

“What a fabulous evening that was. I loved writing Chain Reaction, and I would go back and write it all again just to live through the sheer joy of the experience once more. Writing was wonderful, but it was even more special to be able to share the book’s launch with so many of my friends, family, and colleagues. A big thank you to everyone who turned up, organised the event and most importantly a big thank you to everyone who took home a copy of Chain Reaction. The debt is all mine.” 

- Professor Dame Ijeoma Uchegbu

Find out more

If you missed a chance to hear Ijeoma's talk, she has also recently featured on episodes of two BBC Sounds podcasts: Start the Week and Private Passions. 

Photography

All photographs from the event are available to view on the College Flickr. Photography by Alex Lau.