Having been adopted as our official group mascot, when he's not keeping an eye on our nonequilibrium chemistry, Max the Demon is fond of travelling. Here you can keep up with his adventures!
Max's Travels
Max in Szczecin and Berlin, August 2026
Max made the most of his weekend to tick off two countries for the price of one! First he explored the pretty architecture and curiously curved trees of the Baltic port town of Szczecin, before heading to Berlin for bratwursts, beers and Brandenbourg gates!
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Max on the Isle of Arran, August 2026
Max recently visited the Isle of Arran, just across the boarder in Scotland. He went on many a walk exploring both hills and waterfalls, before making sure to pick up some cheese and whisky to bring back! The next group meeting was full of cheese, crackers and chutney!
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Max on Crete, July 2026
Max joined Stefan for a quick jaunt to Crete. Spectacult beaches and sunsets were a key feature, as they also explored some ancient ruins and monasteries.
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Max at Lake Como, July 2026
Max accompanied Martha to Lake Como to celebrate her acing her first year viva! There was a lot of delicious food, swimming and relaxing in addition to exploring the towns on the lake.
Max at the Systems Chemistry GRC and New York City, June 2026
Max joined Stefan as he went to the GRS and GRC on Systems Chemistry in Portland, Maine. Stefan was invited as the Keynote Speaker for the GRS, giving a talk titled Navigating Reaction Networks, and also gave a talk to the main GRC conference on Catalysis-Driven Active Transport. Max had a great time meeting old and new friends of the group (pictured, long time friend and collaborator of the group, Dr Emanuele Penocchio), and then managed a weekend stop off in New York on the way home!
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Max at Pint of Science, Durham, June 2026
Max went to support Stefan's outreach talk at Pint of Science at the Amateur Rowing Club in Durham. Max was pleased to spot himself in Stefan's talk on Wrestling With Demons: How Do We Control How Molecules Move?. He also enjoyed talks on How Crystals Secretly Shape Our World by Stefan's departmental colleague Professor Aurora Cruz-Cabeza and The Chemistry of Coffee by Chris Howell.
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Max in Tuscany and Umbria, May 2026
Max's constant travel took him to Italy this time! Excellent food and pretty waterfalls were central.
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Max in Andalucia, April 2026
Max went to Andalucia in Spain for Easter. He enjoyed some excellent weather, castles and sherry!
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Max in Scotland (again!), April 2026
Max was back in Scotland. His travels took him to Assynt and the coast. He also made sure to visit Dufftown, where he took great interest in the kinetics of whisky maturation.
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Max in Morocco February 2026
Max's most recent journey took him to Morocco, where he explored ancient kasbahs and got acquainted with camels and sand in the Sahara.
Max at the Oxford Pharmaron Early-Career Research Symposium, February 2026
Max joined Stefan for a trip to Oxford. Stefan gave a talk at the Pharmaron Early-Career Research Symposium, and enjoyed chatting to the other speakers (Dr Mattia Silvi, Dr Beatrice Collins, Dr Joshua Barham) and Oxford students at the poster session. Thanks to Prof. Matt Fuchter and Prof. Steve Fletcher for organising a fun and very interesting day.
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Max in Transylvania, January 2026
Max popped to Romania for some sunshine, snow and lots of pretty old castles and fortified churches.
Max at MASC, Milton Keynes December 2025
Max joined Willow for the annual pre-Christmas MASC conference which this year was held in Milton Keynes! As well as supporting Willow at her excellent poster, Max enjoyed a side trip to Bletchley Park, where he learned a bit more about information processing at the macroscopic scale!
Max on Gran Canaria, November 2025
Winter sun for Max! A weekend on Gran Canaria was a most welcome get-away from the November snow in Durham!
Max in Riga, Tallinn and Helsinki November 2025
Max's next stop was a little tour of the Eastern Baltic Sea. He immersed himself in lots of history and delicious game-y food. He enjoyed familiarising himself with the work of Paul Walden - a Latvian-born chemist whose work on stereochemistry is commemorated with a statue in Riga!
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Max's Autumn in Scotland, September 2025
Max popped up to the Scottish Highlands a couple of times to check out the Autumn colours.
Max in Paris, September 2025
Before returning to start her PhD, Martha took Max on one last jaunt to Paris, where they enjoyed some lovely weather and saw all the key sites. Both are now raring to get back to doing some chemistry!
Max and Martha's Grand Tour of Italy, July 2025
Martha, having completed here MChem degree, has been enjoying a well-earned break travelling round Italy! Of course, she had to take Max with her.
He travels started in the north, brushing up on Max's fashion in Milan, and then keeping his toes dry in Venice. This was Max's second time in Venice, clearly demonstrating his fondness for aqueous solvent for his chemistry.
Martha and Max then headed south to take in some culture and architecture in Florence and Pisa. Max was particularly fascinated by how the tower in Pisa was maintained in a clearly nonequilibrium position!
The pair finally headed to Rome and Pompeii, to brush up on their Roman history and finished up with pizza's in Sorrento. Martha informs us that Max went heavy on the chilis on his pizza!
Martha and Max had a lovely time overall, though both have said how much there are missing chemistry and the lab. We in the lab are delighted that Martha will soon be back with us for the start of her PhD, with many more Max adventures to come.
Max in Southwest England, July 2025
Willow took Max to keep her company as she visited friends in the South West. The pair got up to all sorts, seeing pre-history, history and some lovely beaches!
Max in Gdańsk and Kashubia, July 2025
Max joined Stefan for a look around the Polish city of Gdańsk on the Baltic coast. The pair then retreated to Kashubia to enjoy some time on the numerous lakes in the region.
Max in Japan, June 2025
Max took a trip to Japan to attend ISMSC 2025 in Kyoto. He enjoyed supporting Stefan during his talk, meeting lots of supramolecular chemists, and managed to explore the country a little too.
Max in Veneto, April 2025
Max joined Stefan for a quick Easter jaunt to the Veneto region of Italy. As well as enjoying the mountains and the lagoon, the pair found time to catch up with a good friend and collaborator (Dr Ben Roberts) in Padova. Topics of discussion involved the differences between chemical and photochemical processes, and what the key aspects of kinetics are for organic/supramolecular chemists.
Max on the Outer Hebrides, April 2025
Max accompanied some colleagues up to Scotland for a spot of walking, whisky and a whole lot of work discussions. Consequently, Max has developed newfound interests in crystallisation, enantioselective catalysis and the nature of anti-bonding orbitals!
Max on Skye, April 2025
Max popped up to a surprisingly sunny Scotland to explore the Isle of Skye. He enjoyed the dramatic landscapes, although his trident was reclaimed by the sea!
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Max on Capri, March 2025
Max's Mediterranean explorations took him to the beautiful island of Capri in Italy, where he enjoyed the cliffs and spring flowers.
Max in Catalonia and Aragon, February 2025
Max headed to north east Spain to explore the hills. He also got a little wet when he fell into the sea!
Max on Tenerife, January 2025
Max made the most of some very cheap flights to continue his volcanic explorations, this time on Tenerife! He enjoyed the weekend wandering the volcanic hills.
Max at MASC, York, December 2024
Max joined the group at the annual Royal Society of Chemistry Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry Conference in York. He enjoyed some fun chemistry, exploring York, getting into the Christmas Spirit and eating pizza!
Max on Lanzarote, November 2024
Max enjoyed a weekend break on Lanzarote! He felt right at home in the old volcanoes, and even ventured to the beach.
