prof. dr. ir. Stefan Bon 🏳️‍🌈🎸🐕

Sun beams through foggy UK grass land

Sunrise with early morning fog in a UK park.

Beautiful walk this morning.

Welcome to all new students to the University of Warwick the coming week. In Chemistry around 200 UGs and 60 PGs will join our vibrant community. I am looking forward to meeting and interacting with many of you. Let's do great science, together! 🧪🍎🥽

The entitled salary of the UK's PM is £172,153. It is time we cap the salaries of university management in the UK well below this threshold. Now there is a start to save on running costs.

May be see if a "Klamm" is nearby. Still a water adventure then :-)

Any airborne particle (aerosol) is obviously good (what the study does). Studying shape variation would be great, away from spheres. I mean inhalation of natural asbestos dust or other silicates is far from pleasant. The word microplastics IMO is just thrown into it.

This theory study looks through modeling how spherical particles could be taken up. It does not look at microplastics but any hypothetical spherical particle. It seems to suggest that the denser the particle, the worse. So why not focus on silicates and metal oxides instead? Clickbait. #plastic

4) Help with teaching some polymer chemical engineering and physics to a 3rd year module discussing gels and solubility, and leading several labs on radical polymerization in homogeneous and heterogeneous systems. 🥽🍎🧪

3) My module on "polymer colloids" revised with a new textbook draft and some new sections. Open to higher year science UGs and all PG students. We discuss, emulsion polymerization, colloid motion and stability, rheology, industrial applications, and environmental fate and sustainability. 🧪🍎🥽

2) A module "chemical reaction engineering and data processing". Here we will introduce to science students a chemical engineering way of thinking to chemical reactions highlighting reactor design and choice and how to interpret data to existing or new models. 🥽🍎🧪

1) A module "plastics: the good, the bad, the future" is open to ALL at the Warwick on both UG and PG level. Here we will teach polymer science, engineering, and manufacturing. How polymers are made and why these materials are chosen. We will discuss societal and circularity challenges.

A key objective of a university is to teach the next generation. To transfer knowledge in a way that students learn how to reason and innovate. It is not just data transfer. To reinforce this, I will be teaching a lot in the coming academic year, with pleasure. @uni-of-warwick.bsky.social

Afbouw van plastic kan alleen als er afbouw komt van de consumptiemaatschappij en de economische verslaving daaraan. Simpelweg zeggen minder plastic is makkelijk; waar vervang je het mee? Precies, de enige 'groene' mogelijkheid is, met niks. Maar tja, dat willen die 120 landen helaas niet....

The actual word has been around for centuries, though recently it features in many, many papers. I wonder why? Could it be AI? Haha.

On page 180 and counting. I guess I will end up around 300.

The use of the word ubiquitous in scientific papers of the last couple of years is indeed ubiquitous. Sigh. 🧪🍎🥽

The letter states that due to polymer processing by others it becomes unfeasible. This is where a lot of the problems are. During processing into products additives, pigments etc are added. Mostly unregulated and by many small companies all doing something different. Recycling becomes a nightmare.

Interesting discussion with @jamestapper.bsky.social today on the Global Plastics Treaty. The elephant in the room: consumerism and the global economy addicted to it. Without addressing the need to go for durable and repairable products and not opt for "fast" or "single use", humanity will be lost.

Added a small extra chapter after colloid motion...rheology of dispersions.

Yes, it will be a textbook for people who wish to get into the field.

Chapters will be: 1) Introduction to colloids. 2) Emulsion polymerization. 3) On colloid motion. 4) On colloid stability. 5) Industrial applications 6) Sustainability and Environmental Fate.

Five years ago, during the COVID lockdown I wrote the first version of my polymer colloids course as an online e-book. I am finally converting and updating it to a (digital) textbook, and try it out this fall/winter. After that, the plan is to release it. 🥽🍎🧪

Absolutely not a doomer attitude. I agree there are many uses of products that are totally unnecessary. Still humanity produces it, still we all consume it. To single out plastics as the "bad" material without addressing overconsumption is in my view oversimplified.

It is easy to say "must reduce production", but this inevitably means humanity must reduce consumption, which I am sorry to say people as a whole will not do. A second point: what will you replace plastics with? It will be challenging to find environmentally sustainable alternatives.

a woman is holding a pair of glasses and says that 's all Alt: Meryl Streep is holding a pair of glasses and says that 's all in the Devil wears Prada.

Our response:

Warwick marketing ‘fiasco’ shows ‘education isn’t a luxury brand’ Experts warn institutions against losing sight of their purpose, as more details emerge about university’s prolific spending on PR activities

Warwick marketing ‘fiasco’ shows ‘education isn’t a luxury brand’ www.timeshighereducation.com/news/warwick...

We will be more active here on bluesky with what we are up to in our research team, and our teaching activities at the University of Warwick. Finally gave up on X.

The BonLab delegation attending the 2025 IPCG Conference in Sète, France.

We had a fantastic time at the International Polymer Colloids Group 2025 Conference in Sète, France.

Talk ready: CHECK. Flights on time:CHECK. On my way to the best polymer colloids event in the world. #IPCG2025

Awards for Alex Fletcher and Mars Poxon — BonLab Alex Fletcher , a 4th-year PhD researcher working on sustainable polyester dispersions and a team member of BonLab, won best research talk at the annual Department of Chemistry symposium at the Univer...

www.bonlab.info/blog/2025/6/...

Warwick drives green growth with £13m EPSRC hub in plastics — BonLab New 7-year £13.6M Manufacturing Research Hub in Sustainable Engineering Plastics between the University of Warwick, the University of Manchester, and UCL announced by UKRI/EPSRC.

www.bonlab.info/blog/2025/6/... 🧪🍎🥽

Alex Fletcher from BonLab wins a best talk award at the University of Warwick Chemistry Postgraduate Symposium 2025.

Many congratulations to Alex Fletcher who won a best talk award at today's annual @warwickchem postgraduate symposium. Fantastic news for the team. #Sustainability #warwickuni 🥽🍎🧪