iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Stephen Argent

University of Nottingham UCU branch @uonucu.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

And when we fight together by standing in solidarity, we win. See you all on the picket line (which happens to start tomorrow at 8:30 at University Park, West Entrance). With love, UoN UCU (Photo by @tregenza.bsky.social)

042

Reposted by Stephen Argent

University of Nottingham UCU branch @uonucu.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Our strike action began today. The management at our university has seemingly shackled itself to course closures and compulsory redundancies, despite neither being financially necessary. So we fight for our members, our students, and our community until they change their minds.

12618

Reposted by Stephen Argent

The Journal of Immaterial Science @immaterialscience.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

We’re proud to announce the launch of the smallest NMR ever invented: the 1 MHz spectrometer. PDF: www.immaterialscience.org/2026/pocketnmr

02312

Reposted by Stephen Argent

Chemistry World @chemistryworld.com · 20/05/2026

The chemistry department at the University of Nottingham is set to lose 14 out of 46 of its academic staff, leading to warnings that teaching and research will suffer. www.chemistryworld.com/news/notting...

chemistryworld.com

Nottingham’s chemistry department faces loss of 30% of faculty amid university-wide staff cuts

The department's technicians and support staff are also at risk

1148

Reposted by Stephen Argent

Tony Padilla #JFT97 Don’t buy the S*n @proftonypadilla.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

Dear academic colleagues. Please sign and share this open letter expressing your support for Physics & Astronomy at Nottingham, as the university plans unnecessary and devastating cuts. One in three academics staff expected to lose their jobs nottinghamphysics.github.io/Open_Letter/...

nottinghamphysics.github.io

Save Nottingham Physics and Astronomy

01012

Reposted by Stephen Argent

Astronomer Royal for Scotland | Catherine Heymans @astroroyalscot.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

Yesterday, 56 of our fab colleagues at the Physics & Astronomy dept in Nottingham, received “at risk of redundancy” letters. The Uni is planning to reduce the size of the Physics dept by almost a third.🧪⚛️🔭 Sign this petition to show them your support ✍️: nottinghamphysics.github.io/Open_Letter/

Petition statement

We, the undersigned, call on the University of Nottingham to reverse its plans to impose compulsory redundancies on its staff in the School of Physics and Astronomy.

The University threatens to cut twenty members of staff out of the seventy one currently in the School. On 12 May, fifty six of those members of staff received letters notifying them that they were at risk of redundancy. This affects academic and technical staff at all levels, from Research Fellows to Professors.

1115183

Stephen Argent @steppphhhen.bsky.social · 16/05/2026

This is a very good factual description of the risks to the School of Chemistry at University of Nottingham if the management doesn't pull back from the devastating announced cuts to staff. The University College Union has put forward a counter proposal that does not require drastic cuts to staff.

0135

Reposted by Stephen Argent

Michael O’Neill @michaeloneill.org · 16/05/2026

I've tried to collate the public data on Nottingham's teaching to help everyone make some noise about the proposed redundancies. Please sign the petition if you feel able. www.michaeloneill.org/blog-1/2026/5/16/nottingham-redundancies-briefing-data

michaeloneill.org

Nottingham Redundancies: Briefing Data — Michael O'Neill

The University of Nottingham has served notice to staff in its Chemistry Department that they are at risk of redundancy. This blog is intended to do two things: Publicise the petition to oppose t...

11310

Reposted by Stephen Argent

Thomas Penny @thomaswpenny.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

If anyone in government has a few minutes to run the country in between plotting leadership challenges, could they please cast their eye over the devastation of Higher Education in the UK. www.theguardian.com/education/20...

theguardian.com

Thousands of University of Nottingham staff told they are at risk of redundancy

Institution says it could run out of money by 2031 and wants to cut more than 600 academic and support posts

2267132

Reposted by Stephen Argent

Chris Cummins @christianccummins.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

Come on #Lego, it's time to lift the heinous discrimination 😉 and, as a gesture of contrition, send Sir David a lego penguin for his big day.

It is Sir Ddavid Attenborough and a sign saying lego is for ages 4-99

113541

Stephen Argent @steppphhhen.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

Amazing. This is so much more wholesome than a Bobby Fingers video.

010

Reposted by Stephen Argent

Grae Hall @graemation.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

A little behind the scenes video of the puppet build for Small Prophets. You even get to see my hands! 👋 #SmallProphets #BehindTheScenes

1818252

Stephen Argent @steppphhhen.bsky.social · 23/01/2026

Structural Analysis of Coordination Cage/Guest Complexes Prepared with the ‘Crystalline Sponge’ Methodology www.mdpi.com/2073-4352/14... Well done Chris Taylor and James Williams for finishing up these structures for a nice paper in Crystals.

Children's shape sorter cube toy with holes for various shapes including an irregular hole to fit spacefilling views of of vanillin and naphthaldehyde. Semi-AI generated slop, beacuse when AI tries to draw a molecule it ends up looking almost, but not quite, entirely unlike a molecule.

030

Reposted by Stephen Argent

David Cooper @davidbcooper.bsky.social · 24/12/2025

It’s amazing how faithful The Muppet Christmas Carol is to the original novel.

213532

Stephen Argent @steppphhhen.bsky.social · 06/11/2025

Lift broken this week so the SuperNova has mostly been drinking hand hauled moonshine out of an Onion Dewar.

$A single crystal diffractometer instrument in a research lab. The cryostream accessory has a liquid nitrogen feed line coming from a small and comically rotund 25 litre onion Dewar instead of the more usual 60 litre barrel type Dewar. Oh how we giggled.$

020

Reposted by Stephen Argent

University of Nottingham UCU branch @uonucu.bsky.social · 20/10/2025

Strike action continues this week! Please join us for the following events as we withhold our labour from a university that continues to unnecessarily threaten our livelihood:

TEACHOUTS

Lecturers are on strike.
Come learn.

Upcoming teachouts:

What is Chaos:
Martin Richter,
10am 14/10/25,
Mrs B’s catering cafe

Exposing Empire: War, Capital & Palestine:
Victor Kattan & Andreas Bieler,
6pm 14/10/25,
Coates Road Auditorium

The social construction of mental illness:
Ella Guerin,
12pm 20/10/25,
Online

133

Stephen Argent @steppphhhen.bsky.social · 19/08/2025

Did they all have their Wikipedia pages vandalised in the late noughties?

Screen grab of the Wikipedia page for coronene taken in 2009 when persons unknown added "sphincterene" to the other names section.

250

Stephen Argent @steppphhhen.bsky.social · 18/08/2025

If you don't want to see a picture of my cute pet I'll have to post it to you instead.

A fluffy Chow Chow puppy sitting in a cardboard box

170

Stephen Argent @steppphhhen.bsky.social · 06/08/2025

Many thanks again to @rscadvances.rsc.org @materialsadvances.rsc.org for their generous sponsorship of our PGR Symposium poster prizes. Congratulations again to Alice Nottingham and Sean Hoggett for their terrific posters!

Photo of the School of Chemistry post-graduate symposium poster session in full flow taking place in the iconic GSK Carbon Neutral Laboratory Winter Garden atrium. PG and staff researchers mingle together amongst posters in the sunny sub-tropical atrium, discussing their science whilst refereshing themsleves with delicious cold Castle Rock Session IPA (upfront hoppy aromas of grapefruit with a soft bitterness - vegan friendly and gluten free) all made possible by our generous sponsors GPE Scientific, Julabo, Apollo Scientific, Biotage, RSC Publishing and Sygnature.

030

Reposted by Stephen Argent

Rosie Young @rosieyoung.bsky.social · 31/07/2025

Come work with me! The synchrotron is hiring a *permanent* MX beamline scientist with chemical crystallography experience. If you like crystals and fixing things, this is the job for you! 👩‍🔬🔧💎🤖 australian-nuclear.contactrh.com/jobs/12/4355...

australian-nuclear.contactrh.com

Beamline Scientist - MX

11416

Stephen Argent @steppphhhen.bsky.social · 12/07/2025

Not often inspired to try and improve my life by following tips on social media, but I might give this a go.

050

Stephen Argent @steppphhhen.bsky.social · 13/06/2025

Diffractometers like to throw shapes.

010

Reposted by Stephen Argent

No Score Draws ✍🏻⚽ @noscoredraws.com · 22/05/2025

About last night… 💙 (Been drawing since the final whistle and now we’re finished & we’ve made NEW mugs and fellow Spurs fans if you feel like sharing the heck out of these we would appreciate it so so much #COYS #COYS #COYS) 🛒 noscoredraws.com/products/spu...

78490125

Stephen Argent @steppphhhen.bsky.social · 16/05/2025

Love your photos of the four fold symmetric patterns in the Bahia palace! I spotted this rare example of a cheeky Kagome pattern taken in the entrance to the small Riad. People were just walking straight over it 🙄.

Hexagonal tiling photograph taken off a floor in the Bahia palace, Marrakesh.

130

Stephen Argent @steppphhhen.bsky.social · 04/05/2025

How much more fun would the Fourier transform be if the moons were random?

Tiling from the floor of the Duomo di Siena alongside a Fourier transform of the image.

110

Stephen Argent @steppphhhen.bsky.social · 01/05/2025

Remember to vote early if you're a chow chow, as it's too blinking hot to be doing much after 9am #dogsatpollingstations Broxtowe Beeston North

Avchow chow dog with a somewhat undergroomed blue coat standing outside a polling station in Bramcote

061

Stephen Argent @steppphhhen.bsky.social · 24/04/2025

Many thanks to @benjaminchem.bsky.social for the kind invite to cross the river and visit Nottingham Trent University Chemistry to collect some diffraction data for a naughty incommensurate crystal on their rather marvelous @rigakuoxfordxrd.bsky.social Synergy-DW.

Photo of the river Trent taken from the cycle path of Clifton Bridge looking south. The water is still and pleasingly reflects the blue cloudy sky.

141

Stephen Argent @steppphhhen.bsky.social · 14/04/2025

A treat for anyone that made it to the end of the thread. Happy tessellating and fast Fourier transforming everyone! 23/23

An azulejo tiling picture of Pan in all his naughtiness, alongside a Fourier transform of the tiling image.

020

Stephen Argent @steppphhhen.bsky.social · 14/04/2025

Bit of a naughty pattern that one. 22/999

Side by side images of an AI generated aperiodic azulejo style tiling and a Fourier transform of the tiling image. Wildly tentative wallpaper group guess made by a crude Python script is p4 or p6 (very nope).

100

Stephen Argent @steppphhhen.bsky.social · 14/04/2025

You might need a stiff drink if you've made it this far down the thread. I hope it's coming to an end. 21/999

Side by side images of an azulejo tiling (of the Delirium Tremens Beer Elephants) and a Fourier transform of the tiling image. Wildly tentative wallpaper group guess made by a crude Python script is pmm or cmm.

100

Stephen Argent @steppphhhen.bsky.social · 14/04/2025

I think I can see some systematic absences in this tiling. Or maybe it just needs rotating by 45°. 20/999

Side by side images of an azulejo tiling and a Fourier transform of the tiling image. Wildly tentative wallpaper group guess made by a crude Python script is p4m or p6m.

100

Stephen Argent @steppphhhen.bsky.social · 14/04/2025

The code used to generate these Fourier transform images is on GitHub (apologies in advance) github.com/steppphhhen/... 19/999

100

Stephen Argent @steppphhhen.bsky.social · 14/04/2025

This tiling reminds me of the mind-bending card game "Set" that the group of @nchampness.bsky.social used to play in the office at lunchtime. 18/999

100

Stephen Argent @steppphhhen.bsky.social · 14/04/2025

This tiling is called "The Wedding of the Hen" (www.atlasobscura.com/places/weddi...), and it was probably worth the journey to Lisbon alone (that and the TimeOut market). 17/999

Tiling called "The Wedding of the Hen" alongside a Fourier transform of the image.

100

Stephen Argent @steppphhhen.bsky.social · 14/04/2025

But sometimes everthing is just lovely and you get to see some freaky interpenetration. 16/999

100

Stephen Argent @steppphhhen.bsky.social · 14/04/2025

Sometimes the researcher describes what it is they're trying to do, and you know it's going to be a difficult day (or perhaps year). 15/999

100

Stephen Argent @steppphhhen.bsky.social · 14/04/2025

Sometimes you put a crystal on the diffractometer against your better judgement because the researcher has pleading eyes and has tried so hard. 14/999

Side by side images of an azulejo tiling of broken tiles and a Fourier transform of the tiling image. Wildly tentative wallpaper group guess made by a crude Python script is p4 or p6 (it so really isn't).

100

Stephen Argent @steppphhhen.bsky.social · 14/04/2025

Sometimes you go to the lab with a functionalised polyoxometalate crystal, and you keep saying "please don't be cubic, please don't be cubic". And it is. (you both know who you are) 13/999

100

Stephen Argent @steppphhhen.bsky.social · 14/04/2025

Sometimes you go into the lab with a crystal that you think is so full of promise, and the outcome is underwhelming in the extreme (you crystal service users all know who you are) 12/999

100

Stephen Argent @steppphhhen.bsky.social · 14/04/2025

The script also tries a few different maths-ey things to make the contrast of the Fourier transforms pop a bit more. 11/999

100

Stephen Argent @steppphhhen.bsky.social · 14/04/2025

Most of these transforms were actually taken of a larger tessellated images of the tilings. The script wasn't in a FEL kind of mood and needed a few more unit cells. 10/999

100

Stephen Argent @steppphhhen.bsky.social · 14/04/2025

The Python script chooses colours from the input image to use in the Fourier transform. Maybe CrysAlisPro from @rigakuoxfordxrd.bsky.social could liven things up with a feature like this. Use colours from the video of the crystal to make the diffraction frames more realistic? 9/999

130

Stephen Argent @steppphhhen.bsky.social · 14/04/2025

This tiling gave me the heebie-jeebies as it looks like a load of term symbols. Quick - take a FFT - ah, that's better. 8/999

100

Stephen Argent @steppphhhen.bsky.social · 14/04/2025

So programming credit should go to all the unknown people who wrote and shared code that chatGPT *borrowed* to help me make the script work. Thanks all. 7/999

100

Stephen Argent @steppphhhen.bsky.social · 14/04/2025

When I say I wrote a script, I mean I bellowed instructions at chatGPT which did an amazing job of working out what I wanted it to do. 6/999

100

Stephen Argent @steppphhhen.bsky.social · 14/04/2025

I started tranforming using the web tool here bigwww.epfl.ch/demo/ip/demo... by Daniel Sage et al, but I wrote my own Python script to speed things up. I also have an app on my phone, but it's unsupported and nearly melted the phone. 5/999

110

Stephen Argent @steppphhhen.bsky.social · 14/04/2025

I think you can just about spot the lack of mirror planes in the Fourier transform of this one. The crude script that chatGPT wrote for me thinks this is p4, but I vote p2. 4/999

110