Tahjna Robertson was recently awarded a PhD in Chemistry (2024) from the Faculty of Science and Technology, The UWI Mona. Her passion for Chemistry was sparked in high school, where she was inspired by the encouragement of an outstanding Chemistry teacher who recognized her potential. This early influence deepened her interest in the subject, leading her to pursue a BSc in Chemistry and Biochemistry at The UWI Mona, which she completed in 2018. During her undergraduate years, she earned significant recognition, receiving the prestigious L.J. Haynes award in 2016 and the Cedric Hassall scholarship in 2018 for her academic performance. These accomplishments fuelled her ambition to further her studies in Chemistry and as such she matriculated into the MPhil/PhD programme in 2018.

Supervised by Dr. Peter Nelson, her thesis entitled, “A Density Functional Theoretical and Experimental Study of the Spectroscopic Properties, Hydrolytic Degradation Behaviour and Copper (II)-Sensing Features of Some Benzylideneanilines” centred on the evaluation and preparation of small molecular sensors for copper detection, utilizing both experimental and theoretical approaches to advance sensor design. She looks forward to continuing her contributions to the field of Physical Chemistry, particularly in the areas of computational chemistry and sensor technology. Outside of her research, Tahjna enjoys mentoring students and sharing her passion for Chemistry. She aims to continue acting as an ambassador of science through promoting scientific literacy and helping to train the next generation of scientists.

Photo caption: Tahjna Robertson.

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