UCT master’s student Thobela Bixa has won the prestigious Telluride Sidgwick-Miller Scholarship for 2011/2012, an award that will allow him to further his career at the University of Michigan in the US. Based in the Department of Chemistry, Bixa is conducting research on asymmetric synthesis, which involves the use of what’s known as chiral catalysts to synthesise biologically active compounds that are potential drug leads. “The two projects (from UCT and UM) will give me a broader experience, understanding, and knowledge of asymmetric synthesis, a current hot topic in the field of organic chemistry research,” commented Bixa on the scholarship. In picture, Bixa appears with his UCT supervisor, Prof Roger Hunter.