Wine, Water and Weapons: Adventures in Electrochemical Detection

Talks on Tuesdays: Real lectures in your favourite venues. 45-min& Q+A with Dr Magdalena Wajrak,o Perth Launch Event Talks on Tuesdays is a live event series bringing big ideas, real experts, and curious minds together - at your favourite local venues. Think thought-provoking lectures, audience questions, and post-talk mingling over drinks and dinner. This isn’t a uni lecture. It’s a social, intelligent night out.Come alone or with friends, leave with something to talk about. Event Schedule: 6.30pm Arrival & Doors Open 7pm Lecture Starts 7.45pm Q&A 8pm Talk Concludes 8.30pm Event Closes. *Please arrive close to 6.30pm A La Carte menu and full bar available throughout the night - pay as you go. Your Topic: Wine, Water and Weapons: Adventures in Electrochemical Detections. Metal ions are everywhere. They are found in the water we drink, the wine we enjoy and in the forensic evidence left behind at crime scenes. This talk explores how electrochemists can now detect trace amounts of metal ions in wide range of samples using a simple, yet highly sensitive analytical technique, which continues to find new applications more than 100 years after its invention. The audience will be taken on a journey through a myriad of applications of voltammetry: from monitoring arsenic contamination in groundwater, to detecting lead in rainwater, measuring copper in wine, monitoring nickel and cobalt exposure in mine workers and analysing gunshot residue for forensic investigations. Through a series of research projects and collaborations, the talk will explain the science behind the development of in-field voltametric methods for the detection of metal ions down to parts per trillion (ppt) and how these methods are providing practical solutions for environmental monitoring, workplace health, and forensic investigations. Your Speaker: Magda is a senior lecturer in chemistry in the School of Science at ECU. She holds a PhD in Quantum and Theoretical Chemistry from UWA and a Graduate Diploma in Secondary Education from ECU. Her interdisciplinary career spans academia, industry and government laboratories, providing a unique perspective on the application of chemistry to real-world challenges. Magda’s research focuses on analytical chemistry, electrochemistry, and materials science, with particular expertise in the development of practical, sensitive, and field-deployable voltametric methods for the detection of trace metal contaminants in environmental, industrial, and biological samples. More recently, her research has expanded into development of novel catalysts for electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide gas into value added molecules, such as ethylene. As both a researcher and educator, Magda is passionate about bridging fundamental chemistry with practical applications, inspiring the next generation of scientists, and advancing technologies that address pressing environmental and industrial challenges.