Preface for Special Issue in Celebration of the 3rd UK Catalysis Conference (UKCC)

Excerpt

Herein, we present a selection of articles submitted in relation to the 3rd UK Catalysis Conference (UKCC) held in Loughborough from the 4^th–6th January 2017. We choose this 3rd conference to solicit contributions in order mark the hat-trick of occasions on which the UK Catalysis community has thronged (the event has always been oversubscribed) together just after the Christmas break to hear and discuss the breakthroughs in the last year or to hear of new revelations and concepts from the leading lights of the discipline from these shores and beyond. It is probably fair to say that part of the success in attracting such a good turnout is the timing of this event i.e. before getting into the throes of the day-to-day that the new year brings. So it is the premier event in the UK catalysis symposium calendar in terms of both timing and attendance. It plays an important role in supporting the endeavours of the UK Catalysis Hub a 4-year old initiative whose ambition it is to (better) establish the catalysis community to ensure it remains a stronghold of UK research excellence in the near and distant future, to realise the impact of catalysis research by its many stakeholders and to nurture the next generation of talent. We nod our heads in acknowledgement that the inspiration for this project originated from our neighbouring European counterparts and our hope is that the UK can emulate them in creating a similarly vibrant network. …