Uchegbu, Ijeoma

Dame Ijeoma Uchegbu is a Professor of Pharmaceutical Nanoscience at University College London and President of Wolfson College, University of Cambridge. She is also an honorary Professor in the Pharmacology Department of the University of Cambridge. Dame Ijeoma is an educator and inventor of new medicines. Dame Ijeoma has also done stand-up comedy at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and performed a comedy set in London's Leicester Square.

Chain Reaction was written to show the world the wondrous chemistry of everyday life. Starting from the premise that Chemistry is everywhere and everything is chemistry, the book talks about the chemistry of us, our foods, our clothes, our buildings and even our pollutants. The book also weaves Dame Ijeoma's amazing life story into the narrative. Her life started with her being fostered at birth to a White family in Kent and then to a life in rural post-war Nigeria, culminating in her experience as a single mum and doctoral student in London. Along the way Dame Ijeoma gets married twice and has four daughters. She is also a grandmother to four grandchildren. Her zest for life shines through in the book and her chemistry explanations and life story are all told with warmth and humour.