Following a hiatus owing to the global COVID-19 pandemic during 2020 and 2021, the Scottish NMR Users Group (SNUG) Annual Meeting returned in 2022 as an in-person event, with over 25 NMR users in attendance for a two-day conference in Stirling. Thanks to the lead organiser John Parkinson, with assistance from Nicholle Bell and other key players, SNUG 2022 brought together the universities of Glasgow, Dundee, Edinburgh, Heriot-Watt, St. Andrews, Strathclyde, and Cancer Research Horizons (Beatson Research Institute). The broad applications of NMR spectroscopy were presented spanning chemistry, structural biology, materials sciences, drug discovery, solid-state NMR, developments in pulse programs and their applications, and NMR data management. Sessions on Day 1 included “Methods in NMR Data Acquisition and Handling” chaired by Brian Smith in the morning and quick-fire poster presentations followed by a lively poster session in the afternoon. All participants took time out to enjoy the exceptionally fine weather and were able to summit the Wallace Monument atop Abbey Craig and later enjoy, over an evening dinner, good company and the excellent venue and hospitality provided by the Stirling Court Hotel. Day 2 saw a morning session on “Solid-State NMR” chaired by Nicholle Bell, which included an excellent tutorial on solid-state NMR delivered by Daniel Dawson of St. Andrews University, and this was followed by a session on “Biomolecular NMR” chaired by Ken Cameron. The afternoon session was chaired by Ridvan Nepravishta covering “NOMAD and SHARPER”. An important aspect of SNUG meetings is the genuinely relaxed approach, which is purposely fostered and that enables all participants to make equal contributions to all discussions ranging from funding and operation of facilities to the future shape of workshops and training programs. Chaired by Guy Lloyd-Jones, the final discussions on these matters, towards the close of the meeting, provided an impetus to ensure that SNUG remains vibrant and extends its reach in future years. SNUG looks forward to returning in 2023, as part of the EUROMAR Conference in Glasgow during July.
See below for the final programme and some photos from the meeting!
