Andrew Zbigniew Szydlo

Background

Szydlo was born in 1949 in London, England, to Polish parents.

Education

He studied at Imperial College London and University College London, where he earned MSc and PhD degrees, along with DIC and ACGI qualifications. He is a Chartered Chemist (CChem) and Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry.

Career

Szydlo has taught chemistry at Highgate School since January 1975, building a career spanning several decades in secondary education and community outreach, including work with students from underprivileged backgrounds.

Alongside his teaching career, he has developed an international reputation as a public lecturer and demonstrator of chemistry, delivering presentations at institutions such as University of Cambridge, Durham University, University College London, and the Royal Institution, as well as at major science festivals worldwide.

Between 2014 and 2024, he delivered a series of widely attended public lectures at the Royal Institution, including Magic of Chemistry (2014), Blaze of Steel (2015), Fireworks and Waterworks (2016), Bonfires with a Bang (2017), Chemistry of Coal (2018), Metal Mayhem (2019), Chemical Wonders (2022), The Explosive History of Hydrogen (2022), The Volcanic Chemistry of Sulfur (2024), and Explosive Chemistry (2024), many of which have been made available to a global audience online.

His public engagement has achieved significant reach through digital platforms, with recorded lectures and demonstrations widely viewed on YouTube, alongside acclaimed TEDx presentations delivered in Newcastle and Manchester, further extending his impact as a science communicator.

He has also contributed to science communication through television appearances, including That'll Teach 'Em (Channel 4, 2006), Sorcerer’s Apprentice (CBBC, 2007), Absolute Zero (BBC4, 2007), Generals at War (National Geographic, 2009), Big, Bigger, Biggest (Channel 5, 2009), and Secrets of Everything (BBC3, 2012).

In 2015, he published Schoolmaster’s Diary, a photographic chronicle reflecting four decades of school life through his work as a chemistry teacher.

In addition to teaching and public engagement, Szydlo is a historian of science specializing in alchemy. He is the author of a major scholarly work on Michael Sendivogius, contributing to research on early chemistry and the history of oxygen discovery.

Achievements

• He was awarded the Pearson National Teaching Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2020 in recognition of his sustained contribution to chemistry education and public engagement.

References

• Andrew Szydlo Andrew Szydlo Performance Chemist and Educator