Green and Sustainable Chemistry Symposium - a celebration of 25 years of the journal Green Chemistry

Liam Ball obtained his undergraduate degree from the University of Bristol, UK. Following doctoral studies with Dr Chris Russell and Prof. Guy Lloyd-Jones FRS at the University of Bristol (2009-2013), he moved to the University of Edinburgh as a postdoctoral researcher with Prof. Guy Lloyd-Jones FRS (2014-2015). Liam was appointed as an Assistant Professor at the University of Nottingham in 2015; he was promoted to Associate Professor in 2022, and to Professor in 2024. He currently holds a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship. 

Antoine is a Royal Society University Research Fellow and Professor of Sustainable Polymer Chemistry  in the Department of Chemistry at the University of York.
His research focuses on the development of polymers derived from renewable resources (e.g., carbohydrates, CO2, vegetable oils...). The ultimate goal of this research is to produce more sustainable polymers, to address the challenges associated with the intensive use of non-degradable polymers derived from fossil fuels.

Mark is Director of the Biorenewables Development Centre. He holds a degree in Biochemistry and Chemistry, and a PhD in molecular cell biology. His career has spanned the academic-industrial interface driving innovation for the bioindustries, first as a researcher in biocatalysis for sustainable commodity and fine chemicals manufacturing. He later managed complex interdisciplinary programmes with CoEBio3 and Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies. Mark is a passionate advocate for the role of biotechnology in growing a prosperous and sustainable future economy. He sits on the BioYorkshire Steering and Industry Advisory Groups and the Industrial Biotechnology Leadership Forum and was co-author of the IBLF National Industrial Biotechnology Strategy to 2030.

The lecture will describe the development of new catalysts and synthesis methods using organophosphorus and organosilicon chemistry and their application to the synthesis of active pharmaceutical ingredients. In particular new methods for the construction of carbon-nitrogen bonds using carboxylic acids as nominal electrophiles will be discussed

Glenn Hurst was recently made a full professor of green chemistry education at the University of York where he specialises in applying systems thinking-based approaches for green chemistry instruction at all levels. He has made several important contributions to engaging students with green chemistry through the development of resources, modules and programmes that have been adopted internationally. In recognition of these achievements, he has been the recipient of multiple honours and is regularly invited to present his work internationally.

Tomislav Friščić is the Leverhulme International Chair in Green and Sustainable Chemistry at the University of Birmingham. He received his B.Sc. in Zagreb (2001), Ph.D. in solid-state photochemistry (Iowa, 2006), and was a post-doctoral researcher with William Jones (Pfizer Institute for Pharmaceutical Materials Science, Cambridge, 2008). He was a Canada Research Chair in Mechanochemistry and Solid-State Chemistry (McGill University) until 2022. His group is developing greener synthesis through mechanochemistry, photochemistry and thermochemistry, resulting in ~300 publications, two “CleanTech” companies, and recent awards ACS National Award for Affordable Green Chemistry, RSC Corday-Morgan Medal, NSERC John C. Polany Award.

Nikil Kapur is Professor of Applied Fluid Mechanics at the School of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Leeds. He held the RAEng Chair in Pharmaceutical Processing for 5 years, working with colleagues from GlaxoSmithKline to improve the efficiency of secondary processing. His chequered past includes a first degree in Chemical Engineering, and he works extensively with colleagues in the Institute of Process Research and Development at Leeds in developing technologies for flow chemistry. He has a particular interest in developing controlled fluidic equipment, for example reactors for multiphasic flows, flow electrochemistry and liquid-liquid phase separators that bridge laboratory and process-scale chemistry.

Alison's research group are focussed on developing new bioelectrochemical tools and techniques to understand the electron transfer mechanisms that drive life. Alison did her MChem and PhD (DPhil) at the University of Oxford, before getting a Merton College Junior Research Fellowship, working in the research group of Fraser Armstrong. Alison's group are part of the wider Chemical Biology grouping in B block lower, and they have particularly important collaborations with David Gavaghan in Computer Science at Oxford, and Alan Bond a world-famous electrochemist based in Monash University.

Kylie Vincent is Professor of Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Oxford. Her research interests are in hydrogen in biology, and hydrogen-driven biotechnology for cleaner chemical manufacturing. She co-founded the University spin-out company, HydRegen, in 2021. She is a passionate supporter of diversity in science and enterprise, recently serving as the University of Oxford’s Academic Champion for Women in Entrepreneurship and currently as Associate Head (People) for the Department of Chemistry. She is a Co-Director for Oxford’s Centre for Doctoral Training in Inorganic Materials for Advanced Manufacturing, and a theme co-lead for the Bath-Oxford Innovation Centre for Sustainable Technologies.

Charlotte Willans is a Reader in Synthetic Inorganic Chemistry. She joined the School of Chemistry at the University of Leeds in 2009 as an independent Royal Society Research Fellow. She was a member of the Institute of Process Research and Development (https://www.iprd.leeds.ac.uk/) at Leeds where she established collaborations with chemical and mechanical engineers to develop electrochemical reactor technology and automation for metal catalyst synthesis and screening. Charlotte moved to the Department of Chemistry in York in 2023 and is continuing her research programme in the development of sustainable catalytic processes, with continued collaboration with industry and with engineers in Leeds.