Professor Timothy Donohoe FRSC

Winner: 2022 Tilden Prize

University of Oxford

For innovative development of catalytic methods that activate organic molecules by redox processes.

Celebrate Professor Timothy Donohoe

#RSCPrizes

So much of modern life is based upon molecules that have useful properties, and this is underpinned by synthesis.

Professor Donohoe’s work concentrates on making carbon-carbon bonds, which provide the skeleton or framework of a vast array of molecules. Some of these have fascinating and useful properties (for use in pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, dyes, and polymers for example).

By harnessing the unique reactivity of a metal catalyst, his research group has been able to uncover some new and powerful ways of making C-C bonds which will allow synthetic chemists to access new compounds and explore their properties. These new methods of synthesis have a promising future in chemical synthesis due to their high efficiency and lack of toxic by-products.

Read winner biography

Professor Tim Donohoe was an undergraduate at the University of Bath (1985–1989). In 1989 Tim studied at the University of Oxford for a DPhil with Professor Steve Davies and then in 1993 went to the US (Austin, Texas) for postdoctoral work with Professor Phil Magnus FRS.

In 1994 he took up his first independent job as Lecturer in Chemistry at the University of Manchester, being promoted to Reader in 2000. In 2001 he moved to the Dyson Perrins Laboratory, Oxford, as Lecturer in Chemistry and Fellow of Magdalen College. In 2004 he was appointed Professor of Chemistry at the University of Oxford and was Head of Organic Chemistry at Oxford (2006–2011).

Tim’s research interests lie in the field of redox chemistry, catalysis and the application of this methodology to natural product synthesis. He has published over 200 research papers and his research has been recognised with the GlaxoWellcome Award for Innovative Chemistry (1996), the Pfizer Academic Award (2000), the Novartis Young Investigator Award (2001), the AstraZeneca Award for Organic Chemistry (2002), the Royal Society of Chemistry Corday-Morgan Medal (2006), the RSC Synthetic Organic Chemistry Award (2011), the SCI Process Chemistry Award (2012), the RSC Charles Rees Award (2014) and an EPSRC Established Career Fellowship (2014). He was an editor for the journal Tetrahedron Letters (2015–2021) and Chairman of the Tetrahedron Board (2018–2021).

Q+A

Who or what has inspired you?

I had an inspirational chemistry teacher at school (Ron Hayes) who really sparked my interest in chemistry, and especially organic chemistry which I was drawn to upon first contact! After school I was fortunate enough to learn an awful lot from three outstanding scientists during my time at university (Tim Gallagher, Steve Davies and Phil Magnus).

What advice would you give to a young person considering a career in chemistry?

If you have a deep interest or passion for chemistry then I would very much encourage you to pursue a career in the subject. In my opinion, chemistry will give you an opportunity to develop a career in an area that you find fascinating and that will also benefit society as a whole; this is a real privilege. So, study hard and seek out areas that intrigue you.

Why is chemistry important?

I think that chemical synthesis is important because it gives scientists the ability to actually make molecules that are interesting and potentially useful, so that their properties may be explored and then optimised. So much of modern life is based upon molecules that have useful properties, and this is underpinned by synthesis. Even in the 21st century we still encounter big problems when trying to make the molecules that we want, so there is much to learn and to improve.

What is your favourite element?

I have always been interested in the transition metals and the application of their unique reactivity to organic synthesis. I have a soft spot for two elements, osmium and iridium, that are extremely useful to organic chemists and which have underpinned much of our research over the years. Interestingly, both of these elements were first isolated by Smithson Tennant.