Four academics at University of St Andrews honoured by the Royal Society of Chemistry

Fife, Scotland, 12-5-2015 — /EuropaWire/ — Four academics at the University of St Andrews have been honoured by the Royal Society of Chemistry.

Professor Sharon Ashbrook is the Royal Society of Chemistry Corday-Morgan Prizewinner for 2015.

Professor Ashbrook is a physical chemistry professor at the University. The award recognises the year’s most meritorious contributions to chemistry. Her research focuses on the application of multinuclear solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy techniques.

Professor John Irvine is the Royal Society of Chemistry Sustainable Energy Award winner for 2015.

Professor Irvine focuses on clean energy conversion and production, specialising in fuel cells, batteries, solar energy and the productions of new low-carbon fuels. He searches for new materials for use in energy, designing these at the atomic scale, characterising them as components, building devices, evaluating them, and demonstrating how they might be scaled up.

Professor Russell Morris is the Royal Society of Chemistry Peter Day Award winner for 2015.

Professor Morris works in developing specific types of new materials that are solid but have gaps or channels through them that are wide enough for molecules of other substances to pass through. Some of these kinds of materials are already used in everyday products like water softeners and household detergents. His group thinks new materials can be created with similar properties that might be able to help medicine by speeding up the wound healing process or prevent bacterial infections on medical devices.

Professor David O’Hagan is the Royal Society of Chemistry Organic Stereochemistry Award winner for 2015.

Professor O’Hagan is a specialist in organofluorine chemistry. His team has conducted a wide range of research using fluorine, including using one form of fluorine (the fluorine-18 isotope) for imaging in medical PET (positron emission tomography) scans. They have also worked on creating particular fluorine compounds for use in a range of products such as pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals.

Dr Robert Parker, Chief Executive of the Royal Society of Chemistry said: “It is always a pleasure to recognise excellence in the chemical sciences and I am pleased to acknowledge the illustrious achievements of our prize and award winners this year.

“Whether they work in research, industry or academia, our winners are the very best in their fields, and they can be very proud to follow in the footsteps of some of the most influential and important scientists around the world.”

Notes to news editors

The Royal Society of Chemistry is the world’s leading chemistry community, advancing excellence in the chemical sciences. With over 53,000 members and a knowledge business that spans the globe, we are the UK’s professional body for chemical scientists; a not-for-profit organisation with 170 years of history and an international vision of the future.

The Royal Society of Chemistry’s Prizes and Awards recognise achievements by individuals, teams and organisations in advancing the chemical sciences.

More information on Royal Society of Chemistry Prizes and Awards

http://www.rsc.org/awards-funding/awards

Photos of the academics honoured are available. Contact Communications Office.

Issued by the University of St Andrews Communications Office, contactable on 01334 467310 or proffice@st-andrews.ac.uk.