Chemistry

Chemistry

Research

Research Groups

 

Chemistry research in UC SPARK website
Detailed information about the research of individuals, research groups and disciplines.

Academic staff and their major research interests

Environmental

  • S K Gaw - Aspects of environmental chemistry, including fate of contaminants in the environment and human exposure to contaminants.
  • I C Shaw - Toxicology and environmental chemistry, including mechanisms of toxicity, particularly the impact of environmental contaminants on humans.

Inorganic/Bioinorganic/Materials

  • O J Curnow - Ionic liquids based on amino-stabilised cyclopropenium cations: synthesis, properties and applications.
  • A J Downard - Surfacechemistry, electrochemistry and nanotechnology.
  • V B Golovko - Inorganic and materials chemistry for applications in catalysis and nanotechnology, including bio-nanotechnology.
  • R M Hartshorn - Aspects of bio-inorganic chemistry, including the reactivity of chelated ligands, ligand construction on metal ions and the synthesis of metal ion based hypoxic cell selective anti-cancer agents.
  • P E Kruger - Inorganic supramolecular chemistry. Interests are centred in supramolecular chemistry, and involve the design, synthesis and characterization of metal complexes incorporating organic and coordination chemistries.
  • J L Wikaira - Aspects of bio-inorganic chemistry, particularly the synthesis and characterisation of macrocylic complexes that may act as mimics of the active sites of enzymes. X-ray Crystallography: Small molecule crystallography. Structure determination and refinement. Wood Technology: The application of crystallographic techniques to the determination of tensile strength in timber.

Organic/Bioorganic

  • J W Blunt (Emeritus Professor) - Marine natural products; nuclear magnetic resonance.
  • J M Coxon (Emeritus Professor) - Organic reaction mechanisms; organic photochemistry; chemistry of strained ring systems; molecular modelling.
  • A J Fairbanks - Synthetic organic chemistry, carbohydrate chemistry, and applications of carbohydrates in biology and medicine (glycobiology). Research techniques primarily involve organic synthesis, together with biocatalysis and other aspects of chemical biology.
  • M H G Munro (Emeritus Professor) - Antiviral and antitumour compounds from marine sources.
  • E J Parker - Research into evolution and molecular details of enzymic catalysis, spanning the areas of chemistry and biochemistry and involving a range of research techniques including small molecule synthesis, protein purification and manipulation, and molecular biology.
  • A J Pratt - Bio-organic chemistry; synthesis and enzymology related to anti-cancer drugs and herbicides.
  • P J Steel - Synthesis and properties of new heterocyclic compounds and applications to organic, organometallic and coordination chemistry.

Physical

  • D L Crittenden - Theoretical and computational chemistry.
  • C G Freeman - Interactions of gaseous ions with neutrals and their applications to interstellar clouds, planetary atmospheres and combustion.
  • P W Harland - Collisions between electrons/ions and spatially oriented molecules in particle beams; gas phase ion chemistry and ion transport properties.
  • S Masters - Gas-phase molecular structure.
  • R G A R Maclagan (Adjunct Associate Professor) Theoretical chemistry.
  • M J McEwan (Emeritus Professor) - Interactions of gaseous ions with neutrals and their applications to interstellar clouds, planetary atmospheres and combustion.
  • L F Phillips - Laser photochemistry and gas phase kinetics; theoretical modelling of the air-sea interface.
  • G T Russell - Modelling of all aspects of free-radical polymerization kinetics; synthesis of novel emulsion polymers.
  • B E Williamson - Molecular spectroscopy, matrix-isolation and magnetic circular dichroism.

Summary of the Department's research

The research activity of a University Department reflects its vitality. The graduate research programme at Canterbury offers an exceptional opportunity to talented students who are preparing themselves for careers in Chemistry. Canterbury staff and research students are engaged in a variety of projects which cover areas of chemical research of international importance. There are programmes in basic research in inorganic, physical, theoretical, analytical, environmental and organic chemistry. In addition, there are research programmes in applied topics: the chemistry of the soil; pollutants in the environment; the extraction of natural products from marine sponges; and studies directed to understanding chemistry in combustion processes, the upper atmosphere and interstellar dust clouds.

The Department is well equipped with technology of an international standard. Nuclear magnetic resonance, electron spin resonance, mass spectrometers, X-ray diffraction as well as laser and computer facilities are available to all research personnel. The library provides a central resource facility for research and Canterbury carries most of the leading scientific journals in the broad field of Chemistry.

Graduate training at Canterbury is aimed toward developing within each student the ability to do creative scientific research. The most important facet of the programme for a research student is his or her own original research project.

The opportunities for research are favourable and a research environment is encouraged by all staff, most of whom dedicate a large portion of their time to research and are concerned to ensure that the standing of the Department is recognised in the international scientific community.