Date: Tuesday, June 19, 2018
Time: 11:00 AM
Talk Title: Porous Organic Materials Without a Framework
Location: Chemla Room (67-3111)
Biography:
Dr. Neil McKeown studied at the University of East Anglia and received his PhD (1987) in organic chemistry from UEA under the supervision of Prof. M.J. Cook. After four years of postdoctoral research in Canada, working with Prof. C.C. Leznoff (York University) and then Prof. M. Thompson (University of Toronto), he returned to the UK in 1991 to become a lecturer at the University of Manchester. In 2004 he moved to Cardiff University as a Professorial Research Fellow and, since 2014, has been the Crawford Tercentenary Chair of Chemistry at the University of Edinburgh.
Whilst at Manchester he invented a novel class of organic materials termed ‘Polymers of Intrinsic Microporosity’ (PIMs), in collaboration with Prof. P.M. Budd, which show great promise as adsorbents, heterogeneous catalysts and separation membranes. PIMs have recently been commercialised by 3M as the key component in a sensor, which protects the health of workers exposed to high levels of organic vapours. His other current interests are amorphous and crystalline molecular porous materials. Previous honours include the International Young Investigator Award in Phthalocyanine Chemistry (2000) and the RSC/SCI/IOM3 Beilby Medal (2008). He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 2017.
