Elena Besley (née Bichoutskaia) is a British scientist who is Professor of Theoretical and Computational Chemistry at the

University of Nottingham , mottoeng = A city is built on wisdom , established = 1798 – teacher training college1881 – University College Nottingham1948 – university status , type = Public , chancellor ...

. She holds a Royal Society Wolfson Fellowship and is Associate Editor of Nano Letters.

Early life and education

Besley studied

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

at Saint Petersburg State University and graduated with a

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast t ...

(MSci) degree in physics in 1993. In 2000, she completed a joint honours PhD in physics and mathematics at Saint Petersburg State University under the supervision of Alexander Devdariani and joined Queen's University Belfast on a

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

–

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

fellowship.

Research and career

Between 2000 and 2007, Besley had

postdoctoral research A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). The ultimate goal of a postdoctoral research position is to pu ...

appointments at the

, the

University of Sussex , mottoeng = Be Still and Know , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £14.4 million (2020) , budget = £319.6 million (2019–20) , chancellor = Sanjeev Bhaskar , vice_chancellor = Sasha Roseneil , ...

, and the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

. In 2007 Besley was awarded a

Relocation Fellowship at the

and a Visiting Academic Research Fellowship at the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies an ...

, Canberra. At the

, Besley was appointed to Lecturer in Theoretical and Computational Chemistry in 2011, followed by promotion to Associate Professor in 2014, and to Professor of Theoretical and Computational Chemistry in 2015. Besley is featured in an expert database for Outstanding Female Scientists and Scholars “AcademiaNet: Profiles of Leading Women Scientists”. Her research includes the development of theoretical and computational methods for the prediction of materials properties; computational modelling of the behaviour, properties and manipulation of nanomaterials; investigations into the electrostatic interactions and self-assembly of materials; gas storage and interactions in porous solids. She has investigated how the electron beams of transmission electron microscopes interact with materials.

Awards and honours

* 1996 UNESCO Anniversary Award “''for distinguished success in study and scientific activities''” * 2000 Royal Society NATO Postdoctoral Fellowship * 2007 Royal Society UK Relocation Fellowship * 2008 EPSRC Career Acceleration Fellowship * 2012 New Directions for EPSRC Research Leaders Award * 2013 ERC Consolidator Grant * 2017 Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry * 2021 Royal Society Leverhulme Trust Senior Research Fellowship

Select publications

Her publications include: * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Besley, Elena Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Academics of the University of Nottingham Saint Petersburg State University alumni Fellows of the Royal Society of Chemistry Academics of Queen's University Belfast Academics of the University of Sussex Women materials scientists and engineers British materials scientists Computational chemists