Robin Perutz FRS (born December 1949, in Cambridge) is a professor of Inorganic Chemistry at the University of York, where he was formerly head of department between 2000 and 2004.He is also the son of the

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...

winner

Max Perutz Max Ferdinand Perutz (19 May 1914 – 6 February 2002) was an Austrian-born British molecular biologist, who shared the 1962 Nobel Prize for Chemistry with John Kendrew, for their studies of the structures of haemoglobin and myoglobin. He went ...

. Perutz's research spans inorganic chemistry,

photochemistry Photochemistry is the branch of chemistry concerned with the chemical effects of light. Generally, this term is used to describe a chemical reaction caused by absorption of ultraviolet (wavelength from 100 to 400 nm), visible light (400– ...

and

catalysis Catalysis () is the process of increasing the rate of a chemical reaction by adding a substance known as a catalyst (). Catalysts are not consumed in the reaction and remain unchanged after it. If the reaction is rapid and the catalyst recyc ...

. In particular his interests lie in the mechanistic details of

homogeneous catalysis In chemistry, homogeneous catalysis is catalysis by a soluble catalyst in a solution. Homogeneous catalysis refers to reactions where the catalyst is in the same phase as the reactants, principally in solution. In contrast, heterogeneous catalysis ...

transition metal In chemistry, a transition metal (or transition element) is a chemical element in the d-block of the periodic table (groups 3 to 12), though the elements of group 12 (and less often group 3) are sometimes excluded. They are the elements that can ...

complexes, and is responsible for many techniques used in the field that have enabled chemists to take a different approach to fundamental reactions and many industrial processes.

Education

Perutz graduated from the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

with a BA in

Natural Sciences Natural science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer review and repeatab ...

in 1971. He subsequently worked for his PhD alongside Professor Jim Turner FRS, initially in Cambridge and then at Newcastle University. His focus was on utilising photochemical metal carbonyl dissociation in low temperature matrices, producing seminal work on the interaction of Cr(CO)₅ with ‘inert’ matrix hosts, including CH₄ and Xe.

Awards and distinctions

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

(2010) *Franco-British Prize of the French Chemical Society (2009) * Sacconi Medal of Italian Chemical Society and Sacconi Foundation (2008) *President of Dalton Division of the

Royal Society of Chemistry The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is a learned society (professional association) in the United Kingdom with the goal of "advancing the chemistry, chemical sciences". It was formed in 1980 from the amalgamation of the Chemical Society, the Ro ...

(2007-10) * Nyholm Medal and Lectureship of the Royal Society of Chemistry (2005)

Plenary and invited lectures

* Plenary Lecture ACS Winter Fluorine Conference, Florida (January 2005) * Invited Lecture International Symposium on Photophysics and Photochemistry of Coordination Compounds, Hong Kong (July 2004) * Troisième Cycle Lecturer, Bern, Basel, Neuchatel & Lausanne, Switzerland (May 2003)

Equality and diversity

Perutz has been an advocate for women in science; the Chemistry Department at York became the first to win the

Athena SWAN Athena SWAN (Scientific Women's Academic Network) is a quality charter mark framework and accreditation scheme established and managed by the UK Equality Challenge Unit (now part of Advance HE) in 2005 that recognises and celebrates good pract ...

gold status, an award for good practice on women’s equality. He also supports

STEM Stem or STEM may refer to: Plant structures * Plant stem, a plant's aboveground axis, made of vascular tissue, off which leaves and flowers hang * Stipe (botany), a stalk to support some other structure * Stipe (mycology), the stem of a mushro ...

students with disabilities.

External links

Robin Perutz, personal page

References

1949 births Living people British chemists British Jews British people of Austrian-Jewish descent Fellows of the Royal Society Academics of the University of York {{UK-chemist-stub