1 May 2014
SCI member Prof William Kerr has been elected to Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
Prof Kerr works within the Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry at the University of Strathclyde and was appointed to the endowed 1919 Chair of Organic Chemistry in 2011. Following the award of a personal Professorial Chair in 2002; he is responsible for a research team of nine research co-workers.
He is also Director of the University of Strathclyde and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Collaborative MPhil and PhD Programme and Doctoral Training Centre in Synthetic and Medicinal Chemistry launched in 2009, and now possessing approximately 60 PhD research students.
In response to a congratulatory letter from SCI Prof Kerr said 'As you might imagine, I feel very honoured to have been elected to Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. It is wonderful for my research team, Department, University, and family. This has been a combined achievement.'
The Kerr team's research activities have led to contributions to knowledge and the development of new methods in a number of individual preparative fields and, in particular, within the broad area of metal-mediated processes as applied to organic synthesis and asymmetric transformations. The novel techniques from the Kerr laboratories have also been applied in a range of total synthesis programmes.
SCI has an interview with Prof Kerr exploring why he studied chemistry and his career to July 2012 (below).
Prof Kerr has been a member of SCI for many years and encourages his students to become members.
The Royal Society of Edinburgh was established in 1783, and its founding mission is the 'the advancement of learning and useful knowledge'. There are more than 1500 Fellows from Scotland, the rest of the UK and beyond, representing disciplines such as science, business and the arts, ensuring that the RSE can provide leadership and excellence across all areas of public life. New Fellows are elected each year via a rigorous five-stage nomination process.
Visit Blog