ProfessorDonna Blackmond

Biography
Date Role
2004-Present
Professor of Chemistry, Professor of Chemical Engineering and Chemical Technology, Chair in Catalysis, Imperial College London
1999-2003
Professor of Physical Chemistry, University of Hull, Kingston-upon-Hull, England
2002-03
Woodward Visiting Scholar, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
2003
Miller Institute Visiting Professor, University of California - Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
1996-99
Research Group Leader, Max-Planck Institut für Kohlenforschung, Mülheim-an-der-Ruhr, Germany
1992-95
Associate Director, Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA
1989-92
Associate Professor, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
1990-91
NSF Visiting Professorship for Women, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
1984-89
Assistant Professor, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
1989
Visiting Scientist, CNRS Institut de Recherches sur la Catalyse, Lyon, France
1984
PhD Chemical Engineering, Carnegie-Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
1980
BS Chemical Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Research Interests
My Research interests focus on studies of complex catalytic organic reactions, with emphasis on application in pharmaceutical processes. Detailed kinetic and mechanistic investigations in our group aim to blend the quantitative aspects of chemical engineering together with organic chemistry to achieve a fundamental understanding of complex catalytic reaction networks, particularly in asymmetric catalysis. Our experimental focus is on reaction progress kinetic analysis, a methodology that combines the collection of accurate experimental data via a variety of in-situ tools for continuous reaction monitoring together with kinetic modelling in order to propose and test mechanistic models for reaction networks.