Robert Phipps during graduate open day 2017, Nathan Pitt, ©University of Cambridge
Professor Robert Phipps has been awarded a European Research Council consolidator grant for research into enantioselective radical chemistry.
Chemical reactions that are driven by radical mechanisms are rapidly growing in importance, but it is an ongoing challenge to control enantioselectivity in those that form stereocentres. The grant will fund an ambitious program which will apply innovative and unexplored ion-pairing strategies to control enantioselectivity in a variety of important radical chemistries for which there are no or limited existing methods for imposing enantiocontrol.
Phipps said: “I am extremely grateful that my proposal was selected for funding in this very competitive call. I am excited about the chemistry that my group will be able to explore over the coming five years with this fantastic opportunity!”
The ERC awarded grants to 321 researchers across Europe this year, and eight of those went to Cambridge researchers. These grants are awarded to scientists to pursue their most promising blue skies research and establish themselves as leaders over a period of five years.