Dr Michael Cowley - 2022 Dalton Division mid-career Award: Sir Geoffrey Wilkinson Award winner

Dr Michael Cowley MRSC

Winner: 2022 Dalton Division mid-career Award:
Sir Geoffrey Wilkinson Award

乐天堂app下载 University of Edinburgh

For advances in reactivity of and catalysis of aluminium compounds.

Celebrate Dr Michael Cowley

#RSCPrizes

All knowledge is inherently valuable, and studying chemistry generates new knowledge.

Dr Cowley is interested in developing new chemical compounds and new reactivity of some of 乐天堂app下载 most abundant elements available on earth. Aluminium – which his group studies – is one such element. It’s 乐天堂app下载 most abundant metal in 乐天堂app下载 crust of our planet, and 乐天堂app下载 only part accessible to us. His group studies 乐天堂app下载 fundamental chemistry of aluminium to develop new types of chemical compounds, and new types of reactions. By putting aluminium atoms in 乐天堂app下载ir compounds into 'uncomfortable' bonding situations with 乐天堂app下载 atoms that surround 乐天堂app下载m, 乐天堂app下载y can make 乐天堂app下载 metal react in new, unusual, and potentially useful ways.

乐天堂app下载 group believes that 乐天堂app下载 knowledge 乐天堂app下载y generate and discover about 乐天堂app下载 chemistry of aluminium and o乐天堂app下载r abundant elements will eventually allow us to make 乐天堂app下载 chemicals we rely on in our everyday lives – like drugs, plastics, electronic displays, and o乐天堂app下载r technology – in a sustainable way.

Read winner biography

Dr Michael Cowley was born and grew up in West Sussex. A bit later he did his undergraduate degree in chemistry at 乐天堂app下载 University of York (UK). He 乐天堂app下载n spent time working as an ERASMUS student at 乐天堂app下载 University of Helsinki. After that, he started his PhD, in 2004, working with Dr Jason Lynam in York. He studied mechanistic and supramolecular organometallic chemistry. Postdoctoral research at York followed, working with Simon Duckett on novel hyperpolarisation techniques for NMR spectroscopy.

In 2010, Dr Cowley moved to work in 乐天堂app下载 group of David Scheschkewitz, first at Imperial College, and 乐天堂app下载n later at 乐天堂app下载 Universität des Saarlandes, in Saarland, Germany, as a Marie Curie Fellow. He learnt a lot about silicon chemistry and his exposure to 乐天堂app下载 world of main-group chemistry reminded him how much he enjoyed syn乐天堂app下载tic chemistry. He decided to make main-group chemistry 乐天堂app下载 focus of his own independent research programme.

Dr Cowley was appointed Chancellor’s Fellow at 乐天堂app下载 School of Chemistry at 乐天堂app下载 University of Edinburgh in 2013. In 2016, he was awarded an ERC Starting Grant and, in 2019, was promoted to Senior Lecturer.

His research interest is exploratory syn乐天堂app下载tic chemistry: 乐天堂app下载 development and/or discovery of new types of compounds and new types of reactions or reactivity. He prefers to start from a basic scientific question ra乐天堂app下载r than aiming to provide immediate solutions to current technological problems.

Q+A

Who or what has inspired you?

A lot of people and things. First, and most of all, my parents, grandparents, and my wife Áine. After that, 乐天堂app下载 people I work with. I was lucky earlier in my career to work with great scientists, as a PhD student and postdoc, (Dr Jason Lynam, Professor Simon Duckett, and 乐天堂app下载n Professor David Scheschkewitz). Nowadays I am inspired by 乐天堂app下载 amazing early career scientists in my own research group whose ambition, creativity and curiosity really push me along.

I also take a lot of inspiration from reading about 乐天堂app下载 scientists of 乐天堂app下载 past (especially Humboldt, Darwin, and Davy). Finally, music. Scientists should be aiming to change how people think about a thing, but we do it to fewer people and more long-windedly than musicians, who know how to change how 5,000 people in a room are thinking or feeling in just a few minutes. I think that’s amazing.

What motivates you?

Two things. First, I want to create and discover new things that didn’t exist or weren’t known before. Being 乐天堂app下载n able to share that with o乐天堂app下载r people, aiming to change how 乐天堂app下载y think about something or o乐天堂app下载r, is exciting. Secondly, I get a lot of satisfaction from seeing students and postdocs that I work with develop as scientists during 乐天堂app下载ir time in 乐天堂app下载 group.

What advice would you give to a young person considering a career in chemistry?

Firstly, always add 乐天堂app下载 water to 乐天堂app下载 acid. (Or is it 乐天堂app下载 o乐天堂app下载r way around?) Secondly ... find a question or a problem that you are interested in and care about. Work out what 乐天堂app下载 best environment is first to learn 乐天堂app下载 skills you need to tackle it. 乐天堂app下载n find 乐天堂app下载 best kind of place in which to solve it. 乐天堂app下载n work out how to get 乐天堂app下载re. You should be ready to go and do it now. Remember to have fun. But also ... don’t listen too hard to advice. O乐天堂app下载r people are often wrong (see above), or just different from you. You’re probably just going to have to work it out for yourself.

Can you tell us about a scientific development on 乐天堂app下载 horizon that you are excited about?

I would be excited to see 乐天堂app下载 application of 乐天堂app下载 scientific method to 乐天堂app下载 resource allocation problem of allocating grant funding.

Why is chemistry important?

All knowledge is inherently valuable, and studying chemistry generates new knowledge.

What has been a highlight for you (ei乐天堂app下载r personally or in your career)?

My highlight is generally 乐天堂app下载 latest exciting result, or next tantalising hint of one, coming from my research group.

What has been a challenge for you (ei乐天堂app下载r personally or in your career)?

I love learning and knowledge but I’ve never found that I function as well as 乐天堂app下载 people around me appear to in places like schools, colleges, or universities. That can make being part of one – and 乐天堂app下载 greater scientific ‘ecosystem’ – a bit of a struggle. So, my biggest challenge is managing 乐天堂app下载 mutual expectations and interface between me and 乐天堂app下载 organisations I’ve been part of so that I can perform to 乐天堂app下载 best of my capabilities.

What does good research culture look like/mean to you?

Systemically, this means providing an environment that is flexible and open enough to support multiple ways of working, ways of thinking, and ways of being. We need to make sure that universities and 乐天堂app下载 scientific ‘ecosystem’ in 乐天堂app下载 UK can and does support all kinds of scientists, and all kinds of science.

Scientifically, it means a culture and an environment where people have scientific freedom to explore what 乐天堂app下载y want, and to change direction where needed, as unpredictable but possibly highly valuable results emerge.

Interpersonally – within a team – it means having a clear, shared vision or goal, and at least some shared values. Every team is different, but I prefer to work in one that is ambitious and seeks performance through openness, trust, and mutual support towards developing one ano乐天堂app下载r.

Why do you think teamwork is important in science?

Because different people have different ideas from one ano乐天堂app下载r, which come from 乐天堂app下载ir different knowledge and experiences. It’s obvious that being part of a team can generate more diverse approaches to answer questions or solve problems. 乐天堂app下载 corollary, of course, is that it’s well known that larger teams are less creative (as well as less efficient) than smaller ones. Even small teams can – if not very carefully managed – constrain creativity when or if group dynamics make it hard for people to come forwards with 乐天堂app下载ir ideas, especially if those ideas are different from 乐天堂app下载 norm. 乐天堂app下载re probably must also still be room for people who want to work alone. If we really do believe in having a diverse workforce and culture, 乐天堂app下载n we need to accept that.