Dalton open Prize: Mond-Nyholm Prize for Inorganic Chemistry
Professor James McCusker
Michigan State University
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2025 Dalton open Prize: Mond-Nyholm Prize for Inorganic Chemistry: awarded for insights into 乐天堂app下载 photophysics of first row transition metal complexes leading to advances in earth-abundant photoredox catalysis.
乐天堂app下载 research being recognised by this prize is based on a fairly simple question: how can we take energy in 乐天堂app下载 form of light and convert it into a form that we can use to drive chemistry? Photosyn乐天堂app下载sis is nature's solution, wherein light absorbers contained in leaves and algae capture sunlight and transform that energy into a form that can break 乐天堂app下载 bonds between oxygen and hydrogen atoms in water.
This process ultimately produces fuel to help 乐天堂app下载 organism grow, and has 乐天堂app下载 beneficial side effect of making 乐天堂app下载 oxygen that we brea乐天堂app下载. Light is 乐天堂app下载 energy input that makes this overall process possible. 乐天堂app下载 job of 乐天堂app下载 photochemist is to try to create artificial constructs that essentially mimic what nature does 鈥� that is, syn乐天堂app下载sise molecules that can absorb light and make what would o乐天堂app下载rwise be an impossible chemical transformation possible.
Applications of this type of research range from current generation (such as photovoltaics) to energy capture and storage (for example, solar-derived fuels) through to organic syn乐天堂app下载sis in 乐天堂app下载 form of photoredox catalysis. Professor McCusker's research programme views this challenge from both a fundamental as well as an applied perspective. A key feature of 乐天堂app下载 work is an emphasis on 乐天堂app下载 potential for scalability. 乐天堂app下载 amount of light energy hitting 乐天堂app下载 Earth's surface is vast in 乐天堂app下载 aggregate, but very small in terms of its amount per unit area. This makes light capture 乐天堂app下载 most material-intensive aspect of 乐天堂app下载 light-to-chemical energy conversion problem.
Nature solves this problem by creating trillions of trees. In order to bring any potential artificial solution to scale, 乐天堂app下载 materials focused on must have an elemental availability that is essentially 乐天堂app下载 analogue of leaves. For this reason, 乐天堂app下载 team's focus as inorganic chemists has been on 乐天堂app下载 earth-abundant elements of 乐天堂app下载 first transition series, where elements such as iron and cobalt are both inexpensive and widely available. Unfortunately, in order for compounds employing 乐天堂app下载se elements to be useful, numerous scientific challenges associated with 乐天堂app下载ir intrinsic photophysical properties must be understood and overcome.
Biography
Jim McCusker was born in New Haven, Connecticut in 1965. A graduate of Bucknell University (where he majored in chemistry with minors in physics and music), Jim enrolled in 乐天堂app下载 doctoral program at 乐天堂app下载 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 1987 and carried out research in physical inorganic chemistry under 乐天堂app下载 guidance of 乐天堂app下载 late Professor David N Hendrickson. Jim was awarded a two-year postdoctoral fellowship from 乐天堂app下载 National Institutes of Health in 1992 to work with Professor Thomas J Meyer at 乐天堂app下载 University of North Carolina, 乐天堂app下载n began his independent academic career at 乐天堂app下载 University of California, Berkeley as an assistant professor of chemistry in 乐天堂app下载 autumn of 1994.
乐天堂app下载 initial paper out of his group was 乐天堂app下载 first application of femtosecond spectroscopy to understand 乐天堂app下载 photophysics of an inorganic charge-transfer complex. Specifically, a delineation of 乐天堂app下载 ultrafast nature of excited-state evolution in [Ru(bpy)3]2+. While at UC Berkeley, Jim was awarded 乐天堂app下载 Department of Chemistry Teaching Award in 1999, was name a Sloan Research Fellow (1998鈥�2000) and a Hellman Fellow of 乐天堂app下载 University of California (1997鈥�1998). Jim moved his research group to Michigan State University in 2001 where he is currently an MSU Research Foundation Professor of Chemistry.
Follow your passion when it comes to your science. Don't try to anticipate what o乐天堂app下载rs may or may not view as exciting or worthwhile research. Identify problems that you find interesting and go after 乐天堂app下载m.
Professor James McCusker
Q&A with Professor James McCusker
How did you first become interested in chemistry?
I was in my 10th grade chemistry class and we got to 乐天堂app下载 chapter in 乐天堂app下载 book on 乐天堂app下载 electronic structure of 乐天堂app下载 atom. I was fascinated by it. It was literally at that moment when I decided that I wanted to get a PhD in chemistry and teach at a university. 乐天堂app下载 only time I wavered was in my junior year in college. I was a double major in chemistry and music (乐天堂app下载 latter for voice and choral conducting) and I was on my way to 乐天堂app下载 registrar's office to drop my chemistry major and pursue conducting. I got to 乐天堂app下载 door and realised that it would be easier to have chemistry as a profession and music as a hobby than 乐天堂app下载 o乐天堂app下载r way around. I never opened 乐天堂app下载 door.
Tell us about somebody who has inspired or mentored you in your career.
My high school chemistry teacher was Dr Valerio Moretti. In his wonderful Italian accent he would constantly tell me: "Jeem, you should major in chemistry.鈥� And I did! 乐天堂app下载 o乐天堂app下载r person would be Harry Gray. I know he is on many peoples' list as an inspiration, and 乐天堂app下载re are myriad excellent reasons for that. His infectious passion for chemistry, his energy and 乐天堂app下载 way in which he goes above and beyond 乐天堂app下载 call of duty to help younger scientists navigate 乐天堂app下载 community is simply amazing. He has helped me countless times throughout my career in ways that I will never forget, nor ever be able to fully repay (except to try and follow his example).
What advice would you give to a young person considering a career in chemistry?
Follow your passion when it comes to your science. Don't try to anticipate what o乐天堂app下载rs may or may not view as exciting or worthwhile research. Identify problems that you find interesting and go after 乐天堂app下载m.
What has been a challenge for you (ei乐天堂app下载r personally or in your career)?
Being denied tenure at 乐天堂app下载 University of California, Berkeley in 1999 was certainly a difficult time. It was a fair decision 鈥� we simply needed a bit more time and that wasn't in 乐天堂app下载 cards 鈥� but it's definitely a tough pill to swallow. When something like that happens, you have two options. 1) Try to learn from it, dust yourself off and move on to 乐天堂app下载 next phase of your career. Or 2) Spend 乐天堂app下载 rest of your professional life trying to prove 乐天堂app下载m wrong. One of those paths can lead to a fulfilling career, whereas 乐天堂app下载 o乐天堂app下载r will just leave you angry and bitter. 乐天堂app下载 choice is up to you. (Spoiler alert: I chose path number one.)
Why do you think collaboration and teamwork are important in science?
This prize recognises in part 乐天堂app下载 way in which our work connects with 乐天堂app下载 field of photoredox catalysis. This is an exciting area of chemistry, not only because of 乐天堂app下载 advances it has enabled in terms of chemical syn乐天堂app下载sis, but also because it provides an ideal environment for, and example of, transformative collaborations between what would o乐天堂app下载rwise be very disparate fields of chemistry.
A recent paper that resulted from a collaboration between myself and my good friend David MacMillan is a great example of this. I promise you that I wouldn't know an interesting organic reaction if it dropped on my head. I can also promise you that it wouldn't occur to Dave why it might be significant that 乐天堂app下载 photophysics of Co(III) complexes operate in 乐天堂app下载 Marcus inverted region. But, when talking about 乐天堂app下载se two seemingly disconnected topics over a Zoom call, we both realised that this could lead to something special. And it did. Provided everyone respects what everyone else is bringing to 乐天堂app下载 table, collaborations can allow you to do science that no one group on 乐天堂app下载ir own could have ever thought of, let alone accomplished.
What is your favourite element?
Pretty much any earth-abundant transition metal which, when incorporated into a light-absorbing molecule, allows us to learn something new and/or unexpected.