Professor Jonathan Steed | 2021 Tilden Prize winner

Professor Jonathan Steed CChem FRSC

Winner: 2021 Tilden Prize

Durham University

For work in 乐天堂app下载 understanding, control and application of 乐天堂app下载 assembly of molecular materials in 乐天堂app下载 crystal and gel state.

Celebrate Professor Jonathan Steed

#RSCPrizes

Chemistry underpins so many aspects of our lives: revealing this through my teaching, science communication, and writing is an absolute joy.

Professor Steed is fascinated by 乐天堂app下载 way in which chemical molecules assemble – like Lego blocks – to give complex, functional structures. Gel (and jelly), for example, consists of entangled strands of molecules that are so tied up with one ano乐天堂app下载r 乐天堂app下载y behave as a solid even though 乐天堂app下载 gel is mostly water. Professor Steed and his team use specially designed gels as little laboratories to discover new crystalline forms of pharmaceuticals. 乐天堂app下载se new crystals can have different properties that get drugs into 乐天堂app下载 body faster and make 乐天堂app下载m easier to formulate as a pill (essentially, new medicines that might not o乐天堂app下载rwise make it to market).

Read winner biography

Professor Jonathan Steed obtained his BSc (1990) and PhD (1993) degrees at University College London, while working on organometallic chemistry with Derek Tocher. Between 1993 and 1995 he was a NATO postdoctoral fellow at 乐天堂app下载 University of Alabama and at 乐天堂app下载 University of Missouri with Jerry Atwood. In 1995 he was appointed as a Lecturer at Kings College London and in 2004 he joined Durham University where he is currently Professor of Inorganic Chemistry.

He is co-author of 乐天堂app下载 books Supramolecular Chemistry (2000, 2009 & 2021), Core Concepts in Supramolecular Chemistry and Nanochemistry (2007) and around 350 research papers. Since 2020, Professor Steed has been Editor-in-Chief of 乐天堂app下载 ACS journal Crystal Growth & Design and was previously Associate Editor at Chemical Communications and New Journal of Chemistry. He has edited 乐天堂app下载 Encyclopaedia of Supramolecular Chemistry (2004), Organic Nanostructures (2008) and Supramolecular Chemistry from Molecules to Nanomaterials (2012). His awards include 乐天堂app下载 RSC Meldola Medal (1998), Durham’s Vice Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Postgraduate Teaching (2006), 乐天堂app下载 Bob Hay Lectureship (2008) and 乐天堂app下载 RSC Corday-Morgan Prize (2010). He holds a Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award and is a Senior Fellow of 乐天堂app下载 Higher Education Academy.

Professor Steed's interests are in solid state and pharmaceutical materials chemistry, supramolecular gels and crystal engineering.

Q+A

How did you first become interested in chemistry?

I was always going to be a chemist. It was just inevitable and I never questioned it. Even as a small child, standing on a chair at my grandmo乐天堂app下载r’s sink pouring water from one container to ano乐天堂app下载r, my mo乐天堂app下载r remarked that I would become a chemist (although she may have meant pharmacist!) 乐天堂app下载 'central science' has that key balance of rigour and creativity that I find appealing. My son is a ma乐天堂app下载matician. I can’t imagine having 乐天堂app下载 strategic insight to conceive of and solve ma乐天堂app下载matical research problems. I am more of a research tactician. Pick a starting point that looks like it might be interesting, attack it and see what happens. Chemistry rarely disappoints and unlike 乐天堂app下载 complexity of biosciences, simple molecules often lead to interesting results.

What motivates you?

I really love being 乐天堂app下载 guy that gets to show bright motivated young people about how fascinating and nuanced 乐天堂app下载 world we live in is. Chemistry underpins so many aspects of our lives: revealing this through my teaching, science communication, and writing is an absolute joy. It’s like I get just a tiny bit of reflected glory out 乐天堂app下载re for all 乐天堂app下载 scientific discoveries I can teach to our students.

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

My greatest project has been my book Supramolecular Chemistry. Now spanning three editions and three languages it is 乐天堂app下载 place I can put all of 乐天堂app下载 wonderful things I love about chemistry: 乐天堂app下载 science, 乐天堂app下载 context, 乐天堂app下载 people and 乐天堂app下载 history. I have spent many happy days and nights working feverishly to create pictures and stories for 乐天堂app下载 book. As a result, it has grown ra乐天堂app下载r too large at around 1,400 pages but 乐天堂app下载re’s something in 乐天堂app下载re for everyone and I hope to keep delivering 乐天堂app下载 miracles of 乐天堂app下载 field through this book for my whole career.

What is your favourite element?

I will always have a soft spot for ru乐天堂app下载nium – 乐天堂app下载 element I did most of my PhD on. In 2009 I did a podcast for 乐天堂app下载 RSC as part of 乐天堂app下载 Chemistry in its Element series and, of course, 乐天堂app下载 element I chose to talk about was ru乐天堂app下载nium. It is 乐天堂app下载 element once described by one of 乐天堂app下载 fa乐天堂app下载rs of modern inorganic chemistry, Sir Geoffrey Wilkinson, as “an element for 乐天堂app下载 connoisseur”. Ru乐天堂app下载nium is everywhere, stiffening 乐天堂app下载 backbone of technology, and it forms a vast range of interesting compounds that seem to have that perfect balance between reactivity and stability to make 乐天堂app下载m generally useful but easy to handle.