Vernon C. Gibson 5230667 219699843 2008-06-16T13:55:10Z 195.224.106.220 Category Vernon Gibson (born November 15, 1958) is an English chemist and a [[Fellow of the Royal Society]]. ==Early life== He was born in [[Grantham]], [[Lincolnshire]], the son of Dennis and Pamela Gibson. He attended the King’s School in Grantham (where Isaac Newton preceded him), then studied [http://www.shef.ac.uk/chemistry Chemistry] at [[University of Sheffield|Sheffield]] where he graduated in 1980. After gaining a D.Phil. in [[Malcolm Green]]'s group at Oxford, he went to the [[California Institute of Technology]] on a NATO postdoctoral fellowship where he further developed his interest in [[organometallic]] chemistry and catalysis with [[John E. Bercaw|John Bercaw]]. ==Chemistry career== In 1986 he returned to the UK to a lectureship in Inorganic Chemistry at the [[Durham University|University of Durham]], where he was appointed to a chair in 1993. At Durham he developed his interest in the use of organometallic and [[coordination compounds]] for the synthesis of [[polymers]]. In 1995 he moved to [[Imperial College London]] where, in collaboration with BP Chemicals, he established a Discovery Programme to research novel catalysts for the polymerisation of alkenes. He became the first holder of the Sir [[Geoffrey Wilkinson]] Chair in 1998, and became the Sir [[Edward Frankland]] BP Professor of Inorganic Chemistry and Head of Catalysis & Advanced Materials in 2001. Among his various catalyst discoveries in this period were the first highly active [[ethene]] polymerization systems based on [[iron]], and new catalysts for the production of [[biodegradable]] materials. He was elected to the [[Royal Society]] in 2004. His curiosity has led him to explore right across the [[periodic table]] and to seek an understanding of the fundamental mechanisms of catalysis which influence the properties of materials produced. ==Research interests== * [[Vinyl polymer|Olefin polymerization]] * [[Ligand]]-orientated catalyst design * [[Polylactic acid]] * [[Ring opening metathesis polymerisation]] ==References== #V. C. Gibson, E. L. Marshall, H. S. Rzepa, " A computational study on the ring-opening polymerization of lactide initiated by β-diketiminate metal alkoxides: The origin of heterotactic stereocontrol", J. Am. Chem. Soc., '''2005''', ''127'', 6048-6051. DOI: [http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/ja043819b 10.1021/ja043819b ] ==External links== * [http://www.ch.ic.ac.uk/vgibson Imperial College] * [http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/chemistry/research/sections/catalysis Catalysis and Advanced Materials Group] {{DEFAULTSORT:Gibson, Vernon}} [[Category:Academics of Durham University]] [[Category:Academics of Imperial College London]] [[Category:Chemist stubs]] [[Category:People from Grantham]] [[Category:Alumni of the University of Sheffield]] [[Category:California Institute of Technology alumni]]