Professor Geoff Cloke

University of Sussex Professor Geoff Cloke has been recognised for his world-leading research in the field of organometallic chemistry with an award from the Royal Society for Chemistry (RSC), the largest organisation in Europe for advancing the chemical sciences.

Professor Cloke will receive the 2012 RSC Sir Geoffrey Wilkinson Award, presented every two years to a scientist who has made outstanding contributions to pure or applied research in the field.

Professor Cloke is internationally recognised for his original contributions to synthetic inorganic and organometallic chemistry, and is the acknowledged world leader in the application of synthesis using metal vapours for the bulk scale synthesis of new and thought-provoking inorganic molecules.

He said: “It is a great honour to receive this award, especially as Geoffrey Wilkinson won his Nobel prize in 1973 for discovering organometallic sandwich compounds, which is an area that has fascinated me ever since I was an undergraduate and one in which I have worked extensively over the last 35 years.

“Sussex has always had a great reputation in organometallic chemistry, with the pioneering work of my colleagues Colin Eaborn, Mike Lappert and John Nixon, and it is a privilege to be able to continue that tradition.

“This award is also a tribute to the enthusiasm, skill and dedication of my research students and postdocs past and present.”

As part of the award, Professor Cloke will deliver four lectures for the RSC over the next year. They will present his medal at a special symposium built around his lecture.

After studying for his doctorate at Oxford University, Geoff spent a year at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) working with Richard Schrock, who went on to win a Nobel Prize in 2005. Now aged 59, Geoff first came to Sussex in 1983 as a research fellow and was awarded his professorship in 1994. He is currently head of chemistry.