Green Chemistry Award 2014 Winner

North photo-120_tcm18-239625 — Professor Michael North
The University of York
For his internationally leading research on the use of carbon dioxide as a feedstock for chemical synthesis.

About the Winner

After a two-year postdoctoral position in Professor G. Pattenden’s research group at the University of Nottingham, he was appointed to his first academic post at the University of Wales. In 1999 he moved to the University of London and was promoted to Professor of synthetic organic chemistry in 2001. In 2004, he moved to the University of Newcastle as Professor of organic chemistry and in 2013 took up his current position as Professor of Green Chemistry at the University of York.

Professor North has published over 160 original papers and holds six patents in the areas of catalysis using Earth abundant metals and carbon dioxide utilization. His research interests are centered on green organic chemistry, including the utilization of waste materials such as carbon dioxide as a chemical feedstock, the development of effective catalysts based around Earth abundant metals and the use of cyclic carbonates as green polar aprotic solvents.

In 2001 he was awarded the Descartes Prize by the European Commission for his work on vanadium and titanium based catalysts.