Title
Charting My Course Through Organometallic Catalysis, Reactivity and Chemistry
Abstract
In an ideal world, anyone designing a chemical reaction would be able to tell the computer what they want, and the computer would tell them how to make it, safely and efficiently, in the lab.
Sadly, we’re not quite there yet. But with new technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning, together with a lot of hard work from researchers like me, we’re getting closer every day. And at the same time, we’re learning ever more about how we can create, examine and use new catalysts, creating a “map” of multi-dimensional catalyst space which allows us to chart a pathway to success. From this research, we’re also learning more about how we can improve the relationships between computational theory and experimental practice.
In my inaugural lecture, I’ll draw on my own journey in organometallic catalysis to explore the way in which computational chemistry and data science are helping us to create better and more efficient catalysts, as well as why this is so important to researchers and industrialists around the world. I’ll also share some stories about how I’ve got to where I am – and where we go from here.
If you’re interested in catalysis, chemistry or simply what it’s like to forge a career in science, please do join us.
Biography
Natalie Fey is a Professor of Chemistry at the University of Bristol. Her group use computational approaches as a driver for scientific discovery, with a particular focus on organometallic catalysis. After a BSc in Chemistry and Economics, she completed her Ph.D. (2001) at Keele University, followed by postdoctoral research positions with Rob Deeth (Warwick) and with Guy Orpen, Jeremy Harvey, and Guy Lloyd-Jones (Bristol).
She was awarded an EPSRC Advanced Research Fellowship in 2007, appointed as lecturer in 2015, promoted to senior lecturer (2018), associate professor (2021), and professor in 2025. She is the programme director for Bristol’s programmes in Chemistry with Computing and an associate editor for the ACS journal Organometallics.
Registration
Registration for this event is free, but you must book a ticket via Eventbrite.