Biography

Research Commercialisation Committee (IRCC) of Enterprise Ireland (2006/08), Member Government Chief Scientific Advisor Panel of Experts (2009-). At MIT I found a significant improvement in the Sharpless asymmetric dihydroxylation (AD) reaction – patent recognition was granted for this contribution and is still generating royalty income. I am honoured to be able to note that this work formed a small part of the body of work for which Sharpless won the 2001 Nobel Prize and gratified that he mentioned this in his Nobel Prize address. Research Expertise - Catalytic asymmetric synthesis
- Metal-salen complexes for asymmetric oxidation
- Metal-phosphine complexes for asymmetric hydrogenation and hydroformylation
- Phosphine oxides and other additives in the Grignard reaction; construction of novel sugars by asymmetric oxidation organophosphorus chemistry
- Anew route to P-stereogenic phosphines and oxides via asymmetric Appel conditions
- Stable primary phosphines; mechanisms of the Wittig reaction
- Reduction of phosphine oxides; construction of P-stereogenic units for ProTide drugs

Expertise

Research Interests: - General area of organic synthesis, for the construction of both useful and theoretically interesting molecules, particularly: stoichiometric and, especially, catalytic enantioselective synthesis; organophosphorus chemistry; organo-Main group chemistry; medium rings, small multicyclic heterocycles; and theories of chemical bonding.

Publications