The University of Leicester aims to educate, equip and encourage their students to forge a better future. As Citizens of Change, Leicester's research excellence is changing lives and having transformative impact across the globe. Ranked as a Top 30 University, their students and staff make up a powerhouse for ground-breaking research, including being in the top ten UK universities for their COVID-19 research; locating the remains of King Richard III; and the discovery of DNA fingerprinting. Located right in the heart of the East Midlands, Leicester prides itself in being one of the UK’s most multi-cultural cities, playing host to a number of cultural festivals such as a colorful Caribbean Carnival and the largest Diwali celebrations outside of India.
Chemistry at University of Leicester
Chemistry is the fundamental cornerstone for many economically important industries today, creating a demand for high quality chemistry graduates. The constant desire for innovation, new products and new solutions continually drives forward research and development. By studying the interaction of molecules, their structure and properties, we learn vital information about the world we live in and this offers opportunities to find answers to many of the problems we, as a society, face today.
If you choose to study for a BSc or MChem degree in Chemistry at the University of Leicester, you will find it is an incredibly exciting science, with substantial hands-on practical work. You will graduate with the skills and expertise that may lead you to make new discoveries. These discoveries can result in advances in many important fields such as health and medicine, energy and the environment, materials and technology or food and agriculture. As a chemistry graduate you will have a diverse range of career options open to you.
The Department of Chemistry at Leicester is one of the best in the UK for both teaching and research. We have a reputation as a friendly, supportive department that produces highly trained graduates with skills valued by employers. This is because we offer high quality courses that are designed to give you a wide range of employment opportunities, and are carefully structured to ensure you will cover all the relevant topics.
Whichever degree you study, you will always benefit from our excellent teaching, our well-equipped laboratories, our high-quality welfare provision and academic support. You will also reap the benefits of the cutting-edge research being carried out in the department by our academics – the same academics who teach you.
Our specialist research areas include atmospheric chemistry, chemical biology, materials and interfaces, spectroscopy and dynamics, and sustainable synthesis and catalysis. You can be sure of learning about the very latest breakthroughs in each area throughout your course. In your final year, you will carry out your own personal research project, working under one of our academic staff and applying the knowledge and practical skills which you have gained on the course – placing you at the cutting-edge of chemistry research.
Dr Philip Ash
Dr Philip Ash is a Chemistry Lecturer in the School of Chemistry at the University of Leicester, and a graduate of Wadham College, University of Oxford (MChem). He completed his PhD research in the group of Professor Colin Bain (Durham University) where he used a range of physical methods to study phase transitions in mixed monolayers of surfactant and alkane. Philip’s PhD research involved collaborative work at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH Stockholm).
Dr Fabrizio Ortu
Dr Fabrizio Ortu is a Chemistry Lecturer in the School of Chemistry at the University of Leicester, which he joined in June 2019. He obtained his BSc in Chemistry (2007) and MRes (2009) at the University of Sassari (Italy). He has worked within various projects funded by several funding bodies and charities, covering a range of topics in f-element chemistry: molecular magnetism, actinide organometallic and coordination chemistry, lanthanide-element multiple bonding interactions. Throughout his career, Fabrizio has had the chance to work as part of multidisciplinary teams at the interface between inorganic chemistry, sustainable synthesis and materials science and have established a wide network of collaborations in Europe, Asia and America.
