Background, Education and Training
Grew up in Galloway area of South West Scotland
Douglas Ewart High School, Newton Stewart, Wigtownshire, 1969-1975
B.Sc. (Hons.) Chemistry First Class, University of Edinburgh, 1975-1979
Ph.D. University of Edinburgh, 1979-1982 with Dr Ian Gosney and Professor J.I.G. Cadogan "The preparation and pyrolysis of some cyclic sulphones"
Postdoctoral: Fulbright Scholarship, Colorado State University, 1982-1984 with Professor A.I. Meyers "Asymmetric synthesis using chiral bicyclic lactams" and "Asymmetric total synthesis of (-)-steganone by oxazoline mediated biaryl coupling"
Previous Roles
Royal Society Warren Research Fellow, University of St Andrews, 1984-1989
School of Chemistry Safety Coordinator, 1985-2003
Chairman, University Health and Safety Committee 2001-3
Tayside Local Section, RSC, Committee Member 1986-90, Vice-Chairman 1990-91, Chairman 1991-94
Sabbatical, University of Texas at Austin with Professor A.H. Cowley, 1994
Elected to International Advisory Committee, International Society for Heterocyclic Chemistry 1997-99
Teaching Fellowship, University of Hong Kong, Jan-Feb 1999
Visiting Professor, Kuwait University, Jan-Feb 2002
Associate Editor, Current Organic Synthesis, 2003-9
Volume Editor, Comprehensive Heterocyclic Chemistry, 3rd Edn. Volume 8, published 2008 (934p)
Current Roles
University Chemical Hazards Adviser since 1990
Senior Lecturer in Organic Chemistry since 1997
Director of Teaching, School of Chemistry since Feb 2004
Volume Editor, Science of Synthesis Updates, Volume 13 since 2010
Tayside and Fife Section, RSC, Chairman since 2011
Elected to International Advisory Committee, International Society for Heterocyclic Chemistry 2011-13