Peter Wothers | |
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Born | Peter David Wothers |
Education | Bedford Modern School |
Alma mater | University of Cambridge (BA, PhD) |
Known for | |
Awards |
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Scientific career | |
Institutions | University of Cambridge |
Thesis | An examination of the anomeric effect (1996) |
Website | www |
Peter David Wothers, MBE , is a British chemist and author of several popular textbooks aimed at university students. He is a teaching fellow in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Cambridge and is a fellow of St Catharine's College, Cambridge. [2] [3]
Wothers was educated at Bedford Modern School and St Catharine's College, Cambridge, [4] where he received his PhD in 1996 for investigations into the anomeric effect. [5] [6] [7] [8]
Wothers has co-authored the first edition of the well-known and best-selling Organic Chemistry [9] textbook together with Jonathan Clayden, Nick Greeves and his fellow Cambridge lecturer Stuart Warren. His two other popular works Why Chemical Reactions Happen [10] and Chemical Structure and Reactivity, [11] written with James Keeler, aim to combine the different branches of chemistry into an integrated whole.
Wothers is also very active in promoting chemistry to the wider public, and has won prizes such as the Royal Society of Chemistry President's Award in 2011 for his outstanding contribution to public outreach, handed to him by the RSC President David Phillips. [12] He has also been responsible for organising the International Chemistry Olympiads for several years and has been chair of the 41st edition. [13]
Peter Wothers has made numerous television appearances as a chemistry specialist, notably as one of the presenters in the Discovery Channel series "The Big Experiment". [14] In December 2012 he presented the series of three televised Royal Institution Christmas Lectures, entitled 'The Modern Alchemist'. [15]
He was a guest on Andrew Marr's Start the Week on BBC Radio 4: the episode was a Science Special broadcast on 17 December 2012. Wothers talked about modern day chemistry and science along with Ewan Birney, Sanjeev Gupta and Helen Bynum who were also guests on the show. [16]
Wothers was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2014 Birthday Honours for services to chemistry through the International Chemistry Olympiad. [17] [18] During the same year he was nominated as one of the 100 leading UK practising scientists by the Science Council. [19] He was awarded the Royal Society of Chemistry's Nyholm Prize for Education in 2013. [20]
Wothers is featured as one of the Royal Society of Chemistry's 175 Faces of Chemistry. [21]
The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is a learned society in the United Kingdom with the goal of "advancing the chemical sciences". It was formed in 1980 from the amalgamation of the Chemical Society, the Royal Institute of Chemistry, the Faraday Society, and the Society for Analytical Chemistry with a new Royal Charter and the dual role of learned society and professional body. At its inception, the Society had a combined membership of 34,000 in the UK and a further 8,000 abroad. The headquarters of the Society are at Burlington House, Piccadilly, London. It also has offices in Thomas Graham House in Cambridge where RSC Publishing is based. The Society has offices in the United States, on the campuses of The University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University, at the University City Science Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in both Beijing and Shanghai, China and in Bangalore, India.
In chemistry, sigma bonds are the strongest type of covalent chemical bond. They are formed by head-on overlapping between atomic orbitals. Sigma bonding is most simply defined for diatomic molecules using the language and tools of symmetry groups. In this formal approach, a σ-bond is symmetrical with respect to rotation about the bond axis. By this definition, common forms of sigma bonds are s+s, pz+pz, s+pz and dz2+dz2 . Quantum theory also indicates that molecular orbitals (MO) of identical symmetry actually mix or hybridize. As a practical consequence of this mixing of diatomic molecules, the wavefunctions s+s and pz+pz molecular orbitals become blended. The extent of this mixing depends on the relative energies of the MOs of like symmetry.
In stereochemistry, an epimer is one of a pair of diastereomers. The two epimers have opposite configuration at only one stereogenic center out of at least two. All other stereogenic centers in the molecules are the same in each. Epimerization is the interconversion of one epimer to the other epimer.
In organic chemistry, nitroamines are organic compounds with the general chemical structure R2N−NO2. They consist of a nitro group bonded to an amine. The parent inorganic compound, where both R substituents are hydrogen, is nitramide, H2N−NO2.
In organosulfur chemistry, a sulfonyl group can refer either to a functional group found primarily in sulfones, or to a substituent obtained from a sulfonic acid by the removal of the hydroxyl group, similarly to acyl groups. Sulfonyl groups can be written as having the general formula R−S(=O)2−R′, where there are two double bonds between the sulfur and oxygen.
Metiamide is a histamine H2 receptor antagonist developed from another H2 antagonist, burimamide. It was an intermediate compound in the development of the successful anti-ulcer drug cimetidine (Tagamet).
1,2-Benzisoxazole is an aromatic organic compound with a molecular formula C7H5NO containing a benzene-fused isoxazole ring structure. The compound itself has no common applications; however, functionalized benzisoxazoles and benzisoxazoyls have a variety of uses, including pharmaceutical drugs such as some antipsychotics (including risperidone, paliperidone, ocaperidone, and iloperidone) and the anticonvulsant zonisamide.
Burimamide is an antagonist at the H2 and H3 histamine receptors. It is largely inactive as an H2 antagonist at physiological pH, but its H3 affinity is 100x higher. It is a thiourea derivative.
In chemistry, indoxyl is a nitrogenous substance with the chemical formula: C8H7NO. Indoxyl is isomeric with oxindol and is obtained as an oily liquid.
Silyl enol ethers in organic chemistry are a class of organic compounds that share a common functional group composed of an enolate bonded through its oxygen end to an organosilicon group. They are important intermediates in organic synthesis.
Sir Martyn Poliakoff is a British chemist, working on gaining insights into fundamental chemistry, and on developing environmentally acceptable processes and materials. The core themes of his work are supercritical fluids, infrared spectroscopy and lasers. He is a research professor in chemistry at the University of Nottingham. His group comprises several members of staff, postdoctoral research fellows, postgraduate students and overseas visitors. As well as carrying out research at the University of Nottingham, he is a lecturer, teaching a number of modules including green chemistry.
Indoline is an aromatic heterocyclic organic compound with the chemical formula C8H9N. It has a bicyclic structure, consisting of a six-membered benzene ring fused to a five-membered nitrogen-containing ring. The compound is based on the indole structure, but the 2-3 bond is saturated. By oxidation/dehydrogenation it can be converted to indoles.
Jonathan Paul Clayden is a Professor of organic chemistry at the University of Bristol.
L-selectride is an organoborane. It is used in organic chemistry as a reducing agent, for example in the reduction of a ketone, as part of Overman's synthesis of strychnine.
Sir Anthony Kevin Cheetham is a British materials scientist. From 2012 to 2017 he was Vice-President and Treasurer of the Royal Society.
A nitrilium ion is a nitrile that has been protonated, [RCNH]+, or alkylated, [RCNR′]+.
Stuart Warren was a British organic chemist and author of chemistry textbooks aimed at university students.
The Nyholm Prize for Education commemorates the life and work of Australian-born chemist Sir Ronald Nyholm, who – alongside his research in coordination chemistry – passionately campaigned for the improvement of science education. He acted as president of the Royal Society of Chemistry from 1968 to 1970.
Igor Volodymyrovych Komarov is a Ukrainian synthetic organic chemist, specializing in medicinal chemistry and nanotechnology. He is the director of the Institute of High Technologies of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. He is also a scientific advisor of Enamine Ltd (Ukraine) and Lumobiotics GmbH (Germany).
The Longstaff Prize is given to a member of the Royal Society of Chemistry who has done the most to advance the science of chemistry. First awarded in 1881, it was originally conferred by the Chemical Society and known as the Longstaff Medal.