Peter Licence

Biography

Pete Licence obtained his B.Sc. (Hons) in Chemistry from the University of Wales (Bangor) in 1996. Staying in Wales, Pete completed his Ph.D. in synthetic organic chemistry under the supervision of Professor M. S. Baird (2000). After completing postdoctoral research in the field of high pressure chemistry and supercritical fluids with Professor Martyn Poliakoff FRS (University of Nottingham) he was appointed lecturer in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering in 2006. Pete was promoted to the role of Associate Professor and Reader in Chemistry at the end of 2008, and to Professor in 2013. Pete is also Adjunct Professor at Addis Ababa University and was holder of an EPSRC Advanced Research Fellowship (2006-11). Pete Licence obtained his B.Sc. (Hons) in Chemistry from the University of Wales (Bangor) in 1996. Staying in Wales, Pete completed his Ph.D. in synthetic organic chemistry under the supervision of Professor M. S. Baird (2000). After completing postdoctoral research in the field of high pressure chemistry and supercritical fluids with Professor Martyn Poliakoff FRS (University of Nottingham) he was appointed lecturer in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering in 2006. Pete was promoted to the role of Associate Professor and Reader in Chemistry at the end of 2008, and to Professor in 2013. Pete is also Adjunct Professor at Addis Ababa University and was holder of an EPSRC Advanced Research Fellowship (2006-11).

Research Interest

My core research themes are focused upon both the exploitation and manipulation of some of the unusual physical properties that are offered by alternative solvent systems including supercritical fluids and room temperature ionic liquids. These properties can offer opportunities to investigate chemistry using long established methods that would not normally be associated with the study of solutions. One such example, and indeed key area of my work being the development and application of high vacuum (HV-UHV) spectroscopic techniques for the characterization and in-situ monitoring of catalytic processes in room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs). Other current projects include; the determination of fundamental physical properties of RTILs using UHV methods, the investigation of environmentally sensitive insulator/conductor properties of RTILs and the measurement of dielectric properties of RTILs as a function of water concentration. The implementation of Green Chemistry and Sustainability are key concepts that run throughout both my research and teaching interests. The development of environmentally benign materials and products via efficient, clean chemistry is my long-term goal.