John Blacker - Professor of Process Chemistry

Inaugural lecture

Organic processes, opportunities for sustainable manufacture

Whether we are aware of it or not, chemical products have become essential to modern life. The manufacture of pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, personal products, food additives, colours, fragrances all involve the production of large amounts of chemical materials. This lecture will look at my own career in process research and development, and how chemists and engineers working together can develop astounding ways of manufacturing these complex organic materials. I’ll explain how starting from petrochemicals these high value products can be made using sophisticated processes, but also how renewable materials and better process technologies are opening-up new possibilities for sustainable production with lower cost, higher quality products. I hope by attending the lecture you will leave not only with an understanding of my industrial and academic and contribution, but also an appreciation of both the complexity of fine chemical manufacture, the elegance of the processes that are developed, and the strenuous efforts that are being made to improve the industry’s performance.

Prof. John Blacker holds the Chair of Process Chemistry and is Director of the Institute of Process Research and Development at the University of Leeds since 2006. He has worked in the fine chemicals industry for 19 years with ICI and its successors, ultimately becoming Technical Director at Piramal Healthcare.  Prior to this, he was a post-doctoral fellow with Prof. Sir Alan Fersht at University of Cambridge in 1988; did a PhD and DEA in Chimie Organiques with Prof. Jean-Marie Lehn at Université Louis Pasteur Strasbourg from 1984-1988, and BSc Sp.Hons in Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Sheffield from 1981-1984. With research interests in catalysis and processes, Blacker has over 60 publications, is inventor on 25 patents and has managed and delivered a number of large grants.