Professor Julie Macpherson - 2023 Tilden Prize winner

Professor Julie Macpherson FRSC

Winner: 2023 Tilden Prize

University of Warwick

For pioneering instrumental methods and applications in electrochemistry, electroanalysis and catalysis, sensor and imaging systems, material characterisation and electrochemical nanostructure synthesis.

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I’ve been very lucky to have interacted with some amazing mentors over the years.

Professor Macpherson’s work focuses on the use of carbon-based materials in electrochemical systems for a variety of applications, including environmental monitoring and electrochemical energy storage. One of the key materials being used is lab-grown boron-doped diamond (BDD), an electrochemically active form of diamond.

Due to its unique and wide-ranging properties, BDD is finding use as a robust sensor for determining the health status of rivers and seas. BDD is also capable of generating highly oxidising species which can be used to fight viruses and bacteria as well as clean up waste water systems. The non-corrosive nature of the material also means it can act as a possible carbon replacement for corrosion susceptible graphite type materials in fuel cells.

Read winner biography

Professor Julie Macpherson completed her undergraduate Chemistry degree at the University of Warwick, where she obtained a first class BSc (1990-1993). She remained at Warwick and her association with electrochemistry began in 1993 when she embarked on a PhD with Professor Patrick Unwin in the area of scanning electrochemical microscopy applied to investigate the dissolution of ionic crystals. Julie had the opportunity to spend time in the research laboratories of Professor Allen Bard (University of Texas at Austin), funded via a NATO grant during this period. She then switched track and undertook EPSRC-funded research into hydrodynamic ultramicroelectrodes.

In 1999, Julie won both an 1851 and Royal Society University Research Fellowship and opted for the latter, holding the position in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Warwick to investigate electrochemistry in nanoscopic environments. In 2007, she was promoted to a Chair position. In 2014 Julie received a Royal Society Industry Fellowship to work on the development of boron doped diamond electrochemical sensors, in partnership with the diamond growers Element Six. In 2017, she was awarded a Royal Society Innovation award for her work on the translation and commercialisation of boron doped diamond electrode technologies.

Julie has an excellent teaching record, winning the Andrew McCamley Prize for best undergraduate lecturer five times, and the Warwick University award for teaching excellence.

Q&A

How did you first become interested in chemistry?

I’ve always had an interest in the world around me from an early age and found the interplay between all three sciences equally interesting. I specifically remembering badgering my mum for a chemistry kit when I was young. Back then, health and safety requirements were not so stringent so my brother and I used to work out what we could mix together to cause the biggest explosions (not sure my mum was very happy with the mess we made in her kitchen). I also remember being greatly inspired reading the book "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!": Adventures of a Curious Character, and understanding the importance of being scientifically inquisitive and creative and importantly having fun whilst you are doing it!

Tell us about somebody who has inspired or mentored you in your career.

I’ve been very lucky to have interacted with some amazing mentors over the years. Probably the one that has been most important to me was my PhD supervisor, Professor Patrick Unwin. I was one of his first PhD students, and he had just arrived back in the UK from the US (after doing postdoctoral work with Professor Al Bard). He was brimming with ideas, enthusiasm and a passion for science which definitely rubbed off on me and I learnt so much during my PhD years with him. It also made me appreciate the impact excellent PhD supervision/mentorship can have on young scientists. This is something I have carried through with me to this day when I interact with/mentor students.

Why do you think teamwork is important in science?

To me, teamwork is essential, science problems are inherently multi-faceted and require a range of different techniques/approaches to provide solutions. No one person has the skill base to solve the problem by themselves. Furthermore, there is so much more to be gained by working in a team, in terms of, e.g., knowledge exchange, picking up good practices, making new connections and learning how to get the best out of others. Teamwork is extremely rewarding.

What is your favourite element?

I remember being asked this question on week 1 of being an undergraduate in the teaching labs at the University. I was a bit stumped as I had never considered the question before and struggled to come up with a coherent answer. Today this question is easy, it has to be carbon. The many allotropes of carbon have played a huge role in my research career from the use of single walled carbon nanotubes as tips for nanoscale electrochemical imaging, investigating the fundamental electrochemical properties of graphene to conducting diamond, a material useful in so many ways, e.g. waste water clean-up, sensor development for unusual environments, electrochemical ozone generation.