<p>Preface</p>

Abstract

was born in Edinburgh but grew up in Hastings. He studied chemistry at Oxford, where he gained a B.A. and D.Phil. He moved to the University of Cambridge before being appointed to a University Lectureship and Fellowship of Robinson College in 1984. He remained at Cambridge until 1993 when he was appointed Professor of Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Basel. In 2000 he took up a position as Professor of Chemistry at the University of Birmingham (England) where he was appointed Head of School. He returned to the University of Basel as Professor of Chemistry in 2002. He publishes in all areas of chemistry with over 650 peer-reviewed publications and is highly cited (22,000 citations, h-index 74). His interests cover all aspects of chemistry, chemical history and the communication of science. He is Editor-in-Chief for a new open access journal Chemistry. He has held an ERC Advanced Grant and has been Research Dean and Vice-President of the University of Basel. He is currently Chairman of the Swiss Academies Expert Group on Research Integrity and President of Euresearch.When he is not being a chemist, he is to be found chasing insects and pursuing his love of photography.