Richard Robson (chemist)
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{{Infobox scientist
| name = Richard Robson
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| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=y|1937|6|4}}
| birth_place = Glusburn, West Yorkshire, England
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| fields = Inorganic Chemistry
| workplaces = University of Melbourne
| alma_mater = University of Oxford (BA, 1959) (DPhil, 1962)
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| known_for = Coordination Polymers
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| awards = Burrows Award, Inorganic Division of RACI
Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science
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| website = https://findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/15996-richard-robson
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Richard Robson {{Post-nominals|country=AUS|FAA|FRS}} (born 4 June 1937) is a Professor of Chemistry at the University of Melbourne.{{Cite web | url=http://www.eoas.info/biogs/P003792b.htm | title=Robson, Richard - Biographical entry - Encyclopedia of Australian Science}} Robson has published over 200 articles, specialising in coordination polymers, particularly metal-organic frameworks.{{Cite journal|title = Infinite polymeric frameworks consisting of three dimensionally linked rod-like segments|journal = Journal of the American Chemical Society|date = 1989|pages = 5962–5964|volume = 111|issue = 15|doi = 10.1021/ja00197a079|language = EN|first1 = Bernard F.|last1 = Hoskins|first2 = Richard|last2 = Robson| bibcode=1989JAChS.111.5962H }} He has been described as "a pioneer in crystal engineering involving transition metals".{{cite book|first=Donald|last=Wise|title=Electrical and Optical Polymer Systems: Fundamentals: Methods, and Applications|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zHSO2GUV9ucC&pg=PA872|date=27 March 1998|publisher=CRC Press|isbn=978-0-8247-0118-5|page=872}}{{cite book|author1=Stuart R. Batten|author2=Suzanne M. Neville|author3=David R. Turner|title=Coordination Polymers: Design, Analysis and Application|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iuixgwRs2eQC&pg=PA19|year=2009|publisher=Royal Society of Chemistry|isbn=978-0-85404-837-3|page=19}}
Education
Robson was born in Glusburn in West Yorkshire in the UK, and read chemistry at the University of Oxford (BA 1959, DPhil 1962). He undertook postdoctoral research at California Institute of Technology 1962-64 and at Stanford University 1964-65, before receiving a Lectureship in chemistry at the University of Melbourne 1966-70 where he remained for the duration of his career.
Research
Richard Robson's groundbreaking research is in the field of coordination polymers, particularly in the infinite polymeric framework, later termed as Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs).{{Cite web |last=Bruin |first=Tyler |date=2023-11-24 |title=Professor Richard Robson elected Fellow of the Royal Society |url=https://about.unimelb.edu.au/news-resources/awards-and-achievements/awards-and-prizes/professor-richard-robson-elected-fellow-of-the-royal-society |access-date=2024-11-25 |website=About us |language=en}} His journey into this field began in 1974 when he was tasked with building large wooden models of crystalline structures for first-year chemistry lectures. In the 1990s, Robson created a new class of coordination polymers that would inspire an entirely new field of chemistry.{{Cite web |title=The man who built a whole new field of chemistry |url=https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/the-man-who-built-a-whole-new-field-of-chemistry |access-date=2024-11-25 |website=Pursuit |language=en}} His approach involved using copper in the oxidation state known as copper I, which has a preference for tetrahedral geometry, and mixing it with a specially designed tetranitrile organic compound. This method resulted in the creation of crystal-like scaffolds with a diamond-like structure but with significant space within the framework.
Recognition
Professor Robson is a recipient of the prestigious Burrows Award, Inorganic Division of The Royal Australian Chemical Institute 1998 and was made a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science 2000.{{Cite web|url = http://www.raci.org.au/document/item/1948|title = The Burrows Award: Inorganic Division of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute (RACI)|date = |access-date = |website = |publisher = |last = |first = }} In 2022 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society.{{Cite web |title=Outstanding Academy Fellows elected to Royal Society |url=https://www.science.org.au/news-and-events/news-and-media-releases/outstanding-academy-fellows-elected-royal-society |access-date=2022-05-10 |website=Australian Academy of Science |language=en}}
References
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Category:English emigrants to Australia
Category:Alumni of the University of Oxford
Category:Australian materials scientists
Category:Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science
Category:Fellows of the Royal Society
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