Opportunities

Postdoctoral research opportunities

When funding is available for postdoctoral researchers, this information will be advertised on the College website and externally. However, we are always interested to hear from researchers with a strong research record who we can then support in funding schemes. For example, we have successfully supported researchers to obtain Newton and Marie Curie Skłodowska Fellowships as well as funding from other sources abroad. If you are a German researcher, there is the Feodor Lynen scheme run by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. Prof. Wilton-Ely is eligible to host a researcher on this scheme for 12-24 months as he is a former holder of a von Humboldt Fellowship and has recently hosted a Feodor Lynen Fellow. If you fall in to one of the categories above and are keen to join my group here at Imperial College, please contact Prof. Wilton-Ely with a CV at the e-mail address on the main page.

PhD Opportunities

We are always keen to support high quality candidates from the UK (IC President's PhD Scholarships and Departmental Studentships) or abroad (e.g., IC President's PhD Scholarships, CSC Scholarships, Commonwealth etc.) who are looking to secure their own funding (also from organizations in their home country or international scholarship schemes). Feel free to contact Prof. Wilton-Ely with a CV at the e-mail address on the main page. We have successfully supported students in their scholarship applications from Azerbaijan, Malaysia, China, Colombia, Saudi Arabia and South Korea in the past.

We are active members of the CDT in Smart Medical Imaging and the CDT in Next Generation Synthesis and the CDT in the Advanced Characterisation of Materials. There are PhD students in the group from all three programmes. 

MRes projects

As Prof. Wilton-Ely is a longtime Director of the MRes in Green Chemistry programme and Founder and former Co-Director of the MRes in Catalysis and the MRes in Advanced Molecular Synthesis, students are often interested in undertaking their project in our research group. These projects are often related to the recovery and re-use of metals (palladium, gold) in catalysis. If you are interested, please contact Prof. Wilton-Ely at the e-mail address on the main page. Please note that you do not need to have agreed a project before applying as projects are allocated after the start of the course. However, if you have a particular area of ours that you wish to explore, it is sometimes possible to organise a particular project in advance of the start of the course.

MRes students make a very valuable contribution to the research programme in the group and their 9-month research projects have led to many publications. In fact, the aim is for all projects to result in at least one research publication in a high-profile journal. A few recent examples are shown below (the name of each MRes student is in bold):

  • S. McCarthy, O. Desaunay, A. Lee Wei Jie, M. Hassatzky, A. J. P. White, P. Deplano, D. C. Braddock, A. Serpe, J. D. E. T. Wilton-Ely, ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng., 2022, 10, 15726.

  • S. McCarthy, A. Lee Wei Jie, D. C. Braddock, A. Serpe, J. D. E. T. Wilton-Ely, Molecules, 2021, 26, 5217.

  • A. Guinart, H. L. Perry, J. D. E. T. Wilton-Ely*, T. D. Tetley, Emerging Top. Life Sci., 2020, 4, 627–643.

  • K. A. Jantan, K. W. Chan, L. Melis, A. J. P. White, L. Marchiò, P. Deplano, A. Serpe, J. D. E. T. Wilton-Ely, ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng. 2019, 7, 12389−12398.
  • K. A. Jantan, C. Y. Kwok, K. W. Chan, L. Marchio, A. J. P. White, P. Deplano, A. Serpe, J. D. E. T. Wilton-Ely, Green Chem., 2017, 19, 5846-5853.
  • M. Rasekh, Z. Ahmad, R. Cross, J. Hernández Gil, J. D. E. T. Wilton-Ely, P. W. Miller, Mol. Pharmaceutics 2017, 14, 2010−2023.
  • R. Sherwood, F. Gonzàlez de Rivera, J. H. Wan, Q. Zhang, A. J. P. White, O. Rossell, G. Hogarth, J. D. E. T. Wilton-Ely, Inorg. Chem., 2015, 54, 4222−4230.
  • S. Sung, H. Holmes, L. Wainwright, A. Toscani, G. Stasiuk, A. J. P. White, J. Bell, J. D. E. T. Wilton-Ely, Inorg. Chem. 2014, 53, 1989-2005.
  • V. L. Hurtubise, J. McArdle, S. Naeem, A. Toscani, A. J. P. White, N. J. Long, J. D. E. T. Wilton-Ely, Inorg. Chem., 2014, 53, 11740−11748.

MSci and BSc projects

Final year projects are available for motivated researchers from Imperial, who are looking to broaden their synthetic skills in coordination, organometallic and materials chemistry. A good final year project should allow an able and enthusiastic student to get results reasonably quickly and then progress to more complex and challenging aspects of the topic based on this solid platform. Many of these projects stem from research ideas that have been shown to work but haven't yet been explored in greater detail. All projects should result in a research publication in a high-profile journal, such as those from the last few years by the students below (the name of each undergraduate student is in bold):

  • A. Al Ghatta, X. Zhou, G. Casarano, J. D. E. T. Wilton-Ely and J. P. Hallett, ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng., 2021, 9, 2212−2223.

  • H. L. Perry, I.-C. Yoon, N. G. Chabloz, S. Molisso, G. J. Stasiuk, R. Botnar, J. D. E. T. Wilton-Ely, Inorg. Chem. 202059, 10813–10823.
  • N. G. Chabloz, M. N. Wenzel, H. L. Perry, I.-C. Yoon, S. Molisso, G. J. Stasiuk, D. S. Elson, A. E. G. Cass, J. D. E. T. Wilton-Ely, Chem. Eur. J., 2019, 25, 10895–10906 [Hot Paper].
  • A. Toscani, C. Marín-Hernández, J. A. Robson, E. Chua, P. Dingwall, A. J. P. White, F. Sancenón, R. Martínez-Mañez* and J. D. E. T. Wilton-Ely, Chem. Eur. J., 2019, 25, 2069–2081.
  • L. Mognon, S. Richardson, G. Agonigi, T. Bond, F. Marchetti, J. D. E. T. Wilton-Ely, J. Organomet. Chem., 2019, 886, 9-12.
  • A. Toscani, K. A. Jantan, J. B. HenaJ. A. RobsonE. J. Parmenter, V. Fiorini, A. J. P. White, S. Stagni, J. D. E. T. Wilton-Ely, Dalton Trans., 2017, 46, 5558-5570.
  • J. A. Robson, F. Gonzàlez de Rivera, K. A. Jantan, M. N. Wenzel, A. J. P. White, O. Rossell, J. D. E. T. Wilton-Ely, Inorg. Chem., 201655, 12982–12996.
  • R. Sherwood, F. Gonzàlez de Rivera, J. H. Wan, Q. Zhang, A. J. P. White, O. Rossell, G. Hogarth, J. D. E. T. Wilton-Ely, Inorg. Chem., 2015, 54, 4222−4230.
  • A. Toscani, E. Heliövaara, J. B. Hena, A. J. P. White, J. D. E. T. Wilton-Ely, Organometallics, 2015, 34, 494-505.
  • S. Sung, H. Holmes, L. Wainwright, A. Toscani, G. Stasiuk, A. J. P. White, J. Bell, J. D. E. T. Wilton-Ely, Inorg. Chem. 2014, 53, 1989-2005.
  • Y. H. Lin, L. Duclaux, F. Gonzàlez de Rivera, A. L. Thompson, J. D. E. T. Wilton-Ely, Eur. J. Inorg. Chem. 2014, 2065-2072.
  • S. Naeem, A. Ribes, A. J. P. White, M. N. Haque, K. B. Holt, J. D. E. T. Wilton-Ely, Inorg. Chem. 201352, 4700-4713.
  • M. J. D. Champion, R. Solanki, L. Delaude, A. J. P. White, J. D. E. T. Wilton-Ely, Dalton Trans. 2012, 41, 12386-12394.
  • P. Patel, S. Naeem, A. J. P. White, J. D. E. T. Wilton-Ely, RSC Advances 2012, 2, 999-1008.
  • E. Y. Chia, S. Naeem, L. Delaude, A. J. P. White, J. D. E. T. Wilton-Ely, Dalton Trans. 2011, 40, 6645-6658.
  • K. Oliver, A. J. P. White, G. Hogarth, J. D. E. T. Wilton-Ely, Dalton Trans. 2011, 40, 5852-5864.
  • Y. H. Lin, N. H. Leung, K. B. Holt, A. L. Thompson, J. D. E. T. Wilton-Ely, Dalton. Trans. 2009, 7829-8128.
  • E. R. Knight, N. H. Leung, Y. H. Lin, A. R. Cowley, D. J. Watkin, A. L. Thompson, G. Hogarth, J. D. E. T. Wilton-Ely, Dalton. Trans. 2009, 3688-3697.
  • E. R. Knight, N. H. Leung, A. L. Thompson, G. Hogarth, J. D. E. T. Wilton-Ely, Inorg. Chem. 2009, 48, 3866-3874.
  • E. J. Knight, A. R. Cowley, G. Hogarth, J. D. E. T. Wilton-Ely, Dalton Trans. 2009, 607-609.
  • M. J. Macgregor, G. Hogarth, A. L. Thompson, J. D. E. T. Wilton-Ely, Organometallics 2009, 28, 197-208.
  • J. D. E. T. Wilton-Ely, D. Solanki, E. R. Knight, K. B. Holt, A. L. Thompson and G. Hogarth, Inorg. Chem. 2008, 47, 9642-9653.

Since Prof. Wilton-Ely's arrival at Imperial College, more than two thirds of students who have worked in the group have obtained a first class (70+%) mark for their final year research projects and two have been awarded the prestigious Evans Medal for the best inorganic research project.