Michael Rowan, Executive Editor
Michael is the Executive Editor for our Physical & Sustainability portfolio, which includes Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics (PCCP), Green Chemistry and Faraday Discussions. Michael studied chemistry at the University of East Anglia and completed his MChem in 2002. He earned his PhD studying the design and synthesis of transition metal catalysts under the supervision of Prof. Carl Redshaw (now at the University of Hull). He started his publishing career in 2006, working as an Assistant Editor for Chemistry—A European Journal and, after serving as Editor-in-Chief of the catalysis journal ChemCatChem for nearly 10 years (Chemistry Europe), he joined the Royal Society of Chemistry in 2022.
Edward Gardner, Deputy Editor
Ed received his MSci in Chemistry and Physics at Durham University in 2018 and joined the RSC later the same year as a Publishing Editor for PCCP on the Physical & Nano journal portfolio. In 2021 he became the Development Editor for Nanoscale Horizons and Nanoscale on the Materials & Nano journal portfolio and returned to PCCP in 2024 as the Deputy Editor for the Physical & Sustainability journal portfolio. He was the lead organiser for the #RSCPoster conference in 2022 and 2023. In his spare time, Ed enjoys walking his dog, playing video and board games with friends and trips to the pub.
Bee Hockin, Development Editor
Bee joined the RSC in 2022 as Development Editor for PCCP, Green Chemistry and Faraday Discussions. Bee completed their MChem at the University of Durham in 2016 with Prof. AnnMarie C. O'Donoghue, focusing on the development and applications of novel stable Blatter radicals. They completed their PhD at the University of St Andrews in 2022 under joint supervision from Prof. Eli Zysman-Colman (University of St Andrews) and Prof. Neil Robertson (University of Edinburgh). Their doctoral thesis described two- and three-coordinate copper(I) complexes bearing N-heterocyclic carbene ligands as photocatalysts for small-molecule reactions. In their spare time, Bee volunteers as a science communicator and enjoys cooking, hiking and learning new fibre crafts including crochet and needle felting.
Andrea Carolina Ojeda Porras, Development Editor
Carolina joined the RSC in 2022 as a Development Editor for PCCP, Green Chemistry and Faraday Discussions. She received an MSc degree in Chemistry in 2016 from Universidad de los Andes (Colombia) working with Dr D. Gamba-Sanchez. Her focus was on the development of new synthetic methodologies for amides and thioamides with high atom economy as well as the study of the Pummerer reaction towards the synthesis of heterocyclic compounds. Carolina then completed her PhD at the University of Glasgow (Scotland) in 2020 under the supervision of Dr J. Prunet. Her research focused on the development of an approach for the formal synthesis of Taxol, utilizing ring-closing metathesis strategies. She then joined the Institute of Organic and Analytical Chemistry (ICOA UMR 7311) at the Université d'Orléans (France) where she was a post-doctoral researcher for two years. During this time, she was working on the synthesis of small molecules (nucleosides analogues) against viral infections in the group of Prof L. Agrofoglio.
Gisela Scott, Editorial Manager
Gisela joined the Physical & Inorganic team at the RSC in 1996. She has worked in several teams on a variety of journals and has been involved in the launch of a number of new titles. Gisela completed her PhD at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology where she used 2D NMR to study protein structure and folding. Following this, she held two posts as a postdoctoral research associate. Gisela is currently the Editorial Production Manager in the Physical & Sustainability team.
Chris Goodall, Associate Editorial Manager
Chris joined us in September 2012 as a Publishing Editor, originally on the Materials portfolio of journals. Before this, he completed an MChem degree at Durham University, graduating in 2011.
He has worked on several of our journal portfolios as a Publishing Editor, Associate Editorial Manager and Editorial Manager, and was most recently the Editorial Manager for Catalysis Science & Technology, Reaction Chemistry & Engineering and Soft Matter. He returned to the Associate Editorial Manager position on Green Chemistry, Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics and Faraday Discussions in July 2024 after previously holding this position from September 2021 to December 2022. Outside of work, he enjoys playing football, squash and cricket.
Catherine Au, Publishing Editor
Catherine joined the Royal Society of Chemistry in October 2021 as a Publishing Editor on the Physical & Sustainability team working on the journals Green Chemistry and PCCP. Catherine had an MSci degree in Environmental Toxicology from Vanderbilt University (U.S.A.) and an MSc degree in Forensic Science from King’s College London. Prior to joining the RSC, she was a research manager studying the mechanistic pathway of ageing using various spectroscopic and chromatographic techniques. In her spare time, she enjoys cooking and her pottery class.
Isobel Darlington, Publishing Editor
Isobel joined the Royal Society of Chemistry in January 2022 as a Publishing Editor and currently works on Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, Green Chemistry and Faraday Discussions. Before joining the RSC, Isobel obtained an MBioChem degree from the University of York and worked as a Research Assistant at the University of Cambridge. In her spare time, Isobel enjoys reading books, practising yoga and walking her two dogs in the countryside.
Konoya Das, Publishing Editor
Konoya completed her PhD at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Pune, India in 2021. Her PhD work was focused on studying the properties of water confined in lyotropic liquid crystals using fluorescence spectroscopy. She joined RSC in 2021 after completing her PhD thesis defence. Konoya worked in the General and Frontiers team (on Chemical Communications, Inorganic Chemistry Frontiers, Material Chemistry Frontiers and Chemical Society Reviews) till June 2022. She has been a part of the Physical & Sustainability team since then. Outside of work, Konoya likes to travel, read books and tend to her plants.
Alexandre Dumon, Publishing Editor
Alexandre joined the Royal Society of Chemistry in January 2023 as a Publishing Editor, working on the journals Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, Green Chemistry and Faraday Discussions.
Before joining the Royal Society of Chemistry, he completed a PhD at the ENS Lyon (France) under Professor Sautet’s guidance. He continued his academic career with two postdoctoral positions at the French Institute for Petroleum and New Energies (Solaize, France) and Imperial College London.
His research was focused on using ab-initio methods for the exploration and determination of catalytic mechanisms.
ORCiD: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0222-2606
Charley James, Publishing Editor
Charley completed his PhD in inorganic redox catalysis in 2022 at the University of East Anglia.
Following his studies, Charley worked closely with UK and EU governments and industrial organisations as a scientific policy analyst, advising lawmakers on some of the most important issues related to achieving a more sustainable future. He has experience in a wide range of environmental and energy-related issues, including long-term energy storage systems, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, and microplastic pollution. He also has a thorough understanding of the control of chemicals under the REACH regulation.
In 2024, Charley joined the Royal Society of Chemistry as a publishing editor, where he continues to promote green and sustainable chemical innovations, and the scientists that developed them, wherever he can.
In his free time, Charley enjoys long forest walks with his dog, woodcarving, and playing Chess for his local team.
Amy Lucas, Publishing Editor
Amy joined the Royal Society of Chemistry as a Publishing Editor in March of 2023 and currently works on Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, Green Chemistry and Faraday Discussions. Prior to joining the RSC, she obtained a MChem Degree from Manchester Metropolitan University and worked as a Technologist for DePuy Synthes managing the Annual Stability trials of various bone cement products. In her spare time, she enjoys watching Football and Ice Hockey, Video Gaming and taking her dog for walks.
Kieran Nicholson, Publishing Editor
ORCiD 0000-0001-9873-9230
Kieran joined the Royal Society of Chemistry in 2023 as a Publishing Editor on the Physical & Sustainability team working on the journals Green Chemistry and PCCP. Prior to joining the RSC, he worked in the chemical industry in the synthesis of pharmaceutical precursors. Before that Kieran completed a PhD at the University of Edinburgh with Professor Stephen Thomas, in collaboration with AstraZeneca, and an MChem from the University of St Andrews. His research focussed on main-group catalysis and asymmetric synthesis. In his spare time, Kieran enjoys reading books, running, cycling, hiking and playing chess.
Rini Prakash, Publishing Editor
ORCiD 0000-0002-7577-281X
Rini joined the Royal Society of Chemistry in June 2023 as a Publishing Editor in the Physical & Sustainability team. Prior to this position, she completed her postdoctoral studies in Main Group Chemistry and Lewis Acid Catalysis at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research in Thiruvananthapuram. Rini holds a PhD from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras, where her research focused on the synthesis, structure, and reactivity of Group 5 and 7 transition metal diborane(6) complexes. Outside of her professional commitments, Rini finds joy in watching movies, listening to music, and savouring delicious food.
