Ellen Matson

Biography

Ellen’s research interests span inorganic and materials chemistry, with particular interests in interfacial reactivity and electronic structure in the context of multielectron/multiproton energy storage and conversion reactions. Her research group studies the synthesis, characterization, and reactivity of molecular metal chalcogenide clusters (e.g. polyoxometalates, thiomolybdates, actinide-substituted assemblies). Her research has been recognized with a number of honours and awards, including the Kavli Emerging Leader in Chemistry Award, a U.S. Department of Energy Young Investigator Award, and most recently the Inorganic Chemistry Lectureship. She has served on the editorial advisory boards of Inorganic Chemistry, Chemical Science, and Dalton Transactions, and is the chair-elect of the Energy and Sustainability Subdivision of the ACS Division of Inorganic Chemistry, having also served as chair of the Gordon Research Conference on Inorganic Chemistry.

Ellen was born in Washington, D.C. and spent the early years of her life moving around the country with her family. She graduated from Boston University, with degrees in both Chemistry (B.A.) and Science Education (B.S.). In 2013, she obtained her PhD in Chemistry from Purdue University, working under the guidance of Prof. Suzanne Bart on the synthesis and reactivity of low-valent uranium alkyl complexes. Subsequently, she performed postdoctoral research in the laboratory of Prof. Alison Fout at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign (now at Texas A&M University), studying redox-active ligands with secondary coordination spheres for small molecule activation. Her independent career began at the University of Rochester in 2015, receiving tenure in 2021, and she was promoted to the Marshall D. Gates Jr. Chair of Chemistry in 2024. 

RSC affiliations

• Editorial board, ChemComm

• Advisory board, Chemical Science