Professor Nora de Leeuw CChem FRSC

I have always liked puzzles and when I first was taught chemistry at school, I really enjoyed balancing equations and working out titration experiments. My interest in chemistry grew from there and I particularly liked the way chemistry was linking into so many other subjects, e.g. biology and physics.

Ever since I saw an excellent television series about the life and work of Marie Sklodowska Curie, I have been fascinated by her career, her insight, research, and tenacity in the face of adversity. I think it's fantastic that her achievements are honoured and her name continues to remain a by-word for excellence through the prestigious EU research fellowships for early career scientists that bear her name.

At this stage of my career, I am motivated not only by my own research, but also by mentoring earlier career researchers to successfully follow their chosen career in chemistry. I am also very active in research capacity building in sub-Saharan Africa and building sustainable links with chemists in the continent to enable them to build their own research programmes and profiles, despite the difficulties of access to relevant equipment and resources.

I am highly motivated by the current work by myself and other groups all over the world, on identifying and designing novel, cheap and non-toxic catalysts for the production of synthetic fuels from CO₂ as a renewable carbon source.

Having seen a number of my research projects – 'Role of Fluoride in Tooth Enamel'; 'Origin of Water on Earth'; and, 'Iron Sulfides as Primordial Catalysts of Life' – taken up by the popular press and disseminated all over the world has been a real highlight of my career.

Juggling an Open University degree with work, and then a full-time PhD with two very young children, has been a real challenge, but it all worked out in the end.

I firmly believe that chemistry has a central role to play in providing the novel materials and processes that will allow us to generate sufficient sustainable energy for all – including growing economies in the global south – without further damage to the environment or further climate change.