Dr Philip Dyer, from the University of Durham, is awarded the 20th Franco-British Prize

Dr Philip Dyer

The 20th annual Franco-British Prize will be awarded to the British scientist Dr Phil Dyer, for his work in synthetic chemistry, at the French Ambassador’s Residence in London, on March 7th 2007.

Every year since 1988, France and the United Kingdom take turns to award a prize to a young scientist originating from the other country. The winner should have carried out research work, of an excellent standard, which involved both countries and will serve as a starting point for future collaboration.

The British candidates are judged by the French Académie des Sciences with the final decision on the winner made by the French Ambassador.

Dr Dyer is currently Lecturer in Inorganic Chemistry in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Durham. His current research spans the areas of synthetic organometallic, organophosphorus, and co-ordination chemistry. This is driven by the potential application of these species in industrially relevant small molecule catalysis. In particular, Dr Dyer has been conducting some innovative work on carbene chemistry.

Dr Dyer has a record of long standing successful collaborations with French academic researchers and students at several centres in France (Toulouse, Rennes, Pau and Strasbourg).

The award will be presented by His Excellency Mr. Gerard Errera, French Ambassador to the United Kingdom, at a special ceremony and reception held at his residence in London on 7th March 2007. The prize money is intended to allow the recipient to travel to France to establish or deepen collaboration with French scientists.

See also Dr Dyer’s webpage