Gilbert, Robert G. (1946 - )

Summary

Bob Gilbert is Director of the Key Centre for Polymer Colloids at the University of Sydney, where he also holds a Personal Chair in Polymer Chemistry. His main area of research is in chemical kinetics: the mechanisms and rates of chemical transformations. Gilbert has written two important books, four patents and some 310 papers in the field and is regularly invited to present his work at national and international conferences and institutes. He has collaborated or consulted with some 40 industrial companies, has held high-level positions within the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry Commission (IUPAC), is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science and the Royal Australian Chemical Institute and has been a member of the editorial boards of major scientific journals.

Details

Professor Robert G (Bob) Gilbert is Director of the Key Centre for Polymer Colloids at the University of Sydney. He was born in Sydney on Jan 21 1946. He received his undergraduate training at Sydney University, graduating in 1966, and his PhD from the Australian National University, Canberra, graduating in 1970. He carried out postdoctoral work at MIT in the US from 1970 to 1972, and then returned to the University of Sydney. He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, and holds a Personal Chair in Polymer Chemistry at the University of Sydney. He is author of about 310 papers, four patents, and two books (on unimolecular reactions and on emulsion polymerization). His research achievements include developing new theoretical and experimental methods for mechanistic investigation in polymerization kinetics, particularly in free radical systems, with emphasis on emulsion polymerizations. He also has carried out extensive research on fundamental dynamical theories in gas-phase reactions. He was President of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) Macromolecular Division (1998-2001), Elected Member of the IUPAC Bureau (2002-2005), was Chair (1988-1995) of the IUPAC Working Party on polymerization modelling and mechanisms, and was one of eight members of the IUPAC Strategy Development and Implementation Committee. He was Secretary of the International Polymer Colloids Group until 2001, and former Chair of both the Polymer and Physical Chemistry Divisions of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute. He is a winner of a Sydney University Excellence in Teaching Award, was awarded the Smith Medal of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute in 1992 in recognition of outstanding research achievements in chemistry over the past decade, the Institute's Polymer Medal in 1995, shared the Australian Institute of Nuclear Science and Engineering Medal in 1993 for his work in understanding polymerization mechanisms, the RACI Ollé Prize in 1996 for his book on emulsion polymerization, the RACI Physical Chemistry Medal in 1998 and the RACI Applied Research Medal in 2005. He is a member of the editorial boards of Biomacromolecules, Journal of Polymer Science and Polymer, and was Chair of the Gordon Research Conference on Polymer Colloids, 2003. He is fluent in French and German as well as his native English. Provided by Professor R. G. Gilbert

Chronology

1966

Education - Bachelor of Science with Honours (BSc (Hons)) completed at the University of Sydney

1970

Education - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) completed at the Australian National University

1970 - 1972

Career position - Harkness Fellow at Massachusetts Institute of Technology

1972 - 1984

Career position - Lecturer then Senior Lecturer in Chemistry at the University of Sydney

1982 -

Award - Fellow of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute (FRACI)

1985 - 1987

Career position - President of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute Physical Chemistry Division

1985 - 1991

Career position - Associate Professor in Chemistry at the University of Sydney

1991 - 1996

Career position - Adjunct Professor at the Research School of Chemistry at the Australian National University

1992 -

Career position - Professor of Chemistry at the University of Sydney

1992

Award - Smith Medal received from the Royal Australian Chemical Institute

1992 - 1998

Career position - Director of the Polymer Centre at the University of Sydney

1992 - 2001

Career position - Titular Member of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry Commission (IUPAC) IV.2: Macromolecule Division

1993

Award - Australian Institute of Nuclear Science & Engineering Medal received

1994 -

Award - Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science (FAA)

1995

Award - Polymer Medal received from the Royal Australian Chemical Institute

1996

Award - Archibald Ollé Literature Prize, New South Wales Branch, Royal Australian Chemical Institute

1996 - 1997

Career position - Vice President of the Macromolecular Division of IUPAC

1997 - 2001

Career position - Secretary of the International Polymer Colloids Group (ICPG)

1998

Award - Physical Chemistry Medal received from the Royal Australian Chemical Institute

1998 - 2001

Career position - President of the Macromolecular Division of IUPAC

1999 -

Career position - Director of the Key Centre for Polymer Colloids in the School of Chemistry at the University of Sydney

2001

Award - Centenary Medal received from the Australian Government

2010

Award - David Craig Medal, Australian Academy of Science

Related entries

Published resources

Journal Articles

• Fischer, Gad and Gilbert, Robert G., 'Ian Gordon Ross 1926-2006', Historical Records of Australian Science, 20 (1) (2009), 91-107 , https://doi.org/10.1071/HR09003. Details

Resources

• Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q3435227. Details
• VIAF - Virtual International Authority File, OCLC, https://viaf.org/viaf/54207434. Details
• David Craig Medal and Lecture, Australian Academy of Science, 2022. https://www.science.org.au/supporting-science/awards-and-opportunities/david-craig-medal-and-lecture. Details
• 'Gilbert, Robert G. (1946-)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1473626. Details