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Prof Sharon E. Ashbrook

Head of School

Professor

Phone

+44 (0)1334 46 3779

Email

sema@st-andrews.ac.uk

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Biography

Professor Ashbrook studied for an MChem Chemistry degree at Hertford College, University of Oxford, before completing her DPhil, also at Oxford in the Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, under the supervision of Stephen Wimperis. After a postdoc at the Unviersity of Exeter, Professor Ashbrook was awarded a Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowship, which she held in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Cambridge. During this time she also held the Charles and Katherine Darwin Research Fellowship at Darwin College. Professor Ashbrook moved to ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø in 2005, when she was awarded an RCUK Academic Fellowship, and was promoted to Reader in 2009 and Professor in 2013. She was awarded a Royal Society Wolfson Merit Award in 2015, and elected FRSE in 2016. In 2025, she was elected a fellow of the International Soceity of Magnetic Resonance. She has also been awarded the RSE Makdougall Brisbane Medal (2012) and Lord Kelvin Prize (2023), the RSC Harrison Prize (2004), Marlow Award (2011), Corday Morgan Award (2015) and Bourke-Liversidge Award (2021). In 2017, she was awarded a Suffrage Science Award. Professor Ashbrook has also acted as the Professorial Senate Assessor for Science and Medicine on University Court.

Teaching

CH1301 The Impact of ChemistryÌý

CH1401 Introductory Inorganic and Physical ChemistryÌý

CH1402 Inorganic and Physical Chemistry 1Ìý

CH2701 Physical Chemistry 2Ìý

CH3431 Chemistry workshopÌý

CH4717ÌýFundamentals of Spectroscopy of Molecules and Solids

CH444/CH5441 Honours Project Assessment

Research areas

Our research aims to combine high-resolution multinuclear Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy with periodic first-principles calculations to investigate structure, order and dynamics in the solid state. Research involves the development of new experiments, implementation and improvement of existing experiments and the application to systems of interest in chemistry, geology and materials science. Particular emphasis is given to nuclei which possess a nuclear electric quadrupole moment, such as 17-O, 23-Na or 27-Al, which account for over 75% of all NMR-accessible nuclides. Current areas of interest include high-pressure minerals, microporous framework materials and ceramic materials proposed for the encapsulation of nuclear waste.

For more information see the SEA group website:

PhD supervision

• DanielaÌýAlmeida Vieira Fogaca Da Rocha
• SharminazÌýChollampattu Sageer
• MarekÌýKarpíšek
• JonathanÌýKeys
• MalavikaÌýManoj
• JovanÌýPolese-Abramowicz
• YinxuanÌýZhang

Selected publications

• Open access
  McKay, D., Moran, R. F., Dawson, D. M., Griffin, J. M., Sturniolo, S., Pickard, C. J., Berry, A. J. & Ashbrook, S. E., 20 Feb 2019, In: Journal of the American Chemical Society. 141, 7, p. 3024–3036 13 p.

  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

• Open access
  McHugh, L. N., McPherson, M. J., McCormick, L. J., Morris, S. A., Wheatley, P. S., Teat, S. J., McKay, D., Dawson, D. M., Sansome, C. E. F., Ashbrook, S. E., Stone, C. A., Smith, M. W. & Morris, R. E., Nov 2018, In: Nature Chemistry. 10, 11, p. 1096–1102 7 p.

  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

• Open access
  Ashbrook, S. E. & Hodgkinson, P., 28 Jul 2018, In: Journal of Chemical Physics. 149, 4, 040901.

  Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review

• Open access
  Fernandes, A., Moran, R., Sneddon, S., Dawson, D. M., McKay, D., Bignami, G. P. M., Blanc, F., Whittle, K. & Ashbrook, S. E., 14 Feb 2018, (E-pub ahead of print) In: RSC Advances. 8, 13, p. 7089-7101

  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

• Open access
  Bignami, G. P. M., Davis, Z. H., Dawson, D. M., Morris, S. A., Russell, S. E., McKay, D., Parke, R. E., Iuga, D., Morris, R. E. & Ashbrook, S. E., 28 Jan 2018, In: Chemical Science. 9, 4, p. 850-859

  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

• Open access
  Dawson, D. M., Seymour, V. R. & Ashbrook, S. E., 21 Dec 2017, In: Journal of Physical Chemistry C. 121, 50, p. 28065-28076

  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

• Open access
  Morris, S. A., Bignami, G. P. M., Tian, Y., Navarro-Rojas, M., Firth, D. S., Cejka, J., Wheatley, P. S., Dawson, D. M., Slawinski, W. A., Wragg, D. S., Morris, R. E. & Ashbrook, S. E., Oct 2017, In: Nature Chemistry. 9, 10, p. 1012-1018 7 p.

  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

• Open access
  Dawson, D. M., Ke, Z., Mack, F. M., Doyle, R., Bignami, G. P. M., Smellie, I. A., Buehl, M. & Ashbrook, S. E., 28 Sept 2017, In: Chemical Communications. 53, 76, p. 10512-10515

  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

• Open access
  Bignami, G. P. M., Dawson, D. M., Seymour, V. R., Wheatley, P. S., Morris, R. E. & Ashbrook, S. E., 12 Apr 2017, In: Journal of the American Chemical Society. 139, 14, p. 5140-5148 9 p.

  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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