Dr Richard Singer

About

I was inspired to make chemistry my career during my BSc at UEA.  Subsequently I undertook a PhD exploring the interactions of metal atoms trapped in inert low temperature solids.  I then spent 18 months at the Air Chemistry Division of the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in Mainz, researching stratospheric  kinetics and photo chemistry.  Returning to the UK I was a BP Venture-Research-Fellow at the University of Cambridge, working with Professor Peter Edwards FRS, testing the theoretical hypothesis that atoms, even in highly symmetric environments may spontaneously become dipolar. 

I joined Kingston Polytechnic in 1992 as a senior lecturer in physical chemistry, teaching widely across the  subject.  My teaching interests are kinetics, surface chemistry, computational chemistry and spectroscopy. 

Since joining Kingston University I have developed research interests in materials chemistry, principally studying organic/inorganic hybrid materials for a variety of electronic applications.   

I have maintained some research activity in spite of the demands of my role and have developed an interest in computational chemistry which has allowed me to collaborate with colleagues on a variety of projects.  Most recently I have been involved with a project led by Dr Gemma Shearman in which we use muon spin resonance to study the interactions of small molecules with membrane materials.

Academic responsibilities

Associate Professor

Qualifications

  • BSc (Hons) Chemistry 1st Class
  • PhD

Teaching and learning

Research

Leadership and management