Andrew Smith

Professor Andrew Smith serves as Director of Research and Professor in the School of Chemistry at the University of St Andrews, where he has been a faculty member since 2005. He holds positions in both the Biomedical Sciences Research Complex and EaSTCHEM. His academic journey began with a D. Phil from the University of Oxford in 2000 under Prof. Steve Davies, followed by post-doctoral studies until 2005. He was appointed as a Royal Society University Research Fellow at St Andrews in 2005, promoted to Reader in 2010, and to Professor in 2012.

Professor Smith's research focuses on enantioselective catalysis using Lewis bases, particularly the development of N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) and isothioureas as catalysts. His work explores the mechanistic understanding of catalytic processes and methodology development in organic synthesis. He has developed versatile isothiourea catalysts, including 'HyperBTM' which is now commercially available, and has pioneered applications in kinetic resolutions, Michael additions, and rearrangement reactions. His research group investigates how heterocyclic compounds can be used as organocatalysts to develop new routes for preparing stereodefined materials from simple building blocks.

Professor Smith has received significant recognition for his work, including an ERC Consolidator grant (2011), the RSC Merck Prize (2014), the RSC Charles Rees Award (2018), and election as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (2017). He currently directs the EPSRC CRITICAT Catalysis CDT, a collaborative doctoral training program involving St Andrews, Edinburgh, and Heriot Watt Universities.

• ERC Consolidator grant (2011)
• RSC Merck Prize (2014)
• RSC Charles Rees Award (2018)
• FRSE (2017)

Professor Smith actively contributes to teaching at both sub-honours and honours levels, lecturing in Introductory Organic Chemistry, Mechanism in Organic Chemistry (as module convenor), and Asymmetric Synthesis. He has supervised numerous PhD students whose research spans various aspects of enantioselective catalysis. His current research projects include DKRHet4, ChalBondCat Fellowship, and the Allan Watson Programme Grant 'Boron: Beyond the Reagent,' reflecting his ongoing commitment to advancing catalytic methodologies with practical applications.