George Kostakis

Dr. George Kostakis is an Associate Professor in Physical/Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Sussex's School of Life Sciences, Department of Chemistry. He joined Sussex in 2013 following postdoctoral work at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and a senior researcher position at the Institute of Nanotechnology. His research group pioneers innovative approaches in coordination chemistry, focusing on three pillars: 1) catalytic 3d/4f coordination clusters for sustainable synthesis, 2) benzotriazole-based coordination polymers, and 3) the Polynuclear Inorganic Clusters Database (PICD) for structural analysis.

Key research interests include:

• Development of earth-abundant metal catalysts (Cu, Zn, Ni) for organic transformations
• Radical-triggered C-H activation methodologies
• Design of therapeutic metal chelators
• Functionalization of biomaterials like amyloid fibrils
• Green chemistry via solvent-free reactions

His group has secured significant funding from the Royal Society, EPSRC, and Royal Society of Chemistry. Current grants support work on late-stage bioactive compound functionalization (2024-2026) and economical Cu(II) synthetic methodologies. Dr. Kostakis teaches extensively in inorganic chemistry, convenes PhD programs, and oversees industrial placements.