Robert Mokaya

Professor Robert Mokaya OBE FRS is Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor at the University of Sheffield, joining in 2024 after serving as Pro Vice-Chancellor for Global Engagement at the University of Nottingham. As Professor of Materials Chemistry within the School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, he leads significant research in porous materials for energy applications. His distinguished academic career spans over three decades with major contributions to materials chemistry and sustainable energy solutions.

Mokaya received his B.Sc. in Chemistry from the University of Nairobi (1988) followed by a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge (1992). His academic journey includes a Research Fellowship at Trinity College, Cambridge (1992), an EPSRC Advanced Fellowship (1996), and progressive appointments at Nottingham University culminating in Professor of Materials Chemistry (2008).

His research focuses on the design, synthesis and characterization of novel porous materials with applications in hydrogen storage, CO2 capture, and sustainable energy. His work particularly emphasizes templated porous solids, zeolite templated carbons, and mesoporous molecular sieves. Mokaya's research group has pioneered approaches to optimize porosity in carbon materials for enhanced gas storage capacity.

Mokaya's extensive publication record demonstrates consistent leadership in porous materials research with recent work emphasizing practical applications for sustainable energy storage solutions. His articles show a clear progression from fundamental materials characterization to applied energy storage technologies, with particular emphasis on optimizing pore structures for specific gas storage requirements.

• OBE (2022) for services to the Chemical Sciences
• Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) (2023)
• Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award holder (2017-2022)
• President-Elect of the Royal Society of Chemistry (2024-2026)

Mokaya has secured significant research funding supporting his work on sustainable materials for energy applications. His leadership extends to capacity building in porous materials research globally, with particular focus on developing nations. He has supervised numerous PhD students and postdoctoral researchers who have gone on to establish their own research programs in materials science.

His research laboratory focuses on the synthesis and characterization of advanced porous materials, with specialized equipment for gas sorption analysis, materials synthesis, and electrochemical characterization. Mokaya leads international collaborations focused on sustainable energy materials, with particular emphasis on creating practical solutions for clean energy storage challenges.