Sandro Gambarotta

Sandro Gambarotta is a full professor of Inorganic Chemistry and Catalysis at the University of Ottawa, tenured in the Faculty of Science. He holds a MSc (1975) and PhD (1979) from the University of Pisa, Italy. His career spans over four decades, including roles as Director of the X-Ray Core Facility (until 2018), editorial board member of Organometallics and Journal of Organometallic Chemistry, and member of the NSERC grant committees.

Research focuses on catalytic systems for C-C bond formation, dinitrogen activation, CO2 utilization, and water splitting. Key innovations include hemilabile catalysts for high-activity polymerization and vanadium aryloxide systems for CO2 radical chemistry. Recent work explores shuttle-mediated water splitting and CO2 reduction using BiVO4.

Notable achievements include the CIC Alcan Award (1996), G. Schloss Lecturer distinction (2002), and 2012 Faculty of Science Researcher of the Year. He has supervised 20 M.A. and 14 Ph.D. students, with 17 M.A. and 12 Ph.D. completed. Active in teaching Transition Metal Chemistry and organometallic courses.

Grants include NSERC Discovery Grants (2013–2018), SABIC Collaborative Research (2015–2018), and CFI infrastructure grants for X-ray facilities. His lab is equipped with advanced crystallography tools and focuses on sustainable energy solutions through catalytic chemistry.