Ian Baxendale obtained his first degree from the University of Leicester graduating with a BSc 1st class honours in Chemistry. Final year research : The regio- and stereoselective controlled formation and ring opening of quinazoline aziridines. This research was conducted under the supervision of Dr. R. S. Atkinson. He then remained at Leicester to continue his studies pursuing a PhD under the supervision of Prof. Pavel Kocovsky investigating new Organometallic catalysts based on group 6 transition metals for stereoselective allylic substitution reactions.
In 1999 he moved to a postdoctoral position with Prof. Steven V. Ley at the University of Cambridge initially conducting research into Natural Product synthesis prior to entering the field of Solid Supported Reagents and Scavengers. In 2003 he was awarded a Wolfson Royal Society Fellowship. Then in 2005 he co-founded the Innovative Technology Centre (ITC) with Prof. Ley as a centre of excellence for the study and development of advanced chemical synthesis tools and methodologies where he was the centre's Director. In 2008 he was promoted to a Senior Research Associate within the Department of Chemistry at Cambridge and then in 2009 was awarded a prestigious Royal Society University Research Fellowship and become a member of the Chemistry Departments teaching faculty.
Whilst at Cambridge he was also elected a Fellow at Sidney Sussex College (2000) and soon after took over as the Head of Natural Sciences teaching and for 5 years acted as the Dean of the College.
In 2005 Prof.'s Baxendale and Ley established a spin-out company; Reaxa Ltd, as a joint venture between the University of Cambridge and Avecia plc. The company was focused upon the developed of enabling tools such as immobilised catalysts and metal scavengers for bulk scale production of high volume intermediates and APIs. In 2010 the company sold its scavenger range (QuadraPure™ and QuadraSil™ scavengers - leading technology in metal extraction and purification for pharma manufacturing) to Johnson Matthey. Then divested its EnCat™ encapsulated catalyst technology to S. Amit & Co., a Mumbai-based chemistry services provider. The remaining company assets were integrated into a new venture Yorkshire Process Technology Ltd.
In 2012 Ian moved to Durham to take up the Chair of Synthetic Chemistry as a fully tenured Professor.
His current research interests are the design and implementation of new enabling technologies such as Flow Chemical Synthesis (FCS), Synthesis Automation Methodologies (SAM), microwave reactors and immobilised reagents and scavengers to expedite complex chemical syntheses. The success of his academic career is reflected by >170 publications (H-index=58, Web of Science Core Collection), including several reviews and book chapters, with a total of >8500 citations.
Ian's research has received considerable interest especially from within the Pharmaceutical, Agrochemical and Flavours & Fragrances industries consequently he gives on average 20-25 teaching lectures per annum. In addition his laboratory have established a successful training scheme allowing people to visit from companies and other research organisations to perform a period of learning and development within the confines of his laboratories. This has created a network of skilled technical experts who are spreading the story and supporting the British and European chemical industry.
Furthermore, Ian acts as a scientific consultant for a number of major pharmaceutical, agrochemical and fine chemicals companies with regard to advising them upon the latest manufacturing techniques and technologies as well as effective exploitation of modern synthesis techniques for improved chemical synthesis.
ResearcherID: G-4117-2012 — | — ORCID: 0000-0003-1297-1552 — | — Scopus Author ID: 6603393950 — | — Durham University staff webpage