Rate My Professor John Blacker

Professor John Blacker is Chair of Process Chemistry at the University of Leeds, with joint appointments in the Schools of Chemistry and Chemical and Process Engineering. He serves as Technical Director of the Institute of Process Research and Development (iPRD), which he founded in 2006 to bridge academic innovation with industrial needs in chemical process research and development. Blacker earned a BSc Special Honours in Biochemistry and Chemistry from the University of Sheffield (1981-1984), a Diplôme d’Études Approfondies in Organic Chemistry from Université Louis Pasteur, Strasbourg (1984-1985), and a PhD from the same university (1984-1988) supervised by Nobel Laureate Prof. Jean-Marie Lehn. He conducted postdoctoral research as a Fellow at the University of Cambridge with Prof. Sir Alan Fersht (1989-1990), focusing on catalytic antibodies. Prior to academia, he amassed 20 years in industry, advancing from Senior Researcher to Technical Director at ICI BioProducts, ICI FCMO, Zeneca Specialties, Avecia Fine Chemicals, and Piramal Healthcare, where he led scale-up of batch and flow processes for pharmaceutical, agrochemical, fine, and speciality chemical sectors, managing the Piramal Innovations Group across the UK and India.

Blacker's research centers on sustainable process chemistry, encompassing biocatalysis with whole-cell and enzymatic biotransformations, chemocatalysis including CATHy™ and SCRAM catalysts for hydrogen transfer, integration of chemo- and bio-catalysts in continuous flow, and utilization of renewable feedstocks. He leads a group of about 12 PhD students, postdocs, chemists, biologists, and engineers in the iPRD Process Laboratory, securing funding from EU, Innovate UK, EPSRC, and industry partners. Notable achievements include transfer hydrogenation catalysts for chiral alcohols and amines in multi-tonne pharmaceutical production, the fReactor continuous stirred tank reactor for multi-phasic systems commercialized for lab-scale use, and enzyme processes converting bio-waste to sugars and monomers for biodegradable plastics. Awards include the RSC Award in Process Technology (2007), SCI Process Chemistry Award (2021), and SCI Award in Team Innovation. Key publications feature 'Copper catalysed Ullmann type chemistry: from mechanistic aspects to modern development' (2014, 1329 citations), 'Asymmetric transfer hydrogenation of ketones with bifunctional transition metal-based molecular catalysts' (2007, 1318 citations), 'Machine learning with physicochemical relationships: solubility prediction in organic solvents and water' (2020, 321 citations), and 'Synthesis of benzazoles by hydrogen-transfer catalysis' (2009, 346 citations). He contributes to teaching MSc programs in Chemical Process Research and Development and Biopharmaceuticals, sits on the National Catalysis Hub steering group, and maintains memberships in the Royal Society of Chemistry, Society of Chemical Industry, and American Chemical Society.