Rate My Professor Mark Humphrey

Professor Mark Humphrey is a Professor in the Research School of Chemistry at the Australian National University. He earned BSc(Hons), PhD (1987), and DSc (2002) degrees from the University of Adelaide, along with an honorary Doctor of the University from Université Rennes 1 in 2019. Following postdoctoral appointments at Universität Würzburg (1987-1989) and the University of Illinois (1989-1990), he held a lectureship at the University of New England (1990-1994). At ANU, he progressed from Lecturer (1994) and Senior Lecturer (1995) to Reader (1998) and full Professor (2003). Humphrey has served as Associate Director (Research) of the Research School of Chemistry (2011-2013), President of the ACT Branch of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute (1999-2001), and Chair of its Inorganic Division (2010-2013). He currently directs the Australian side of the Australia-China Joint Research Centre for Functional Molecular Materials and the CNRS-funded International Research Project “MAITAI”, connecting eight institutions across Australia and France. Additional roles include Visiting Professor at Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Honorary Professor at Nanjing University of Science and Technology, and Anniversary Professor at Jiangsu University.

Humphrey's research focuses on preparing novel molecular materials by tailoring chemical structures to achieve desired properties, especially nonlinear optical effects. His group employs organometallic, organic, coordination complex, and polymer synthesis, coupled with spectroscopy, electrochemistry, spectroelectrochemistry, molecular modelling, electron microscopy, X-ray crystallography, and high-power laser studies. Active projects encompass molecular switches, programmable spatiotemporal light control, high-nuclearity ruthenium carbonyl clusters, mixed-metal clusters for catalysis, transition metal complex hybrid nanomaterials, and π-delocalizable oligomers and dendrimers. Boasting 465 publications with over 17,900 citations, key works include “A Deep-Ultraviolet Transparent Nonlinear Optical Hydrogen-Bonded Organic Framework” (J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2026), “Exceptional Two- to Five-Photon Absorption at Mono/Bis(Donor)-Porphyrin-Mono/Bis(Donor) Triads and Pentads” (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2025), and “Exceptional three- to six-photon absorption at organometallic dendrimers” (Chem. Sci., 2024). His honors feature election as Foreign Member of Academia Europaea (2021), the RACI A.E. Leighton Memorial Medal (2017), H.G. Smith Memorial Medal (2010), Inorganic (G.J. Burrows) Award (2008), Organometallic Award (1998), David Syme Research Prize (2002), and several Australian Research Council Fellowships. Humphrey chaired 19 conferences and symposia and contributed to ARC panels, including the College of Experts (2016-2018) and ERA committees (2012, 2018).