The Blakemore Laboratory
Inspired by sustainability and stewardship, our group synthesizes new compounds and studies reactivity involving actinides, lanthanides, transition metals, and gases. We draw on perspectives from inorganic/organometallic chemistry, molecular electrochemistry, and surface science.
RECENT BLAKEMORE GROUP NEWS
23 June 2026 – The Department of Chemistry at KU has issued a new series of faculty interview videos that are available online now. In his video interview, James describes our group's research, the collaborative and collegial environment in our Department, and the resources for conducting research in molecular chemistry at KU. Thanks to Prof. Marco Caricato for leading the process that led to these great videos!
7-13 June 2026 – This week, James made an extended research visit to Los Alamos National Laboratory. On Tuesday, he presented our surface-immobilized uranium complexes to the Institute for Materials Science (IMS) and on Thursday, he presented our uranyl crown ether and heterobimetallic chemistry to the Chemistry Division. Thanks to our collaborators Ben Heiner and Miles Beaux for invitation to visit IMS, Ayush Gupta for the invitation to visit C Division, and Tom Sheridan and Dave Clark for their hospitality over the course of the week. So exciting to learn about the tremendous research capabilities at LANL, plan new collaborations, and have the opportunity catch up with so many friends. And, so wonderful to see James's mentees Ayush, Tom, and Riddhi Golwankar thriving as scientists at LANL!
12 May 2026 – Continuing the Parisian adventure, James visited the ITODYS laboratory at Université Paris Cité today and delivered an invited seminar on our proton-dependent neptunium redox chemistry. It is exciting to be back in the Bâtiment Lavoisier and walking the hallways of the former home of the Laboratoire d’Electrochimie Moleculaire (LEM). James was last here in 2019 for the Cyclic Voltammetry International School. Thanks to Benedikt Lassalle-Kaiser for the invitation and everyone at ITODYS for the very warm welcome!
16-17 April 2026 – This week, James was thrilled to visit Prof. Charlotte Williams and the Williams Research Group at the University of Oxford. Although motivated by different goals, the Williams Group and our own have kindred interests in chemistry. On Thursday, we discussed quantifying the effective Lewis acidity of metal cations, as well as the concept of Lewis acidity as a descriptor in multimetallic chemistry and catalysis. On Friday, James delivered an invited seminar on our approaches to quantification of Lewis acidity and understanding heterometallic effects in platinum-templated macrocycles. Thanks to Charlotte for the invitation—a real pleasure to meet and discuss the bright future of multimetallic chemistry!