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
6-10 September 2026 – This week, James attended the 12th International Conference on f-Elements in Manchester, England. He presented an Invited Lecture on our group's work on plutonium redox reactivity conducted in collaboration with Richard Wilson at Argonne National Laboratory. Thanks to Steve Liddle, Conrad Goodwin and the whole Mancester team for hosting a great meeting!
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!
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!