chemistry

Julie Macpherson

Julie Macpherson is a chemistry topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Julie Macpherson rather than just read about it. In short: Julie Macpherson is a professor of chemistry at the University of Warwick. In 2017 she was awarded the Royal Society Innovation award for her research into boron doped diamond electrochemical sensors.

Key takeaways

Julie Macpherson belongs to chemistry; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Julie Macpherson to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Julie Macpherson from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Julie Macpherson is a professor of chemistry at the University of Warwick. In 2017 she was awarded the Royal Society Innovation award for her research into boron doped diamond electrochemical sensors.

Education Macpherson completed her bachelor's degree in chemistry at the University of Warwick. She struggled to choose between chemistry and physics as an undergraduate. She completed her PhD at the University of Warwick under the supervision of Professor Patrick Unwin. Her doctoral research concentrated on the development of the scanning electrochemical microscope and developing means to understand microscope dissolution.

Research and career Macpherson was appointed a Royal Society University Research fellow in 1999, and earned a faculty position in 2000. For her postdoctoral research she switched topics from scanning probe microscopy, and instead concentrated on the creation hydrodynamic microelectrodes, including the micro-jet and radial flow micro-ring electrodes. She was promoted to reader in 2004 and professor in 2007. Macpherson's current research focuses on developing novel electrochemical sensors based on carbon allotropes (diamond, nanotubes, graphene) for applications in healthcare, environmental monitoring and pharmaceutical analysis. She is using 3D printing and lithography to create the sensors. Her group are also identifying advanced scanning probe microscopy techniques for imaging surfaces for fuel cell catalysis, as well as investigating their sensors. In 2014 she was awarded a Royal Society Industry Fellowship in recognition of her contributions to diamond electrochemistry. The fellowship allows Macpherson to develop all-diamond polycrystalline electrochemical sensors and combined electrochemical / spectroscopic technologies for identification of trace metals for contamination monitoring. She works in partnership with Element Six, a de Beers group company. Her interdisciplinary team grown synthetic diamonds in a laboratory and process them for novel applications. In 2017 Macpherson was award the Royal Society Innovation award, worth £250,000, for her research into using boron doped diamond (BDD) as sensor for pH and chlorine for water quality control. BDD is a semiconductor doped with degenerated boron, with semi-metallic characteristics. She is co-director of the collaborative multi-institution Centre for Diamond Science and Technology. Macpherson has published over 200 peer-reviewed articles and has a H-index of 46. She has filed 15 patents.

Awards Macpherson has won many awards for her teaching and research. She has won the University of Warwick Andrew McCamley Prize, awarded to the best undergraduate lecturer, in 2001, 2003, 2007 and 2013.

2017 – Royal Society Innovation Award 2015 – The Analytical Scientist magazine Top 50 Women in Analytical Science 2007 – University of Warwick Andrew McCamley Prize 2006 – Royal Society of Chemistry McBain Medal 2005 – Royal Society of Chemistry Marlow Medal 2005 – Times Higher Education Awards Young Researcher of the Year 2003 – University of Warwick Andrew McCamley Prize 2003 – Society of Electroanalytical Chemistry Charles N. Reilley Young Investigator Award 2002 – The Observer Young Alpha Female 2001 – University of Warwick Andrew McCamley Prize 1999 – Molecular Imaging's Scanned Probe Microscopist Award

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Julie Macpherson

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Julie Macpherson claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In chemistry, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Julie Macpherson before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Julie Macpherson ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Julie Macpherson

In research: Julie Macpherson appears in chemistry research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Julie Macpherson in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Julie Macpherson is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 21st-century chemists, Alumni of the University of Warwick, British chemists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Julie Macpherson outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Julie Macpherson in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Julie Macpherson means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Julie Macpherson out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Julie Macpherson in simple terms?

Why does Julie Macpherson matter?

Because it connects several chemistry ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Julie Macpherson?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Julie Macpherson.