chemistry

Robin Perutz

Robin Perutz 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 Robin Perutz rather than just read about it. In short: Robin Perutz FRS (born December 1949, in Cambridge) is a professor of Inorganic Chemistry at the University of York, where he was formerly head of department between 2000 and 2004. He is also the son of the Nobel Prize winner Max Perutz.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Robin Perutz FRS (born December 1949, in Cambridge) is a professor of Inorganic Chemistry at the University of York, where he was formerly head of department between 2000 and 2004. He is also the son of the Nobel Prize winner Max Perutz. Perutz's research spans inorganic chemistry, photochemistry, and catalysis. In particular, his interests lie in the mechanistic details of homogeneous catalysis by transition metal complexes, and is responsible for many techniques used in the field. Perutz's research has enabled chemists to take a different approach to fundamental reactions and many industrial processes.

Education Perutz graduated from the University of Cambridge with a BA in Natural Sciences in 1971. He subsequently worked for his PhD alongside Professor Jim Turner FRS, initially in Cambridge and then at Newcastle University. His focus was on utilising photochemical metal carbonyl dissociation in low temperature matrices, producing seminal work on the interaction of Cr(CO)5 with ‘inert’ matrix hosts, including CH4 and Xe.

Awards and distinctions Fellow of the Royal Society (2010) Franco-British Prize of the French Chemical Society (2009) Sacconi Medal of Italian Chemical Society and Sacconi Foundation (2008) President of Dalton Division of the Royal Society of Chemistry (2007–10) Nyholm Medal and Lectureship of the Royal Society of Chemistry (2005)

Plenary and invited lectures Plenary Lecture ACS Winter Fluorine Conference, Florida (January 2005) Invited Lecture International Symposium on Photophysics and Photochemistry of Coordination Compounds, Hong Kong (July 2004) Troisième Cycle Lecturer, Bern, Basel, Neuchatel & Lausanne, Switzerland (May 2003)

Equality and diversity Perutz has been an advocate for women in science; the Chemistry Department at York became the first to win the Athena SWAN gold status, an award for good practice on women’s equality. He also supports STEM students with disabilities.

External links Robin Perutz, personal page

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Robin Perutz

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Robin Perutz 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 Robin Perutz 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 Robin Perutz 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 Robin Perutz

In research: Robin Perutz 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 Robin Perutz 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: Robin Perutz is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1949 births, Academics of the University of Cambridge, Alumni of Newcastle University, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Robin Perutz 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 Robin Perutz in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Robin Perutz 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 Robin Perutz out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Robin Perutz in simple terms?

Why does Robin Perutz 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 Robin Perutz?

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 Robin Perutz.