Role
Dr Darren Lee is a Senior Lecturer in Sustainable Chemistry for the School of Science & Technology.
Career overview
Darren received an MChem in chemistry in 2009 from Loughborough University and then stayed on to study a PhD in organic chemistry in 2013, under Prof. Andrei Malkov. His PhD thesis focussed on developing stereoselective oxidative amination reactions using Pd catalysis. After his PhD he became a Research Assistant at Loughborough with Prof. Steve Christie, using novel 3D printing techniques for embedded sensors in flow reactor technology. In 2014, he moved to the University of Nottingham to work with Prof. Simon Woodward as a Research Fellow to develop sustainable amide couplings and new cyclopropanation methodology. In 2015, he moved groups at Nottingham and worked for several years with Professors Michael W. George, Peter Licence and Sir Martyn Poliakoff, where research focussed on the developing a range of processes and reactor technologies using continuous flow. In 2022, Darren moved to Yale University (Connecticut, USA) to take up a position as Associate Research Scientist at the Center for Green Chemistry and Green Engineering, under Professors Paul T. Anastas and Julie B. Zimmerman, and was engaged in a wide range of projects involving sustainable feedstocks in chemical manufacture and developing new reactor technologies. Darren returned to the UK in 2024, where he now holds the position of Senior Lecturer in Sustainable Chemistry at Nottingham Trent University.
Research areas
Darren’s research interests are broadly focused on producing functional molecules by developing green and sustainable chemical processes that reduce or remove the use of finite resources, reduce solvent usage and circumvent the use of toxic or hazardous reagents. These goals are achieved by utilising a combination of strategies:
1) Using enabling technologies, such as electrochemistry, photochemistry, continuous flow and novel reactor design.
2) Developing methodologies that utilise sustainable feedstocks (such as biomass) and abundant waste streams (such as CO2).
3) Integrating reactions and processes in circular fashion so that process efficiency can be maximised in a way that turns waste streams from one process into a valuable feedstock for the next.