| Proposers | Vernon Gibson is distinguished for his seminal synthetic, structural and bonding studies on metal complexes, and for designing novel initiators and catalysts for controlled polymer synthesis. He has revealed hitherto unsuspected structural and bonding patterns in metal-ligand complexes, and the insight gained has led him to design and prepare innovative metal-based catalysts for the production of organic polymers by a variety of different polymerisation mechanisms. These have included catalysts for industrially important materials such as polyethylene and poly(methylmethacrylate), and for speciality materials such as bioresorbable and bioactive polymers. Amongst them are catalysts based on metals with no previous track record of polymerisation activity; he has moreover worked closely with industry to develop his systems for commercialisation. |