National teaching award for scientist

15 May 2015

Dr Patrick O'Malley, a Reader in Physical Chemistry at the University, has won the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Higher Education Teaching Award 2015 for his pioneering technological innovation in chemistry teaching.

Patrick, who received his D.Sc. at UMIST in 2002 and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, has taught physical chemistry at undergraduate level for more than 20 years and has published a large number of articles on pedagogical innovations.

He is a keen proponent of technology enhanced teaching methods and is the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences’ academic lead for eLearning and took a leading role in the first UK chemistry MOOC featuring fully interactive screencasts and virtual laboratories.

He received a University of Manchester Teaching Excellence award in 2010 and won the 2015 Guardian Higher Education award in the online/distance learning category. He is keen proponent of excellent chemistry teaching at universities.

Patrick's research interests are in biophysical chemistry, especially the electron transfer reactions involved in Photosynthesis. He is an international leader in this area and has published more than 150 research papers and presented at numerous international conferences.