Véronique Gouverneur receives US visiting professorships

Véronique Gouverneur, Waynflete Professor of Chemistry, has recently delivered two prestigious visiting lectures in the US.

In February she received the Rowland Pettit Centennial Visiting Professorship at the University of Texas at Austin. The Rowland Pettit Centennial Visiting Professorship was established by the Board of Regents of The University of Texas System on April 15, 1983, for the benefit of the College of Natural Sciences.

In April she was awarded the Ojima Distinguished Lectureship in Chemistry at Stony Brook University. This lectureship was established in 2020 to commemorate Professor Iwao Ojima’s 75th birthday, and is based on an endowment from the Ojima family to help ensure that eminent scholars such as Véronique Gouverneur can continue to enrich the Department of Chemistry and Stony Brook University. 

The Gouverneur laboratory has developed new approaches for the synthesis of fluorochemicals for applications in the life sciences and in material science. This work has enhanced our fundamental understanding of alkali metal fluoride reactivity, and led to the invention of hydrogen bonding phase transfer catalysis (HBPTC), a new concept in organocatalysis opening new opportunities in organic chemistry. In this lecture, the discussion will focus on innovative approaches aimed at addressing the challenges currently facing the fluorochemical industry. One highlight is the demonstration that it is possible to convert naturally occurring fluorspar (CaF₂) into complex fluorochemicals applying a method that bypasses the necessity to form hydrofluoric acid, a toxic and highly dangerous acid. Another recent advance is the development of a method for the destruction of PFAS coupled with fluorine recovery in the spirit of a circular fluorine economy.