Dean Sheppard is the Departmental Lecturer in Physical & Theoretical Chemistry, a new teaching-focused role in the Department of Chemistry.
Dean has only lived in two places: Cornwall, where he was born and grew up, and Oxford, where he was both an undergraduate and graduate and is now lecturer and tutor. He studied for his MChem degree at Magdalen College (2008-2012) before moving to New College for his DPhil in Physical & Theoretical Chemistry (2012-2016) under the supervision of Professor Stuart Mackenzie.
His DPhil research was concerned with the photochemical spin dynamics in proteins, suggested to be the basis of the magnetic sense in some animals. It involved the development of a range of highly sensitive optical cavity-enhanced techniques to detect very small changes in reactivity caused by an externally applied magnetic field.
Having completed his DPhil, and realizing that his passion lay in education rather than research, Dean stayed in Oxford to develop his teaching experience through lectureships at Magdalen College, Trinity College, Merton College, and New College. This culminated in him being appointed to the new role of Departmental Lecturer in 2019.