
Dr Simon Collinson
Senior Lecturer In Chemistry
School of Life, Health & Chemical Sciences
Biography
Professional biography
My research interests include sustainable chemistry, recycling of wastes, heritage science, materials chemistry, chemical education, biological inorganic chemistry, catalysis, and environmental chemistry.
My PhD concerned ‘Bioinorganic chemistry mimicking copper metalloenzymes’ with Professor David Fenton at the University of Sheffield and was sponsored by BP Chemicals. This developed dicopper complexes of macrocylic Schiff base ligands.
I then worked at the University of Kansas as a postdoctoral fellow developing ‘Metal catalysts for bleach activation’ with Professor Daryle Busch and the Proctor & Gamble Company which led to several patents and publications.
I returned to the UK in 1998, working at the University of Exeter as a postdoctoral fellow studying ‘Metal containing liquid crystals’ with Professor Duncan Bruce. In 2000 I continued at the University of Exeter as a postdoctoral fellow developing ‘Electrochemical sensors for biological molecules’ with Dr Jim Tucker.
In 2001 I was appointed at the University of Nottingham as a temporary lecturer and subsequently teaching fellow in Inorganic Chemistry.
In 2009 I moved to Cranfield University as a lecturer in Environmental and Waste Chemistry.
I joined the Open University in November 2011 as a Teaching Fellow in Chemistry and an Associate Lecturer on the level 3 Metals and Life course.
In 2014 I was promoted to be a Lecturer in Chemistry and Senior Lecturer in 2019.
Research interests
Applied Research
I have a long standing interest in applying chemistry to real world challenges. Current and recent projects include;-
1) Cleaning costumes, vintage rugs and carpets (originally funded by HEIF in colaboration with the Victoria & Albert Museum) and now this is an AHRC PhD project with the V&A.
2) Conserving and educating the public about bioplastic items in museum collections with the Museum of Design in Plastics (MoDiP) and this is an AHRC PhD project.
3) Crop by-product processing into nanomaterials incorporating bioactives for targeted release and shelf-life extension (collaboration with University of Newcastle, Fera, Biopower Technologies Ltd, Marks & Spencer and New Food Innovations funded by FoodWasteNet). A PhD student continues this research area staring in Oct. 2020.
4) Development of more environmentally-friendly road markings, Knowledge Transfer Partnership with WJ Products Ltd and the Open University.
5) Recycling waste plastics either by depolymerisation to their monomers (e.g. mixtures of polyethylene terephthalate and polylactic acid) or decolourising waste plastic film (e.g. polyethylene or polystyrene) (funded by CIWM).
6) Upcycling of food waste into higher value proteins or peptides using (a) polymer supported transition metal catalysts and (b) chitosan supported enzymes. (funded by CIWM, IBCarb, Nuffield Foundation and Yessenov Foundation).
7) Analysing precious and strategically important metals in waste materials (e.g. Waste electronic and electrical equipment, WEEE, ash from incineration and leachate) (funded by CIWM)..
8) The application of catalysis to the conversion of biomass, in particular the oxidation of starch, cellulose and lignin (funded by the Nuffield Foundation).
9) Recycling carpets in the removal of pollution (e.g. phosphate or metals) from water (funded by CIWM).
10) Modelling micorplastics within the Environment with C. Elegans nemaotdes.
We gratefully acknowledge AHRC, OOC, EPSRC, DEFRA, the Chartered Institute of Wastes Management (CIWM), the RSC, FoodWasteNet, IBCarb Network, the British Council, Geotech, Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF) and the Nuffield Foundation for supporting this work in recent years.
Also I acted as an Associate Editor for the Journal of Chemistry (2014-2017).
Educational Research
I am part of teams developing home experiments on sustainability with Smart phones and remote OPENScience lab undergraduate experiments in particular using remote FTIR, an autotitrator and flow chemistry.
I have been researching best practise in student teaching and learning using synchronous and asynchronous online media. For instance in collaboration with Drs Crabb, Williams and Janes we have an eSTeEM funded project entitled Graduate skills in chemistry: online delivery, assessment and tracking.
I am also interested in improving the experience of international students in online learning and developing problem based learning for chemistry students. Consequently I led a HEA funded project on context based learning activities to better engage international students in distance learning.
Teaching interests
S350 Evaluating Contemporary Science, Chair for both the production and presentation.
SXM390 Science project course: Frontiers in Chemistry, Strand Chair
SS021 Laboratory course, Chair (and previously module team member)
S215 Chemistry Essential Concepts, course production team and module team member
S248 Chemistry in life: food, water and medicines, course production and module team member
S315 Chemistry Further Concepts, course production and module team member
S347 Metals and Life, module team member and tutor
S205 The Molecular World, module team member
SXR103 Practising Science, tutor
Impact and engagement
I have been an advisor to BBC Radio 4’s Inside Science and Rare Earth for several years. I contributed to a POSTNote on Reducing Plastic Waste DOI: https://doi.org/10.58248/PN724
Whilst at the OU, I have enjoyed supervising my PhD students Lewis Anderson, David Elliott, Daniel Marin Florido (at Jonson Matthey), Chris Foster, Panagiotis Morfis and Katy Woodason. MSc students Marc Berger, Emmanuel Okpala, Yerkanat Kanafin and Gaetan Hamel, A-S level Nuffield students Dilane Sivakumar, Hannah Sandhu, Jeenat Hussain, Jasmine Pilgir, Becca Whelan, Beka Lawman, Abi Barbour and Ben Phan who obtained their Gold Crest awards. Concurrently, I supervised undergraduate summer project students Ellie Atkinson, Abi Barbour, Joe Beebee, Millie Dean, Charlotte Hancox, Kirsten Hawkins, Sophie Patrick and Alex Simmons. Also French visiting students Marine Klehenz, Alexandre Piton and Clemence Sayer.
I am a comittee member of the RSC MidAnglia Local Section and the RSC Eastern Region Steering Group. Also I am a STEM ambassador and have led several outreach activities on Plastics and their recycling for ChemistryInAction and Education in Action as well as RSC Top of the Bench.
Recent oral presentations include the following:
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Recovering valuable chemicals from waste plastics, SR Collinson, Chartered Institution of Wastes Management, CIWM London meeting, 2018 and WaRM 2019, Open University.
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Celery waste as a source of mannitol and nitrates, S R Collinson, C Hancox and P Metcalfe, BBSRC FoodWasteNet event Field Waste Valorisation - the next steps? Nottingham, 2018.
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Invited talk on Recycling Post-consumer Waste Plastics, SR Collinson, Sustainable Functional Materials, Weston Super Mare, 2018.
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Upcycling wastes to recover valuable chemicals or materials, SR Collinson, WaRM2017, Open University, 2017.
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Immobilised enzymes and catalysts for the upcycling of food wastes/plastics into biodiesel or chemicals, SR Collinson, E Atkinson, G Hamel, N Chatterton, R Villa, Catalysis & Food Waste Valorisation, FoodWasteNet meeting at Aston University, 2016.
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Upcycling food wastes into high-value peptides & proteins, SR Collinson, M Berger, R Villa, Biopolymers and bioplastics from waste, FoodWasteNet event, 2016.
- Upcycling protein waste into higher value peptides and proteins, M Berger, SR Collinson, R Villa, London & Southern counties CIWM- event, Reading, 2016.
- Catalysts and the recovery of materials and chemicals from waste, SR Collinson, LHCS Research Day, 2015.
- Recovery of materials and chemicals from waste, SR Collinson, Research Seminar, Bangor University, 2014.
- Online tutorials – what we’ve learnt so far, SR Collinson, E M Crabb, Scholarship Seminar, OU, 2014.
Publications
Book Chapter
Journal Article
Development of Nylon 6 Nanofibers Modified with Cyanex-272 for Cobalt Recovery (2023)
The catalytic oxidation of biomass to new materials focusing on starch, cellulose and lignin (2010)
Anion selectivity in zwitterionic amide-funtionalised metal salt extractants (2007)
Synthesis and modulation of bis(triazine) hydrogen-bonding receptors (2006)
Recent developments in the redox-switched binding of organic compounds (2002)
Mesomorphic complexes of the lanthanide elements (2001)
Novel ferrocene receptors for barbiturates and ureas (2001)
Rare-earth-containing magnetic liquid crystals (2000)
The synthesis and properties of surfactant aza macrocycles (2000)
Spectroscopic behaviour of lanthanide(III) coordination compounds with Schiff base ligands (2000)
Patent
Presentation / Conference
Solvent-induced softening of polymethyl methacrylate surfaces (2024)