School of Physical and Chemical Sciences

My research is primarily interested in how proteins do their jobs, and the myriad of structural forms and interactions that affect their functioning. By using structure-function relationships as a scaffold, I am interested in how this function can be tuned to yield desirable functional features. This research involves studying both soluble and membrane proteins, with an emphasis on studying enzymes. Alongside the proteinaceous research, I am interested in fundamental aspects of mass spectrometry analyses of proteins, and developing supporting software, to uncover new and enabling methodologies.

The research combines structural biology, mass spectrometry, biochemistry, and synthetic biology to investigate the molecular mechanisms of proteins and enzymes, with applications ranging from bioplastic production to antimicrobial resistance and drug discovery. 

Tom was born in South Shields, in the North-East of England, in 1986.  He read the Natural Sciences Tripos at the University of Cambridge, specialising in Chemistry and gaining a 1st class MSci (Hons) in 2008. He then moved across to the Materials Science and Metallurgy Department, to study the physical properties of porous hybrid frameworks under Professor Anthony Cheetham FRS.

A  3 year Research Fellowship at Trinity Hall, University of Cambridge followed, alongside lecturing some of the 1B Materials Chemistry course at the department. He started a Royal Society University Research Fellowship in 2016, along with a visiting adjunct professor position at The Wuhan University of Technology and a visiting scientist position at CSIRO Melbourne. The research group is best known for the discovery of hybrid melt-quenched glasses, and seminal works exploring the interface of the coordination polymer, MOF and glass domains. The group have considerable expertise in the characterisation of amorphous solids and liquids, and in creating new classes of functional material. For a taste of the research performed by the group, have a look at Tom’s plenary lecture at the International MOF Conference in 2022, available on youtube.

In his career to date, Tom has been fortunate enough to receive the EPSRC post-doctoral prize (2012), the Panalytical award for an outstanding contribution to X-ray diffraction (2013), the ISIS Neutron and Muon Source Science Impact Award (2018), the Woldemar A. Weyl award for glass science (2019), the Philip Leverhulme Prize in Chemistry (2019), the Royal Society of Chemistry Harrison Meldola Memorial Prize (2020) and the Chemical Communications Lectureship (2021).

He has spent research stays in both the University of Kyoto (hosted by Prof. Susumu Kitagawa and Prof. Satoshi Horike), the University of Canterbury, New Zealand (hosted by Prof. Paul Kruger), and the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (hosted by Prof. Dr. Lothar Wondraczek). He has served as both vice-Chair of the International Zeolite Association Commission on MOFs (2019 – 2022), and inaugural chair of the Royal Society of Chemistry Interest Group on Porous Materials (2019-2022). The committee were awarded the inspirational committee award by the Royal Society of Chemistry in 2021. This was for admitting over 300 members as the RSC’s newest interest group, and organisation of events during the COVID-19 pandemic.

He was promoted to Professor in 2023, and joined the University of Canterbury, New Zealand, in 2024. In a related sentence, Tom loves photography, hiking and river crossings. In his spare time, he can often be found camping with his energetic dog, Albie, which is a Springer-Collie cross.

My research area is Waves in Complex Media. I use classical waves (e.g. sound and light) to study materials that can not be cut open. These materials range from the human body to food products and industrial materials. I am particularly interested in alternate approaches for imaging, in which we design experiments with arrays of sensors to reveal 'hidden' information about a material or system.

I grew up in Winnipeg, Canada. I studied physics as a undergraduate at the University of Winnipeg, and at the University of Manitoba for my PhD. I then moved to Paris, France, as a Marie Curie Fellow at the Institut Langevin (École Supèrieure de Physique et Chimie Industrielles). In 2019, I started a postdoctoral position with the Physical Acoustics Laboratory at the University of Auckland, and continued as an independent Research Fellow with the Department of Physics. In 2024, I moved to the University of Canterbury as a Senior Lecturer.

Clinical medical physics specialist and educator who integrates academia and the clinic to create solutions to complex problems in radiation oncology. ACPSEM certified with an MSc in Medical Physics (Clinical) from University of Canterbury.

Dr Daniel Foley is an organic and medicinal chemist in the School of Physical and Chemical Sciences at the University of Canterbury. Dan leads a vibrant research team with interests spanning synthetic organic chemistry and medicinal chemistry, working closely with key collaborators in biology. His research focuses on developing new synthetic methods, including preparing natural product‑inspired compounds, to accelerate the discovery of novel bioactive molecules (e.g. for drug and agrochemical discovery).

Originally from the UK, Daniel completed an MChem at the University of Manchester, followed by a PhD in Synthetic Organic Chemistry at the University of Leeds. His postdoctoral training includes an EPSRC Doctoral Prize Fellowship (Leeds & Diamond Light Source) and a Marie Skłodowska‑Curie Fellowship at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology. He joined UC in 2018 and supervises researchers across a range of levels in synthetic organic and medicinal chemistry projects.

Daniel’s recent recognitions include a Thieme Chemistry Journal Award 2025 and a University of St Andrews Global Fellowship (2025).

Link to Dan's personal website: https://foleynz.wixsite.com/foleylab

Alan Gilmore has retired from the University of Canterbury. He was based at Mt John University Observatory in Tekapo and held the position of Resident Superintendent.

Though officially retired, he and his wife Pam Kilmartin continue to run an observing programme of astrometry of near-Earth objects with Mt John telescopes.

He also distrutes monthly star chart sets.