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Robert Mokaya

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Robert Mokaya
OBE FRS
Born
Kenya
Alma materUniversity of Nairobi
University of Cambridge
Scientific career
InstitutionsUniversity of Cambridge
University of Nottingham
ThesisLayered materials as selective adsorbents. (1992)

Robert Minge Mokaya OBE FRS is a Kenyan-British chemist who is Professor of Materials Chemistry and Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Global Engagement at the University of Nottingham. In 2024 it was confirmed that Mokaya would join the University of Sheffield in the role of Provost and Deputy-Vice-Chancellor (taking up the post in June 2024). Mokaya holds a Royal Society Wolfson Merit Award.

Early life and education

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Mokaya was born in Kenya.[1] He attended the University of Nairobi, where he specialised in chemistry.[1] After graduating he joined Unilever in Kenya.[2] He moved to the University of Cambridge for his graduate studies, where he worked in the laboratory of William "Bill" Jones.[3] After graduating, Mokaya was awarded a junior research fellowship, and started his independent career at Trinity College, Cambridge.[4]

Research and career

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In 1996 Mokaya was named an Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council Advanced Fellow, and by 2000 he had been made a lecturer at the University of Nottingham.[5] In 2008 he was appointed Professor of Materials Chemistry.[6] In 2017 Mokaya was awarded a Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award.[7]

He investigates novel materials for carbon sequestration, focusing primarily on hydrogen fuel cells. Mokaya considers porous materials and their structure-property relationships. Nanostructured porous materials contain significant internal volume, which can be used for enhanced gas storage. Amongst these, Mokaya has studied mesoporous molecular sieves, porous carbons and zeolite templated carbons.[5] He forms the nanoporous carbons by filling organic materials into porous inorganic structures, then heating them to the temperature at which they turn into pure carbon.

Mokaya was appointed Pro Vice-Chancellor for Global Engagement at the University of Nottingham in 2019.[8] He was part of a Royal Society programme to strengthen the capacity of African researchers to design, synthesise and optimise porous materials.[9]

He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2022 New Year Honours for services to the chemical sciences.[10] In 2023, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS).[11]

As of March 2022, Mokaya is the only black chemistry professor in the United Kingdom and stated that UK Research and Innovation has rejected all of his funding applications.[12]

Selected publications

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  • Yang, Zhuxian; Xia, Yongde; Mokaya, Robert (2007-02-01). "Enhanced Hydrogen Storage Capacity of High Surface Area Zeolite-like Carbon Materials". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 129 (6): 1673–1679. doi:10.1021/ja067149g. ISSN 0002-7863. PMID 17243684.
  • Xia, Y.; Mokaya, R. (2004). "Synthesis of Ordered Mesoporous Carbon and Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Materials with Graphitic Pore Walls via a Simple Chemical Vapor Deposition Method". Advanced Materials. 16 (17): 1553–1558. Bibcode:2004AdM....16.1553X. doi:10.1002/adma.200400391. ISSN 1521-4095. S2CID 93117926.
  • Matabosch Coromina, Helena; A Walsh, Darren; Mokaya, Robert (2016). "Biomass-derived activated carbon with simultaneously enhanced CO2 uptake for both pre and post combustion capture applications". Journal of Materials Chemistry A. 4 (1): 280–289. doi:10.1039/C5TA09202G. S2CID 98729819.

References

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  1. ^ a b "Archives For Africa". Chemical & Engineering News. Retrieved 2020-10-23.
  2. ^ "R. Mokaya – Next Einstein Forum" (in French). 2 May 2019. Retrieved 2020-10-23.
  3. ^ "Materials Chemistry Group". www-mcg.ch.cam.ac.uk. Retrieved 2020-10-23.
  4. ^ Adeniran, Beatrice; Mokaya, Robert (2015-09-01). "Compactivation: A mechanochemical approach to carbons with superior porosity and exceptional performance for hydrogen and CO2 storage". Nano Energy. 16: 173–185. doi:10.1016/j.nanoen.2015.06.022. ISSN 2211-2855. S2CID 93357123.
  5. ^ a b "Robert Mokaya - The University of Nottingham". www.nottingham.ac.uk. Retrieved 2020-10-22.
  6. ^ Voort, Pascal Van Der; Leus, Karen; Canck, Els De (2019-06-26). Introduction to Porous Materials. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-1-119-42658-5.
  7. ^ "Prof. Robert Mokaya receives prestigious Royal Society Wolfson-Merit Award for the development of alternative energy sources - The University of Nottingham". www.nottingham.ac.uk. Retrieved 2020-10-22.
  8. ^ "Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Global Engagement - The University of Nottingham". www.nottingham.ac.uk. Retrieved 2020-10-23.
  9. ^ "Strengthening African capacity in porous materials research | Royal Society". royalsociety.org. Retrieved 2020-10-23.
  10. ^ "No. 63571". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 January 2022. p. N14.
  11. ^ "Robert Mokaya". royalsociety.org. Retrieved 2023-05-14.
  12. ^ Ghosh, Pallab (16 March 2022). "Royal Society of Chemistry report says racism 'pervasive'". BBC News. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
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