Profile
Craig Johnston
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About Me:
I am a Scottish organic chemist who lives in Dundee but works in St Andrews. I play heavy metal on electric guitar, enjoy baking, and travelling across the globe.
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My pronouns are:
he/him
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My Work:
My research group seeks to develop new and more sustainable methods to make molecules. We do this using abundant metal catalysts (such as cobalt) and also using visible light energy.
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My Typical Day:
Each day is very different from the other but I usually arrive at work around 8:30 am and start the day with coffee and sending emails. My days then involve a mixture of teaching students, writing about my group’s research and supervising my PhD students. I try to go home around 6 pm but I am not always successful.
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Education:
I grew up in Whitburn (West Lothian) and attended St Kentigern’s Academy in Blackburn. I then studied Chemistry at the University of St Andrews (2004-2009), which involved a year long placement at Organon (now BioCity), Newhouse. I then studied for a PhD at the University of Oxford, which I completed in 2013.
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Qualifications:
Standard Grades: English, French, Geography, Chemistry, Physics, Computer Science, Maths
Highers: English, Chemistry, Physics, Computer Science, Maths
Advanced Highers: Chemistry, Physics, Computer Science, Maths
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Work History:
After secondary school I worked various odd jobs over the summer to help fund my time at University. This included moving boxes according a warehouse (Iron Mountain), distributing BT phone books, working in a betting shop, and as a shelf stacker in Tesco.
After my undergraduate and postgraduate degrees I worked as postdoctoral research associate, which means my work solely focused on research. My first position was at Princeton University with Nobel Prize winner Prof. David MacMillan and I then returned to Edinburgh to work with Prof. Guy Lloyd-Jones.
In 2018, I was awarded a Royal Society University Research Fellowship that allowed me to standard my career as an independent researcher at the University of St Andrews
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Employer:
University of St Andrews
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My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
builds new molecules
What did you want to be after you left school?
Either a Chemist or Computer Scientist as I enjoyed these subjects most
Were you ever in trouble at school?
On the odd occasion and normally for some sort of practical joke
If you weren't doing this job, what would you choose instead?
Pastry Chef or Baker
Who is your favourite singer or band?
Rammstein
What's your favourite food?
Lasagne
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
infinite funding for research, cured of hayfever and travel sickness (I guess that counts as two)
Tell us a joke.
It's not worth it because all the good ones Argon.
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