Andrea Sella (born February 1961) is a chemist and broadcaster based at University College London where he is a Professor of Inorganic Chemistry. He studies rare-earth metals and collaborates with several research groups on hydrogen storage, carbonitrides, and nanotube insertion chemistry. He has been involved in numerous television documentaries, including the 2010 BBC documentary'' Chemistry: A Volatile History'', which was nominated for the 2010

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in the category Specialist Factual. In 2014 he presented "My Family and other Ibex" and "Urine Trouble: What's in our Water" on BBC Radio 4. He has been a guest on Melvyn Bragg's In Our Time and appeared regularly on radio programmes like Start the Week, Weekend,

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, the Today Programme and the

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. He has been consultant and contributor for the BBC World Service's series "Elemental Economics" presented by Justin Rowlatt.

Early life

He was born in Milan, Italy, in 1961, but grew up in

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, USA, and Nairobi, Kenya. He studied chemistry at Trinity College, University of Toronto, as an undergraduate and started research for a PhD under Professor Robert H. Morris on molecular hydrogen compounds. He completed a PhD in Chemistry from 1986-90 at

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studying with Professor Malcolm Green.

Career

He was appointed Lecturer at UCL in 1990. He was awarded an EPSRC Senior Media Fellowship from 2007 to 2012. He was promoted to Professor in 2012. His research interests include the molecular chemistry of the lanthanides, the confinement of elemental phosphorus inside carbon nanotubes, and the synthesis and properties of layered carbonitrides. His monthly column in the Royal Society of Chemistry's

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, "Classic Kit", with guest contributions by his Masters student, Talitha Humphrey, explores the history of chemistry through the lens of scientific apparatus. He is also well known for science demonstrations for both school children and adults. He sits on the Scientific Advisory Board of the Cheltenham Science Festival. He was awarded the 2014 Michael Faraday Prize from The Royal Society for "his excellent work in science communication". Since February 2014, he has been a frequent guest speaker in a

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radio programme called "''Elements''". He explains how chemical elements behave, react, and how they are used. In the programme that aired on 16 September 2016 featuring thorium, he temporarily replaced Justin Rowlatt as the host. He has also presented several programmes on BBC Radio 4 and

References

1961 births Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford English chemists Fellows of the Royal Society of Chemistry Italian expatriates in England Academics of University College London University of Toronto alumni Living people 21st-century chemists Rare earth scientists {{chemist-stub