Sharon Elizabeth Marie Ashbrook (born 26 January 1975) is a Professor of Physical Chemistry at the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

. Her research is focused on the application of multinuclear solid-state

NMR spectroscopy Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, most commonly known as NMR spectroscopy or magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), is a spectroscopic technique to observe local magnetic fields around atomic nuclei. The sample is placed in a magnetic fiel ...

techniques as well as the combination of these techniques with first-principles calculations to investigate structure, order and dynamics of solid state materials. Other areas of interest include microporous framework materials, high pressure minerals and the encapsulation of nuclear waste with ceramics.

Education and career

Ashbrook studied Chemistry at

Hertford College Hertford College ( ), previously known as Magdalen Hall, is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on Catte Street in the centre of Oxford, directly opposite the main gate to the Bodleian Library. The coll ...

in Oxford in 1997 and then remained in Oxford to study for her DPhil. Ashbrook then moved to a postdoctoral research post at the

University of Exeter , mottoeng = "We Follow the Light" , established = 1838 - St Luke's College1855 - Exeter School of Art1863 - Exeter School of Science 1955 - University of Exeter (received royal charter) , type = Public , ...

. Later Ashbrook was then awarded a

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, r ...

Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowship at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. Ashbrook has published over 110 papers in the area of structure and disorder in the solid state, using NMR spectroscopy and DFT calculations.

Honours and prizes

Her work has garnered awards and prizes for her research using solid-state NMR spectroscopy and first-principles calculations to uncover the structure of materials and their chemical reactivity. * Faraday Division Mid-Career Bourke-Liversidge Award (2021) from the

Royal Society of Chemistry The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is a learned society (professional association) in the United Kingdom with the goal of "advancing the chemistry, chemical sciences". It was formed in 1980 from the amalgamation of the Chemical Society, the Ro ...

. * Corday-Morgan Prize (2015) from the

* Makdougall Brisbane Medal (2012) from the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

Marlow Award The Marlow Medal and Prize is an early-career award in physical chemistry given by the Royal Society of Chemistry. One or two prizewinners each year, who must be junior researchers under 35 or within 10 years of completing their doctorate, receiv ...

(2011) from the

Harrison Prize The International Society of Developmental Biologists (ISDB), formerly the Institut Internationale d'Embryologie (IIE), is a non-profit scientific association promoting developmental biology. The society holds an international Congress every four y ...

(2004) from the

In 2017, Ashbrook was awarded the Suffrage Science Award after her work on the "Academic Women Now" booklet about academic women in Scotland.

Professional activities

Ashbrook was elected a Member of the RSE Young Academy of Scotland (2011), the Institute of Physics , the Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and the Ampere Board of Trustees (2016-2020). She is also a Fellow of the

and the

. She also regularly organises outreach programs with local schools through her role as the Vice-Chair of the Tayside Local Section of the Royal Society of Chemistry and as a RSE Fellow.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashbrook, Sharon Living people Academics of the University of St Andrews British women chemists Scottish chemists Scottish women chemists 21st-century British chemists 21st-century British women scientists Alumni of Hertford College, Oxford Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 21st-century Scottish scientists 21st-century Scottish educators 1975 births