Rate My Professor Fiona Meldrum

Professor Fiona Meldrum holds the Chair in Inorganic Chemistry in the School of Chemistry at the University of Leeds. She earned her undergraduate degree in Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge in 1989 and her PhD on mineralisation in biological and bio-inspired systems from the University of Bath in 1992. Her postdoctoral research at the University of Syracuse, USA, focused on nanoparticle assembly, followed by a Humboldt Research Fellowship at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research in Mainz, where she investigated organic matrix-directed crystallisation using surface plasmon spectroscopy. She then developed her interest in biomineralisation at the Australian National University in Canberra before joining Queen Mary, University of London as a lecturer in 1998. In 2003, she moved to the University of Bristol, remaining there until her appointment at the University of Leeds in 2009.

Meldrum's research centers on bio-inspired materials chemistry, particularly inorganic crystallisation processes. Her group develops strategies to control the polymorph, size, morphology, organisation, and mechanical properties of inorganic and organic crystals, drawing inspiration from biological systems such as seashells, bones, and teeth. Techniques include using additives like block copolymers, precipitation within moulds, amorphous precursor phases, and crystallisation in confined volumes or microfluidic systems for in situ analysis with synchrotron methods. They produce composite crystals incorporating polystyrene particles, pigments, drugs, and oils, and study mechanical properties via nanoindentation. As principal investigator, she leads projects including Crystallisation in the Real World: Delivering Control through Theory and Experiment, DYNAMIN: Dynamic Control of Mineralisation, and Flow-Xl: A New UK Facility for Analysis of Crystallisation in Flow Systems. Meldrum received the Royal Society of Chemistry Interdisciplinary Prize in 2017 for advancing crystallisation control and bio-inspired materials. Key publications include "Controlling Mineral Morphologies and Structures in Biological and Synthetic Systems" (Chemical Reviews, 2008, with H. Cölfen), "Confinement generates single-crystal aragonite rods at room temperature" (PNAS, 2018), and "Droplet Microfluidics XRD Identifies Effective Nucleating Agents for Calcium Carbonate" (Advanced Functional Materials, 2019). She chaired the MRS Bulletin Editorial Board.