Bragg Institute

Dr Alison Edwards

Edwards,_A_150.jpgInstrument Scientist for Koala the laue diffractometer

Phone +61 (0)2 9717 7247
Email Alison.Edwards@ansto.gov.au

Dr Alison Edward's role involves applying neutron single crystal studies to important chemical questions where X-ray diffraction studies cannot in principle, be definitive.

Her expertise includes the application of crystallography to problems of chemical interest

Alison completed Bachelor of Science with Honours at the University of Melbourne in 1985. After a year at CSIRO Materials Science and Technology she returned to the University of Melbourne to undertake a Ph.D. again in the Inorganic Chemistry Department where she focused on X-ray Crystallographic Studies of then novel tetranucleating ligand systems. In early 1990 she took up a post-doctoral appointment at the University of Oxford working in the Chemical Crystallography Laboratory where she was also closely involved in pioneering work in the area of combining crystallographic and solid-state NMR data to elucidate molecular dynamics within crystal structures. Alison joined the Bragg Institute in July 2006 orignally on secondment from the Australian National University and then took up the instrument scientist position for Koala the laue diffractometer.

Qualifications and achievements

  • Over 80 published papers in X-ray crystallography and several hundred unpublished structures
  • Completed a five year post-doctoral appointment at the University of Oxford working in the Chemical Crystallography Laboratory where, in addition to wide ranging routine structure determinations for a number of research groups, she was also closely involved in pioneering work in the area of combining crystallographic and solid-state NMR studies to elucidate molecular dynamics within crystal structures
  • Ph.D. at University of Melbourne in the Inorganic Chemistry Department where she focused on X-ray crystallographic studies of then novel tetranucleating ligand systems
  • Alison undertook Bachelor of Science studies at the University of Melbourne and completed the Degree with Honours in the Department of Inorganic Chemistry in 1985

Key publications

D. J. Goossens, T. R. Welberry, A. P. Heerdegen and A. J. Edwards, Modelling disorder in 3,3-dimethoxybenzil, C16H14O4, Zeit f. Krist. 220 1035-1042 (2005).

E. S. Barrett, J. L. Irwin, A. J. Edwards and M. S. Sherburn, Superbowl Container Molecules, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 126, 16747-16749 (2004).

J. L. Irwin, D. J.Sinclair, A. J. Edwards and M. S. Sherburn, Chiral conjoined cavitands, Aust. J. Chem. 57, 339-343 (2004).

H. Onagi, B. Carrozini, G.-L. Cascarano, C. J. Easton, A. J. Edwards, S. F. Lincoln and A. D. Rae, Separated and Aligned Molecular Wires in Solid State assemblies of Cyclodextrin [2] Rotaxanes, Chem. Eur. J. 9, 5971-5977 (2003).

A. J. Edwards and E. Wenger, Simple method for the handling of crystals at low temperature: application to the X-ray structure determination of But2P(=NSiMe3)NHSiMe3 and [But2P(NSiMe3)2]Li.thf2, Aust. J. Chem. 55, 249-252 (2002).

R. D. Hartnell, A. J. Edwards and D. R. Arnold, Peripherally-metallated porphyrins: meso-1-porphyrinylplatinum(II) complexes of 5,15-diaryl- and 5,10,15-triarylporphyrins, Porphyrins Phthalocyanines 6, 695-707 (2002).

G. A. Heath, A. J. Edwards, M. Sterns, G. Bailey and V. Otieno-Alego, 'Crystals from an aged Merlin.' Corrosion deposits found in the engines of the historic Avro-Lancaster bomber G-for-George, in Conservation Science 2002, Archetype Publications Ltd, Fitzroy Square, London, ISBN 1-873132-88-3.

T. R. Welberry, D. J. Goossens, A. J. Edwards and W. I. F. David, Diffuse X-ray scattering from Benzil, C14H10O2: an analysis via automatic refinement of a Monte Carlo model, Acta Cryst. A. 57, 101-109 (2001).

M. Muller, A. J. Edwards, K. Prout, W. M. Simpson and S. J. Heyes, (Deoxycholic acid)2.Ferrocene: A phase transition determined by the dynamic behaviour of the included guest molecules, Chem. Mater. 12, 1314-1322 (2000).

Committee memberships and affiliations

  • Society of Crystallographers in Australia and New Zealand (SCANZ), Program Committee, CRYSTAL XXV
  • Member SCANZ