Modern analytical techniques are being used to assess the environmental impact of anthropogenic activities on urban air and aquatic environments. Research includes studies into wood smoke pollution, inorganic contaminants in aquatic sediments and the use of sediment cores to establish historical profiles of contaminant levels. Methods to cleanup industrial and agricultural effluents are also under development, as are techniques for environmental sampling using biomarkers and passive samplers.

We use computational chemistry in the understanding of reaction mechanisms, fundamental structures, the molecular modelling of biologically active compounds (computer-aided drug design), and the design of substrates in separation science. Techniques used include ab initio and density functional theories for sophisticated calculations and simpler molecular mechanics models. Strong collaboration exists with the experimental research in the School and with ANSTO in Sydney.

Tasmania's marine inshore waters have an abundance of seaweeds and certain types of sessile invertebrates like bryozoans, ascidians and sponges. We are interested in knowing what special (secondary) metabolites these organisms contain. We also investigate the bioactivity of the isolated compounds.

Research covers all areas of organic chemistry including synthetic organic, mechanistic and analytical organic chemistry. In particular, the development of new synthetic methods in the preparation of heterocyclic compounds and their application to the synthesis of natural products. There are also a number of active collaborations with local industry. These include analysis of pyrethrum extracts and the investigations of chemical aspects associated with the poppy industry.

Main group, transition metal and lanthanide elements are studied in organometallic and inorganic research involving synthesis, mechanistic, structural and theoretical aspects related to applications in catalysis, new materials, and bioinorganic chemistry. Cluster chemistry containing group 16 elements is also explored, together with fundamental studies of d and f block chemistry that has implications for the role of these metals in organic synthesis.