Prof Gregory Smith obtained his undergraduate degree at the University of Natal, South Africa, and went on to complete a PhD in 2004 under the supervision of Prof Selwyn Mapolie at the University of the Western Cape, South Africa.
He later joined the University of Bristol, UK (2005-2006) as a Postdoctoral Fellow with Prof Ian Manners, and returned to the University of Cape Town where he is currently an Associate Professor.
Prof Smith's Research in the discipline of Organometallic Chemistry, a subset of Inorganic Chemistry, is firmly grounded to solve realistic problems valued by pharmaceutical and petrochemical industries and investigates the synthesis of small molecule and macromolecular organometallic complexes.
His primary activities are aimed at the beneficiation of PGM resources available in South Africa. The first is the use of the organometallic compounds as homogeneous catalysts to perform more efficient chemical transformations and yet show benign sustainability to the environment. The second theme entails investigations into the use of organometallic complexes as chemotherapeutic agents for the discovery of new drug candidates to combat diseases endemic to sub-Saharan Africa.
