Several PhD scholarships are available to work in the group of Professor Cameron Jones, who has recently relocated from Cardiff University to Monash University.

In the past 5 years remarkable progress has been made in the chemistry of low oxidation state and low coordination number p-block compounds. It is now possible to prepare and investigate the fascinating reactivity of such compounds, many of which were thought incapable of existence until a few years ago. Our group is one of the leaders in this field and have made a number of recent landmark advances (see for e.g. J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2006, 128, 2206; Chem. Commun., 2006, 3978; Inorg. Chem., 2007, 46, 11; Dalton Trans., 2006, 3733).

The positions on offer will involve an extension of this work and will see you acquiring many synthetic, spectroscopic and computational skills. The possibility may also exist for you to spend 6 months working in a collaborators laboratory in one of a number of European or North American Universities.


You should have a first or high second class degree in Chemistry (or equivalent qualification). You should be highly motivated, organized and work well in a team. These positions are open to students of all nationalities (including Australian nationals) who are eligible for a visa to study in Australia. The scholarships will include international student fees (if applicable) and a generous stipend.

The School of Chemistry at Monash University (http://www.chem.monash.edu.au) is the leading Chemistry Department in Australia and has superb facilities. Melbourne has been ranked by several international surveys to be the world’s most livable city.