Dr Pau Farràs is an Associate Professorin Inorganic Chemistry in the School of Biological and Chemical Sciences at the University of Galway (GALWAY). Hereceived his BSc in Chemical Engineering from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (Spain) in 2003 andobtained the PhD in Chemistry from the Materials Science Institute of Barcelona in 2009, focusing on thepreparation and application of metallacarborane derivatives to various fields such as radionuclide treatment, boron neutron capture therapy and in biomedicine. In 2009,he started a postdoctoral stay at the Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia (Spain) where he worked in the preparation of photoelectrochemical devices for water splitting and the oxidation of organic substrates. In 2013, he received the prestigious Royal Society Newton International Fellowship and started his independent research at Newcastle University (UK) dealing with molecular photosensitisers for water oxidation.Dr Farràs secured the lectureship in GALWAY in 2015 and created the ChemLight group focusing on visible-light driven chemical reactions. The group will focus on the preparation and study oforganometallic complexes, materials and hybrid systems and their application in three main areas: Energy, Health and Life.In the Energy domain, the main subjects of research are the synthesis of organometallic complexes, molecular catalysts for water oxidation, preparation and characterisation of organic and organometallic light-harvesting molecules, and the development of photoanodes for water splitting by combining nanoparticles and molecular systems. We collaborate with several groups around Europe for the design of full devices capable of generating gaseous andor liquid fuels from water and carbon dioxide.In the Health domain, the research is focused on the use of boron clusters in anticancer treatment and as antibiotics to combat antimicrobial-resistant strains. Specific projects include the combination of metallacarboranes and specifically designed fluorophores as theranostic tools.

The ChemLight group workson the use ofvisible-light todrive chemical reactions. The group will focus on the preparation and study oforganometallic complexes, materials and hybrid systems and their application in three main areas: Energy, Health and Life. The research is a combination of synthesis (organic and inorganic), spectroscopy, electrochemistry and catalysis.In the Energy domain, the main subjects of research are the synthesis of organometallic complexes, molecular catalysts for water oxidation, preparation and characterisation of organic and organometallic light-harvesting molecules, and the development of photoanodes for water splitting by combining nanoparticles and molecular systems. We collaborate with several groups around Europe for the design of full devices capable of generating gaseous andor liquid fuels from water and carbon dioxide. Active projects in this area are:Molecular dyads for oxidation photocatalysis: It consists on the preparation of novel ruthenium complexes that are capable of absorbing visible light and oxidise organic substrates.Metallacarborane-based light-harvesters: Development of robust and novel sensitizers for photocatalytic reaction containing metal-carboranes.In the Health domain, the research is focused on the use of boron clusters in anticancer treatment, as enzyme inhibitors and as antibiotics to combat antimicrobial-resistant strains. Specific projects include the combination of metallacarboranes and specifically designed fluorophores as theranostic tools.

Undergraduate Teaching:4th year lectures on: Natural vs. Artificial Photosynthesis and Respiration for energy applications.3rd year lectures on: Coordination Chemistry and Symmetry. Tools for improving reports (Plagiarism and Referencing).2nd year lectures on: Coordination Chemistry.4th year undergraduate chemistry student research project and literature project supervision.Chemistry laboratory supervision of 1st, 2nd and 3rd year undergraduate students.Postgraduate Teaching:MSc and PhD lectures in electrochemistry, air-sensitive techniques and e-literature search tools.