With Nora de Leeuw on the Scene
Nora de Leeuw: A Distinguished Career in Computational Chemistry and Academic Leadership
Nora de Leeuw, a renowned computational chemist, currently serves as the Executive Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences at the University of Leeds, UK. Her career path, however, did not start in academia or even in chemistry.
Initially, de Leeuw studied earth sciences, but a change in direction led her to the field of chemistry. After a brief stint in chemical engineering, which she found to be lacking in chemistry, she decided to focus on the subject she truly loved.
De Leeuw's academic journey took a significant turn when she moved to England and began working outside academia. She held various roles, including working for a large hotel, solicitors' offices, and running a business with her husband during her PhD. This experience provided her with a unique perspective on life, which she believes has been beneficial in her academic career.
During her PhD, de Leeuw had the support of an excellent supervisor and colleague, and she also managed to balance her academic life with being a parent. She even had her children in her office during her studies.
De Leeuw's hard work and dedication to research have been recognised with the Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award in 2009. She is also the recipient of the Royal Society of Chemistry's 2023 interdisciplinary prize.
De Leeuw is a firm believer in the importance of hard work in research. She also believes that chemists are versatile and employable in various fields, playing a crucial role in solving world problems such as energy and pollution. In fact, she has expressed an interest in architecture, hinting at a potential future exploration of interdisciplinary collaborations.
When it comes to her working style, de Leeuw prefers to work at her desk for concentrated work. Despite the challenges that can arise, such as the friction between teaching and research in a large faculty, de Leeuw's dedication and passion for her work continue to drive her success in both academia and leadership roles.
- Nora de Leeuw, a proponent of sustainable living, advocates for the role chemists play in promoting environmentally friendly solutions to global issues like energy and pollution.
- Embracing health-and-wellness and personal-growth, de Leeuw has leveraged her unique life experiences outside academia to foster a balanced lifestyle and excel in her academic and leadership positions.
- In her quest for meaningful research, de Leeuw, an advocate for women's health, conducts extensive studies on the physiological aspects of women's health, such as during menopause.
- To further her education-and-self-development, de Leeuw has ventured into technology, exploring its potential for creating innovative resources to enhance her research and teaching methods.
- Intent on promoting a career-development culture in the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, de Leeuw incorporates data-and-cloud-computing practices to make the faculty's processes more efficient and productive.
- In de Leeuw's vision for the future, computational chemistry will revolutionize lifestyle choices by providing insights into home-and-garden innovations, enabling a more sustainable world.
