Early career prize for University of St Andrews Chemist

Dr Amit Kumar from the School of Chemistry has won the prestigious 2025 Harrison-Meldola Early Career Prize for Chemistry.  

The plaudit was awarded by the Royal Society of Chemistry for Dr Kumar’s development of green processes based on catalytic (de)hydrogenation for the synthesis of renewable polymers and their recycling. 

The world is increasingly reliant on plastics, or polymers, which are integral to modern life. However, the chemical industry and society at large are currently facing two major crises related to plastic use.  

The first is the feedstock crisis: most plastics are produced from fossil-derived raw materials, which are both finite and contribute significantly to CO₂ emissions during processing. The second is the waste crisis: plastics are notoriously resistant to degradation in the natural environment, leading to widespread ecological harm. 

Dr Kumar’s research seeks to address these challenges by developing new strategies for both the production and recycling of plastics such as polyesters, nylons, polyurethanes, polyureas, polyethylenimines, and polyketones. Specifically, his group employs catalytic dehydrogenation – a chemical reaction that removes hydrogen atoms from molecules using a catalyst – to convert bio-derived alcohols and amines into renewable polymers. 

In parallel, they utilise catalytic hydrogenation to break apart polymers into their constituent units recovering valuable feedstocks or monomers that can be reused to produce the same polymers. 

By integrating these complementary approaches, Amit aims to establish a circular economy for select classes of plastics – one that reduces dependence on fossil resources and minimises environmental impact. 

Dr Kumar completed his Integrated MSc in Chemistry (2007-2012) from the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee. He obtained his DPhil (2012-2016) as a Rhodes Scholar at the University of Oxford under the supervision of Professor Andrew Weller. He then moved to Israel (2016-2019) for his postdoctoral research in the lab of Professor David Milstein at the Weizmann Institute of Science. 

Amit started his independent academic career in January 2020 as a Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellow at the School of Chemistry, University of St. Andrews. Since August 2022, he has been working as a UKRI Future Leaders Fellow in the areas of homogeneous catalysis, polymer chemistry, and circular economy. 

Dr Kumar said: “I am excited about the emerging technologies in plastic upcycling, particularly those focused on chemical recycling. The growing focus on degradation chemistry represents a fundamental shift, revealing the other side of the coin to traditional synthetic chemistry, and it holds immense potential for addressing global sustainability challenges.”