Dr. Simon Beaumont

• Associate Professor in Chemistry Durham University

Simon Beaumont is an Associate Professor at Durham University, and leader of the Sustainable Chemistry and Catalysis Research Grouping. His own research focuses on studying heterogeneous catalysis with advanced spectroscopy (optical and x-ray) and nanomaterial mimics of real world catalysts. 

Prior to moving to Durham in 2012, he conducted his postdoctoral research at UC Berkeley under Prof. Gabor Somorjai, leading the research groups interactions with the ALS synchrotron. He received his MSci (2007) and then PhD (2010) from Cambridge University under the direction of Prof. Richard Lambert.

He has particular interests in x-ray absorption spectroscopy, in particular applied to metal nanoparticles and bimetallic structures (such as recent work on AuNi NOx abatement catalysts), and has also recently led Durham’s successful bid to acquire the UK’s first lab-based “EasyXAFS300+” x-ray spectrometer to further research work on catalysis and energy materials using this technique.