Connor Taylor

Contact

• workRoom B32 Coates Building
  University Park
  Nottingham
  NG7 2RD
  UK
• Connor.Taylor@nottingham.ac.uk

Biography

Connor graduated with a first class integrated BSc/MChem degree in chemistry from the University of Leeds. His masters research was conducted under the supervision of Dr Visuvanathar Sridharan, focussing on the synthesis of bioactive fused ring heterocycles. Connor then continued at the University of Leeds, undertaking his AstraZeneca-funded PhD in chemical and process engineering under the supervision of Prof Richard Bourne and Prof Thomas Chamberlain. During this time, he conducted research in the areas of automated kinetic analysis, flow chemistry and autonomous reaction optimisation. He also undertook a 3 month CASE placement at AstraZeneca Macclesfield working on process optimisation, and founded Compunetics, a spin-out software company for accessible kinetic analysis and reaction optimisation.

After his PhD, he then worked as a Sustaining Innovation Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Astex Pharmaceuticals, whilst based at the University of Cambridge under the supervision of Prof Alexei Lapkin. During this time, he worked on autonomous reaction optimisation, data-rich experimentation and machine learning for chemical applications.

Connor joined the University of Nottingham in September 2023 as an Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering, and was appointed as a Royal Academy of Engineering Research Fellow in 2024. His research focuses on the applications of automated experimentation towards drug discovery and process development & modelling.

Expertise Summary

Automated Experimentation; Drug Discovery; Reaction Optimisation; Flow Chemistry; Data-Rich Experimentation; Kinetic Analysis; Machine Learning for Chemistry.

If you are interested in PGR opportunities in these areas then please contact me for further discussions. I also welcome enquiries from overseas students, students who are self-funded and postdocs who have identified potential funding routes.

Current PhD studentship opportunities:

• Data-Driven Reaction Optimisation - https://www.findaphd.com/phds/project/open-phd-position-data-driven-reaction-optimisation/?p173352

Selected Publications

• TAYLOR, CONNOR J, POMBERGER, ALEXANDER, FELTON, KOBI C, GRAINGER, RACHEL, BARECKA, MAGDA, CHAMBERLAIN, THOMAS W, BOURNE, RICHARD A, JOHNSON, CHRISTOPHER N and LAPKIN, ALEXEI A, 2023. A Brief Introduction to Chemical Reaction Optimization Chemical Reviews. 123(6), 3089-3126
• TAYLOR, CONNOR J, FELTON, KOBI C, WIGH, DANIEL, JERAAL, MOHAMMED I, GRAINGER, RACHEL, CHESSARI, GIANNI, JOHNSON, CHRISTOPHER N and LAPKIN, ALEXEI A, 2023. Accelerated Chemical Reaction Optimization Using Multi-Task Learning ACS Central Science. 9(5), 957-968
• TAYLOR, CONNOR J, BOOTH, MEGAN, MANSON, JAMIE A, WILLIS, MARK J, CLEMENS, GRAEME, TAYLOR, BRIAN A, CHAMBERLAIN, THOMAS W and BOURNE, RICHARD A, 2021. Rapid, automated determination of reaction models and kinetic parameters Chemical Engineering Journal. 413, 127017

• View all publications

• TAYLOR, CONNOR J, POMBERGER, ALEXANDER, FELTON, KOBI C, GRAINGER, RACHEL, BARECKA, MAGDA, CHAMBERLAIN, THOMAS W, BOURNE, RICHARD A, JOHNSON, CHRISTOPHER N and LAPKIN, ALEXEI A, 2023. A Brief Introduction to Chemical Reaction Optimization Chemical Reviews. 123(6), 3089-3126
• TAYLOR, CONNOR J, FELTON, KOBI C, WIGH, DANIEL, JERAAL, MOHAMMED I, GRAINGER, RACHEL, CHESSARI, GIANNI, JOHNSON, CHRISTOPHER N and LAPKIN, ALEXEI A, 2023. Accelerated Chemical Reaction Optimization Using Multi-Task Learning ACS Central Science. 9(5), 957-968
• ZAKRZEWSKI, JACEK, YASENEVA, POLINA, TAYLOR, CONNOR J, GAUNT, MATTHEW J and LAPKIN, ALEXEI A, 2023. Scalable Palladium-Catalyzed C (sp3)-H Carbonylation of Alkylamines in Batch and Continuous Flow Organic Process Research & Development. 27(4), 649-658
• POMBERGER, ALEXANDER, MCCARTHY, AA PEDRINA, KHAN, AHMAD, SUNG, SIMON, TAYLOR, CJ, GAUNT, MJ, COLWELL, LUCY, WALZ, DAVID and LAPKIN, AA, 2022. The effect of chemical representation on active machine learning towards closed-loop optimization Reaction Chemistry & Engineering. 7(6), 1368-1379
• TAYLOR, CONNOR J, MANSON, JAMIE A, CLEMENS, GRAEME, TAYLOR, BRIAN A, CHAMBERLAIN, THOMAS W and BOURNE, RICHARD A, 2022. Modern advancements in continuous-flow aided kinetic analysis Reaction Chemistry & Engineering. 7(5), 1037-1046
• BAYANA, MARY, BLACKER, A. JOHN, CLAYTON, ADAM D., JOLLEY, KATHERINE E., LABES, RICARDO, TAYLOR, CONNOR J. and REYNOLDS, WILLIAM, 2021. A practical experiment to teach students continuous flow and physico-chemical methods: acetylation of ethylene diamine in liquid bi-phase JOURNAL OF FLOW CHEMISTRY. 11(1), 31-36
• TAYLOR, CONNOR J, BOOTH, MEGAN, MANSON, JAMIE A, WILLIS, MARK J, CLEMENS, GRAEME, TAYLOR, BRIAN A, CHAMBERLAIN, THOMAS W and BOURNE, RICHARD A, 2021. Rapid, automated determination of reaction models and kinetic parameters Chemical Engineering Journal. 413, 127017
• SCHOTTEN, CHRISTIANE, TAYLOR, CONNOR J, BOURNE, RICHARD A, CHAMBERLAIN, THOMAS W, NGUYEN, BAO N, KAPUR, NIK and WILLANS, CHARLOTTE E, 2021. Alternating polarity for enhanced electrochemical synthesis Reaction Chemistry & Engineering. 6(1), 147-151
• TAYLOR, CONNOR J, BAKER, ALASTAIR, CHAPMAN, MICHAEL R, REYNOLDS, WILLIAM R, JOLLEY, KATHERINE E, CLEMENS, GRAEME, SMITH, GILL E, BLACKER, A JOHN, CHAMBERLAIN, THOMAS W, CHRISTIE, STEVEN DR and OTHERS, 2021. Flow chemistry for process optimisation using design of experiments Journal of Flow Chemistry. 11, 75-86
• HALL, BRENDAN L, TAYLOR, CONNOR J, LABES, RICARDO, MASSEY, ALEXANDER F, MENZEL, ROBERT, BOURNE, RICHARD A and CHAMBERLAIN, THOMAS W, 2021. Autonomous optimisation of a nanoparticle catalysed reduction reaction in continuous flow Chemical Communications. 57(40), 4926-4929
• TAYLOR, CONNOR J, SEKI, HIKARU, DANNHEIM, FRIEDERIKE M, WILLIS, MARK J, CLEMENS, GRAEME, TAYLOR, BRIAN A, CHAMBERLAIN, THOMAS W and BOURNE, RICHARD A, 2021. An automated computational approach to kinetic model discrimination and parameter estimation Reaction Chemistry & Engineering. 6(8), 1404-1411
• CLAYTON, ADAM D, SCHWEIDTMANN, ARTUR M, CLEMENS, GRAEME, MANSON, JAMIE A, TAYLOR, CONNOR J, NIÑO, CARLOS G, CHAMBERLAIN, THOMAS W, KAPUR, NIKIL, BLACKER, A JOHN, LAPKIN, ALEXEI A and OTHERS, 2020. Automated self-optimisation of multi-step reaction and separation processes using machine learning Chemical Engineering Journal. 384, 123340
• GUAN, FANFU, KAPUR, NIKIL, SIM, LOUISE, TAYLOR, CONNOR J, WEN, JIALIN, ZHANG, XUMU and BLACKER, A JOHN, 2020. A universal reactor platform for batch and flow: application to homogeneous and heterogeneous hydrogenation Reaction Chemistry & Engineering. 5(10), 1903-1908
• TAYLOR, CONNOR J, ALTER, ALEXANDER, PASK, CHRISTOPHER M and SRIDHARAN, VISUVANATHAR, 2020. Imino Diels-Alder/transition metal catalyzed reactions to synthesise fused ring heterocycles Journal of Organometallic Chemistry. 913, 121197
• CLAYTON, ADAM D, MANSON, JAMIE A, TAYLOR, CONNOR J, CHAMBERLAIN, THOMAS W, TAYLOR, BRIAN A, CLEMENS, GRAEME and BOURNE, RICHARD A, 2019. Algorithms for the self-optimisation of chemical reactions Reaction Chemistry & Engineering. 4(9), 1545-1554