He completed his Ph.D. degree at Dublin City University, Ireland, with Prof. J. G. Vos in 2002, followed by a postdoc under the joint guidance of Prof. J. G. Vos and Prof. J. J. McGarvey, Queens University Belfast, U.K. Between 2003 and 2007 he was a postdoctoral research fellow in the group of Prof. B. L. Feringa at the University of Groningen. He was appointed assistant professor in 2008. His current research interests include transition metal based oxidation catalysis, electrochromic materials and responsive surfaces. He is an advisory board member for the European Journal of Inorganic Chemistry, Particle & Particle Characterization (both Wiley) and Chemical Communications (RSC). He has (co-)authored over 150 research papers, reviews and book chapters.