Professor Uta Wille

Theme leader, Theme 2 - Urease and nitrification inhibitors

Uta is an internationally recognised expert in synthetic and mechanistic organic chemistry. Her role within the Hub will be to lead the design and synthesis of new urease and nitrification inhibitors. Previously, Uta has been a Chief Investigator of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Free Radical Chemistry and Biotechnology (2005 – 2013) and several Australian Research Council grants including a current project with other Hub members investigating development of next generation nitrogen fertilisers and inhibitors to improve the nitrogen use efficiency in agriculture. Uta has a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Kiel, Germany, and has completed a Habilitation in organic chemistry at the same institution, where she merged atmospheric radicals with synthetic organic chemistry.  During her postdoc with Professor Giese in Switzerland she has studied the mechanism of long-distance electron transport in DNA. In 2003 Uta moved permanently to Australia to take up a teaching and research position in the School of Chemistry at the University of Melbourne. Uta has had several leadership roles in the University, including Associate Dean (Undergraduate Programs) in the Faculty of Science from 2019-2020.