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Pro Vice-Chancellor, International

Professor Rudolf Allemann, Pro VC of College of Physical Sciences & Engineering
Pro Vice-Chancellor International, Professor Rudolf Allemann FRSC, FLSW

Professor Rudolf Allemann is Pro Vice-Chancellor for International.

He is responsible for the University’s international activities and partnerships, student recruitment and admissions, and the overall management and leadership of the College of Physical Sciences and Engineering. As Pro Vice-Chancellor, Professor Allemann is also a member of the University Executive Board.

Professor Allemann is a Distinguished Research Professor who joined the University’s School of Chemistry in 2005.

After completing his PhD work at Harvard University and Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH) in Zurich, Professor Allemann began his career as a postdoctoral researcher and Staff Scientist at the Medical Research Council’s National Institute for Medical Research at Mill Hill, on the outskirts of London.

Professor Allemann went on to become Research Group Leader and lecturer in the Department of Chemistry at ETH in Zurich. In 1998, Professor Allemann moved to the University of Birmingham to become a Senior Lecturer in Chemistry, before taking up the role of Professor of Chemical Biology in 2001.

From 2013–2017, Professor Allemann was Head of the School of Chemistry.

Responsibilities

Professor Allemann’s specific responsibilities include the development of:

  • the University’s strategy with regard to internationalisation
  • Home, EU and international student recruitment and admissions
  • setting the strategy and direction of the College of Physical Sciences and Engineering, promoting the development of learning and teaching and research excellence.

Academic Schools

The College of Physical Sciences and Engineering consists of seven Schools:

Research

Professor Allemann’s research group apply a wide range of chemical and physical techniques to answer questions relating to the extraordinary catalytic power of enzymes.

Current work focuses on terpene synthase chemistry and its biotechnological and synthetic biology exploitation to generate high value chemicals with applications in healthcare and agriculture, the connection between protein dynamics and enzymatic power, and the generation of light responsive tools to probe and control biological processes in the laboratory and in live cells. Their work relies on an interdisciplinary approach at the interface of chemistry and fields such as biology, chemical ecology, material science, medicine and physics.

He engages with social and mass media to establish a dialogue with the public to bring science to a wider audience, especially those who do not normally interact with academia.

Memberships and awards

Habilitation in Chemical Biology from ETH-Zurich.

Professor Allemann is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and a Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales.

He is also a Visiting Professor at Manchester University.

Contact details

For matters relating to the Pro Vice-Chancellor, International

Samantha Scanlon