Dr Jennifer A. Burnham

Department of Chemistry

Senior University Teacher

j.burnham@sheffield.ac.uk
+44 114 222 9488

Dainton Building

Full contact details

Dr Jennifer A. Burnham
Department of Chemistry
Dainton Building
13 Brook Hill
Sheffield
S3 7HF

Profile

Dr Jenny Burnham did a BSc in Chemistry with Studies in Continental Europe at the University of Bristol and then specialised as a main group chemist with doctoral studies on boron monohalide and polyboron halide chemistry and postdoctoral work on indium monohalide chemistry and precursors for cadmium mercury telluride devices. Jenny has been a Teaching Fellow at the University of Sheffield since 2005.

She delivers lectures, tutorials, project work, and laboratory classes and runs the Level 2 synthetic laboratories. She completed an MEd in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education at the University of Sheffield in 2012, is a University of Sheffield Senate Award winner for Excellence in Learning and Teaching, and is a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. In her own words "I go by the name of Jenny Burnham and I firmly believe that boron is the best element in the periodic table."

Awards

Senate Award for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (2013)

Qualifications

Professional Qualifications & Memberships

MEd in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (2012)
MRSC
CChem
PFHEA

Publications

Journal articles

Cox A, Benson-Marshall M, Burnham JAJ, Care L, Herrick T & Jones M (2020) Mapping the campus learning landscape. Pedagogy, Culture and Society. View this article in WRRO
Burnham JAJ (2020) Skills for success : student-focused, chemistry-based, skills-developing, open-ended project work. Journal of Chemical Education, 97(2), 344-350. View this article in WRRO
Armstrong C, Burnham JA & Warminski EE (2017) Combining Sustainable Synthesis of a Versatile Ruthenium Dihydride Complex with Structure Determination Using Group Theory and Spectroscopy. Journal of Chemical Education, 94(7), 928-931. View this article in WRRO
Burnham JAJ (2016) The Impact of a Teaching Specialist in a Research Led University. Practice and Evidence of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 11(1), 23-32. View this article in WRRO
Burnham JAJ (2013) Opportunistic use of students for solving laboratory problems: Twelve heads are better than one. New Directions, 9(1), 42-48. View this article in WRRO
Pardoe JAJ & Downs AJ (2007) Development of the Chemistry of Indium in Formal Oxidation States Lower than +3†. Chemical Reviews, 107(1), 2-45.
Pardoe JAJ, Cowley AR, Downs AJ & Greene TM (2005) mer-Triiodotripyridineindium(III). Acta Crystallographica Section C Crystal Structure Communications, 61(4), m200-m202.
Pardoe JAJ, Cole-Hamilton DJ & Hails JE (2005) New solid-state sensing materials for gaseous dimethylcadmium, di-iso-propyltelluride and dimethylmercury. Journal of Crystal Growth, 273(3-4), 340-346.
Timms PL, Norman NC, Pardoe JAJ, Mackie ID, Hinchley SL, Parsons S & Rankin DWH (2005) The structures of higher boron halides B8X12(X = F, Cl, Br and I) by gas-phase electron diffraction and ab initio calculations. Dalton Transactions(3), 607-607.
Porter KA, Hails JE, Pardoe JAJ, Cole-Hamilton DJ & Blacker NJ (2004) Environmental considerations in the MOVPE growth of (Hg,Cd)Te. Journal of Crystal Growth, 272(1-4), 829-835.
Gaertner B, Himmel H-JR, Macrae VA, Pardoe JAJ, Randall PG & Downs AJ (2004) Some Novel Binuclear Group 13 Metal Tin Hydrides Formed in Ar Matrices Following the Codeposition of the Metal Vapor with SnH4. Chemistry - A European Journal, 10(22), 5836-5847.
Pardoe JAJ, Norman NC, Timms PL, Parsons S, Mackie I, Pulham CR & Rankin DWH (2003) The Surprising Structures of B8F12 and B10F12. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 42(5), 571-573.
Pardoe JAJ, Norman NC & Timms PL (2002) Studies on BCl and on the exchange reaction of BCl3 with polyboron fluorides. Polyhedron, 21(5-6), 543-548.
Mackie ID, Hinchley SL, Robertson HE, Rankin DWH, Pardoe JAJ & Timms PL (2002) The structures of borane carbonyl compounds B4X6CO (X = F, Cl, Br and I) by gas-phase electron diffraction and ab initio calculationsElectronic supplementary information (ESI) available: least-squares correlation matrix for electron diffraction structure refinement for B(BF2)3CO; tables of geometric parameters for B4X6CO and B2X4 (X = F, Cl, Br and I). See http://www.rsc.org/suppdata/dt/b2/b207192d/. Journal of the Chemical Society, Dalton Transactions(22), 4162-4167.
Anderson KM, Kündig EP, Norman NC, Orpen AG, Pardoe JAJ, Smith DW & Timms PL (2001) Dicarbonylbis(1,4-difluoro-2,3,5,6-tetramethyl-1,4-diboracyclohexa-2,5-diene)molybdenum. Acta Crystallographica Section E Structure Reports Online, 57(10), m419-m420.
Jeffery JC, Norman NC, Pardoe JAJ & Timms PL (2000) Synthesis and structures of carbonyl adducts of the boranes B(BX2)3 (X = F, Cl). Chemical Communications(23), 2367-2368.

Chapters

Burnham J (2019) Developing student expertise in scientific inquiry In Seery MK & Mc Donnell C (Ed.), Teaching Chemistry in Higher Education A Festschrift in Honour of Professor Tina Overton Creathach Press View this article in WRRO

Preprints

Cramman H, Burnham JAJ, Campbell CD, Francis NJ, Smith DP, Spagnoli D, Stewart MI & Turner IJ () COVID as a catalyst: Uncovering misaligned power dynamics and the importance of new Professional Learning Networks for Higher Education science laboratory teaching.

Teaching interests: Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory; Main Group Chemistry; Science Teaching Network.

Teaching activities

I love teaching. I love seeing students develop from nervous first years to confident graduates and talented postgraduates. It is fascinating to learn about the process of learning and seeing it from the perspective of a student again is instructive. To that end, I have completed an MEd in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education and continue to do research into my teaching practice. I believe the potential of my students is enormous and it should be tapped and their skills developed. My teaching aims to stretch students, giving them the opportunity to practice less-familiar skills before they get to the work-place, and encouraging them to consolidate their learning so that material is learned for more than the two weeks of the revision period.

Undergraduate and postgraduate taught modules

Main Group Chemistry 1 (Level 2)
This lecture course explores the relationship between the atomic properties and molecular behaviour of some s- and p-block compounds.
Level 2 Inorganic and Organic Laboratories
The second year Inorganic and Organic Chemistry Laboratory curricula have been designed to build on the first year lab through a balanced programme of experiments covering the main branches of inorganic and organic chemistry. Students will become masters of the key techniques and methods of synthetic chemistry and be introduced to more advanced techniques such as synthesis under inert atmosphere and chromatographic separation, and they will become practised in spectroscopic characterisation.
Chemistry Projects – Skills for Success (Level 3; course designer)
Skills for success is based on the philosophy that students should be able to customise their degree in order to develop the particular skills they need for their future. Students are required to apply for their choice of project, complete the project itself, and then reflect on their experiences in order to solidify their learning. Examples of previous project work included gaining work experience in the department, debating philosophical issues from chemistry, researching a particular molecule, writing and hosting a radio show, and experimenting in the kitchen.

Support Teaching:

Tutorials: Level 1 General Chemistry.

Laboratory Teaching:

Level 1 Inorganic Laboratories
Level 2 Inorganic Laboratories