The Group
Dr Jamie Hicks
Jamie obtained his PhD from Monash University (2012-2015) under the supervision of Prof. Cameron Jones. He then undertook 2 postdoctoral positions, the first at the same institution under the supervision of Prof. Stuart Batten and A/Prof. David Turner (2015-2016) and the second at the University of Oxford (2016-2019), under the supervision of Profs Jose Goicoechea and Simon Aldridge. In 2019, Jamie returned to Australia to start the Hicks Group at the ANU as an ARC DECRA Fellow.
Current Members
Postdoctoral Fellows
Dr Fabian Kallmeier
Fabian completed his doctoral degree in the Kempe group in 2021, exploring the fascinating world of manganese and chromium catalysts for hydrogenation and dehydrogenation reactions. After a short detour working as a scientist at the Leibniz Institute for Catalysis, he found his calling with the Hicks group in late 2022. Here, his research focus lies in the potential of reactive low-valent organometallic compounds to activate small molecules and serve as catalysts.
Dr Edgar Zander
Edgar really loves missing valences. With his B.Sc. project he started a journey through phosphorus-centred polyradicals in the Schulz group (University of Rostock), with whom he finished with his PhD in 2023. He then joined the Christian Hering-Junghans group (Leibniz Institute for Catalysis) as a postdoc for 9 months to study compounds with pnictogen-aluminium double bonds. In July 2024 he came over to Canberra as a Leopoldina Postdoc Fellow and started his work in the Hicks group. Here he minimises the valences of reactive s- and p-block compounds.
Dr Liesa Eickhoff
Liesa completed her PhD in the Schulz group at the University of Rostock (Germany) in summer 2023 and stayed an additional year to continue her investigations on reactive phosphorus compounds. In July 2024, her scientific journey brought her to the Hicks group as a Leopoldina Postdoc Fellow. She shifted her focus to earlier main group elements to tune the reactivity of s-block hydrides.
PhD Candidates
Lim Li Feng
Li Feng joined the group in 2020 for his Honours’ year, in which he worked on the synthesis and isolation of low-valent Group 14 radicals. He subsequently commenced his PhD in late 2021, continuing on in attempts to understand the electronic structures of main group radicals.
Gareth Nelmes
Gareth completed his BSc(Hons) at ANU in the Hicks group, continuing on for a PhD in 2021. Starting his work in low-valent group 2, 14, and 15 chemistry with a monodentate very bulky acridine ligand, he now turns his attention to the theoretical nature of bonding and reactivity in main-group chemistry and consequently spends most of his time concerned with computational work.
Liam Pascoe
Liam completed his BSc(Hons) degree in the Hicks group, and subsequently commenced his PhD studies in 2022. He is investigating the use of photochemistry to enhance the reactivity of low oxidation state main group compounds.
Ryan Huo
Originally from Melbourne, Ryan completed his BCS(Hons) degree at Monash University under the supervision of Dr Victoria L. Blair and Em. Prof. Glen B. Deacon, focusing on coordination lanthanide chemistry. He joined the Hicks group in early 2022, studying the synthesis and reactivity of molecular group 2 hydrides.
Emily Nahon
Emily completed her BSc(Hons) in the Hicks group in 2021. She then continued on for a PhD in late 2022, where she is investigating the synthesis, isolation and reactivity of low-valent boron species.
Caitlin Lindsay
Caitlin joined the Hicks Group in 2025 to begin her PhD, after completing a PhB(Hons) at ANU under the supervision of Prof. Tony Hill. Her current research focuses on the synthesis and reactivity of ‘trapped’ anions for hydrogen storage.
Becca Majchrzak
Becca completed her PhB(Hons) degree at the ANU in 2024, where she undertook her honours research in the Hicks group. She returned to the group in 2025 to commence her PhD. Becca’s current research focuses on green main group chemistry, with particular interests in solvent-free mechanochemical methods and the sustainable conversion of abundant waste materials, such as carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide, into value added products.
Honours Students
Max Les
Max joined the Hicks Group in 2025 for his Honours year, where he is working on synthesising heavy main-group radicals. He studies the electronic structure of these species using EPR and DFT to explore their potential applications in quantum information science.
Harrison Allwood
Having completed his BSc(Adv) at the University of Newcastle in 2024, Harrison joined the Hicks group in 2025 for his Honours year investigating the reactions of low-valent aluminium anions with π-bond rich small molecule olefins such as dienes, dendralenes, and polyenes.
Lachlan Hoffman
Lachlan is joint supervised for honours between Colebatch group and Hicks group working on unsymmetrical ligands for bimetallics and small molecule activation and catalysis.
Past Members
PhD Students
Aidan Matthews
Honours Students
Jacob McMullen
Madeleine Stewart
Luke Hemmingsen
Callum Inglis
Jessica Porter
Undergraduate Project Students
Flynn Attard
Zoë Buckley
Jessica Porter
Nina Lawson
Jan Sender
Chi Canty
Alicia Armstrong
Lucas Foglia
Jamie Ross
Bronte-Rae McCutcheon
The Hicks Group 