Ian Jenkins is a graduate of the University of New South Wales (Honours Class 1 and University Medal) where he completed his PhD in 1969 under the supervision of Michael Gallagher. He carried out postdoctoral work at Syntex (John Moffatt and Julien Verheyden), the University of Sussex (as an ICI Fellow with Colin Eaborn, FRS), and the ANU (Arthur Birch, FRS) before moving to Griffith University as a Lecturer in Chemistry in 1975. He was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 1981, Associate Professor in 1987, and Professor in 1999. He has spent periods of sabbatical leave at Imperial College, London (Professor Charles Rees, FRS), The National Jewish Centre for Immunology and Respiratory Medicine, Denver, Colorado (Professor Mayer Goren), The University of Cambridge, UK, (Professor Laurie Hall) Departement de Chimie, Ecole Normale Superieure, Paris, (Professor Pierre Sinay) and Astra, Charnwood, UK. Ian is the author or co-author of more than160 publications on organic synthesis, reaction mechanisms, free radical chemistry, carbohydrate chemistry, organophosphorus chemistry, organometallic chemistry and polymer chemistry. Highlights include the first synthesis of Nucleocidin (an antitrypanosomal agent and the only known naturally occurring fluorosugar derivative), the synthesis of cord factor (an immunostimulant), and seminal studies on the mechanism of the Mitsunobu Reaction. He joined the Eskitis Institute for Drug Discovery, as head of the Medicinal Chemistry Group in 1999. He retired in April 2010, only to return in May as Professor Emeritus.