Professor Addison, one of Drexel’s token Australians, is a C. & M. Lindback Distinguished Teaching
Awardee. Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (’08) and of the American Chemical Society (’12), he is also an officer and past Chairman of the ACS Philadelphia Section, and a member of IES & CSC. He is lead author of the 6th-most-cited article in the field of Inorganic Chemistry in the last 30 years.
He was one of the original proponents of electrochemical techniques in inorganic chemistry, and has applied it, as well as magnetochemistry and EPR and other spectroscopies, to inorganic and biomolecular systems. He has taught these subjects at the bachelor degree and doctoral degree levels, as well as presenting elementary topics to over 8,000 first-year students.
He and his students explained the way in which the molecular environments of copper ions govern their electron-transfer properties relevant to biomolecules. His group's research, founded in molecular craftsmanship, has led to highly impactful ideas such as EPR/structure correlations, a standard non-aqueous electrochemical reference electrode, and the τ structure index, that enable other scientists to interpret and understand their own research results.
He has also been engaged for many years with colleagues in their professional societies' activities at the local, regional and national levels. With numerous US and international collaborators, he has brought together and empowered chemists who previously did not share any research connnections. He has hosted two Fulbright Foundation Fellows in his lab.