Charlotte Williams

Last updated

Charlotte Williams
OBE FRS
Alma mater Imperial College London
Scientific career
Institutions University of Oxford

University of Cambridge
University of Minnesota

Imperial College London
Doctoral advisor Vernon C. Gibson

Charlotte Williams is a British scientist who holds the Professorship of Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Oxford. [1] Her research focuses on the synthesis of novel catalysts with an expertise in organometallic chemistry and polymer materials chemistry. [2]

Contents

Early life and education

Williams studied chemistry at Imperial College London, graduating with a Bachelor's degree in chemistry. She completed a PhD with Vernon C. Gibson and Nick Long. [3] [4]

Research and career

Williams joined the University of Cambridge as a postdoctoral research associate working with Andrew Bruce Holmes and Richard Friend. [5] Here she focused on the synthesis of electroactive polymers. [5] She then moved to the University of Minnesota, working in the group of Marc Hillymer and William Tollman on zinc catalysis. [6]

In 2003 Williams was appointed to Imperial College London as a lecturer. [7] She was appointed a Senior Lecturer in 2007, a Reader in 2009 and a Professor in 2012. [5] Here she developed sugar-based biodegradable polymers that were produced from lignocellulosic biomass. [8] [9] During her time at Imperial she was an inventor of several granted patents. [3]

She joined Trinity College, Oxford, in 2016. [10] Her research focuses on metal complexes for use in homogeneous polymerisation catalysis. [10] She identified catalysts that could use carbon dioxide as a raw material for polymers, which prompted Williams to start Econic Technologies. [10] Econic Technologies has received more than £13 million in funding. [11] [12] [13] [14] She also identified transition metal complex catalysts, biorenewable polymers and liquid fuel production. [15] She has developed switchable catalysts that allow the combination of monomers into block copolymers. [16] [17] [10] Working with Milo Shaffer at Imperial College London, Williams uses nanoparticles in polymer composites. [18] She is a member of the London Centre for Nanotechnology. [19]

She appears regularly in the media, including on BBC Radio 4's In Our Time [20] and at museums and festivals. [21] [22] In 2015 she won the WISE Campaign research award for her eco-plastics start-up. [23]

In June 2024, Williams was appointed to the Professorship of Inorganic Chemistry, one of the five Statutory Professorships in Chemistry at the University of Oxford and took up a fellowship of St Catherine's College.

Honours and awards

Williams was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2020 Birthday Honours for services to chemistry. [31]

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References

  1. ↑ "Charlotte Williams appointed to the Professorship of Inorganic Chemistry". www.chem.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  2. ↑ "Professor Charlotte Williams". Department of Chemistry. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 "RSC Corday-Morgan Prize 2016 Winner". www.rsc.org. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  4. ↑ "Academic Family Tree" (PDF). Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  5. 1 2 3 "The Williams Research Group, Imperial College London". www.ch.ic.ac.uk. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  6. ↑ Williams, Charlotte K.; Breyfogle, Laurie E.; Choi, Sun Kyung; Nam, Wonwoo; Young, Victor G.; Hillmyer, Marc A.; Tolman, William B. (September 2003). "A Highly Active Zinc Catalyst for the Controlled Polymerization of Lactide". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 125 (37): 11350–11359. doi:10.1021/ja0359512. ISSN   0002-7863. PMID   16220958.
  7. ↑ "Home - PROFESSOR CHARLOTTE K. WILLIAMS". www.imperial.ac.uk. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  8. ↑ "Environment". The Telegraph. 30 March 2016. ISSN   0307-1235. Archived from the original on 1 April 2016. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  9. ↑ "Compostable Plastics Have a Sweet Ending | Imperial News | Imperial College London". Imperial News. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Oneltd. "Trinity College – Charlotte Williams". www.trinity.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  11. ↑ "About us – Econic". Econic. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  12. ↑ "Prof. Charlotte Williams – Econic". Econic. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  13. ↑ "Econic Technologies - breathing new life into polymer production". www.imperialinnovations.co.uk. Archived from the original on 13 September 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  14. ↑ "Econic Technologies pioneering technology to help fight climate change" (PDF). Oil and Gas Climate Initiative. 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  15. ↑ "Charlotte Williams - Research Guides". research.chem.ox.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 19 May 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  16. ↑ Stößer, T.; Chen, T. T. D.; Zhu, Y.; Williams, C. K. (13 January 2018). "'Switch' catalysis: from monomer mixtures to sequence-controlled block copolymers". Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A. 376 (2110): 20170066. doi:10.1098/rsta.2017.0066. PMC   5719223 . PMID   29175903.
  17. ↑ Zhu, Yunqing; Radlauer, Madalyn R.; Schneiderman, Deborah K.; Shaffer, Milo S. P.; Hillmyer, Marc A.; Williams, Charlotte K. (19 March 2018). "Multiblock Polyesters Demonstrating High Elasticity and Shape Memory Effects". Macromolecules. 51 (7): 2466–2475. Bibcode:2018MaMol..51.2466Z. doi:10.1021/acs.macromol.7b02690. ISSN   0024-9297. S2CID   104242028.
  18. ↑ García-Trenco, A.; White, E. R.; Shaffer, M. S. P.; Williams, C. K. (2016). "A one-step Cu/ZnO quasi-homogeneous catalyst for DME production from syn-gas" (PDF). Catalysis Science & Technology. 6 (12): 4389–4397. doi:10.1039/c5cy01994j. hdl: 10044/1/29091 . ISSN   2044-4753.
  19. ↑ "Charlotte Williams | London Centre for Nanotechnology". www.london-nano.com. Archived from the original on 19 May 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  20. ↑ "Macromolecules, In Our Time - BBC Radio 4". BBC. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  21. ↑ "New chemistry could make it easier to design materials to order | Imperial News | Imperial College London". Imperial News. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  22. ↑ "Children explore vanishing glass and power of brainwaves at Festival Schools Day | Imperial News | Imperial College London". Imperial News. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  23. 1 2 "Imperial chemist receives WISE award for eco-plastics start-up | Imperial News | Imperial College London". Imperial News. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  24. ↑ "Oxford Researchers elected to Royal Society | University of Oxford". www.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  25. ↑ "DECHEMA | Gesellschaft für Chemische Technik und Biotechnologie e.V." (in German). Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  26. ↑ Oneltd. "Trinity College – Outstanding Achievement Award". www.trinity.ox.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 19 May 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  27. ↑ "Dr Charlotte Williams wins outstanding young scientist award | Imperial News | Imperial College London". Imperial News. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  28. ↑ "ESED Early Career Award Previous Winner". www.rsc.org. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  29. ↑ "RSC Awards Archive - Meldola Medal and Prize". www.rsc.org. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  30. ↑ "Honours and Memberships - PROFESSOR CHARLOTTE K. WILLIAMS". www.imperial.ac.uk. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  31. ↑ "No. 63135". The London Gazette (Supplement). 10 October 2020. p. B15.
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