Charlotte Williams Appointed to the Professorship of Inorganic Chemistry

Trinity Professorial Fellow Charlotte Williams OBE FRS has been appointed to the Professorship of Inorganic Chemistry, one of Oxford’s five statutory chairs in Chemistry.

Professor Williams’ research is focused on catalysis and polymer chemistry. She develops new sustainable technologies, including methods to activate and use carbon dioxide and ways to produce sustainable polymers. The polymers she works on include plastics, elastics, adhesives, surfactants and electrolytes used in consumer products, batteries, electronics and transportation.

During her career, Prof Williams has received commendations including the RSC Tilden Prize, the Royal Society Leverhulme Medal, and an OBE in 2020 for Services to Chemistry. She is currently Associate Head of Department (Research) in the Department of Chemistry. Prior to her time in Oxford, she was a professor, and head of materials chemistry, at Imperial College London.

Professor Williams is an expert in catalysis, sustainable chemistry and polymer materials. All of the polymers her team develops are designed to be renewably sourced, with structures managed from the atomic to the macroscopic length-scale for their target applications. The team also considers the end-life management of the polymers, to allow for recycling or degradation depending on their application.

A major area of interest for Prof Williams is carbon dioxide chemistry. She specialises in understanding how carbon dioxide is incorporated into the polymer, applying spectroscopy, kinetics and computational methods to provide theories that explain catalytic synergy and carbon dioxide chemistry. The CO₂-derived polymers show significantly reduced greenhouse gas emissions, and are useful for applications including home insulation and other long-lasting consumer products.

Professor Williams is passionate about engaging more scientists and engineers to propose creative and distinctive approaches to chemical production, polymerisation and recycling. She says: ‘Only with enough focus on transformative discovery science can we hope to answer the environmental and societal questions surrounding the most sustainable ways to make and use our future materials.’

Throughout her career Professor Williams has worked closely with industrial partners. She founded, and still serves as Chief Scientific Officer, at Econic Technologies, a UK company that sells catalysts and processes globally, enabling carbon dioxide utilization. She will head up the recently announced SCHEMA sustainable chemicals and materials manufacturing hub, which is focused on transforming the way chemicals and polymers are designed, made and recycled.

Professor Williams has also worked with national and international expert teams advising on how to improve sustainability in the chemical industry, including the UN Global Plastic Pollution Treaty that is currently being negotiated, and a recent Royal Society briefing on defossilising the chemical industry.

The appointment means Professor Williams will leave Trinity to become a Fellow of St Catherine’s College.