PhD, FRS, FRSC ,CChem, CSci, MA, MSci
Professor Rachel O'Reilly
elected Honorary Fellow 2023
Professor Rachel O’Reilly is a leading research chemist in the area of polymer synthesis and the Head of School for Chemistry at the University of Birmingham.
She studied natural sciences at Fitzwilliam College and carried out her PhD research at Imperial College, followed by postdoctoral work in the USA. In 2005, she returned to Cambridge, as the first Mays Wild research fellow at Downing from 2005 to 2008. She then moved to Warwick, becoming a full professor in 2012. In 2017, she moved to Birmingham to become the Head of School. Along the way she received many academic awards, including recognition from the Royal Society of Chemistry, American Chemical Society and the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry.
Her research focuses on polymers, including synthesis using organometallic catalysts, self-assembly of complex polymers, and biomimicry related to DNA and viruses. Her work is interdisciplinary, involving chemistry, biochemistry and materials sciences. In 2022, she was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society. In 2023, she was appointed as Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research at the University of Birmingham.