Gill Reid, Professor of Inorganic Chemistry has been appointed Head of Chemistry, effective 1 August 2016. She will be taking over from Professor Phil Gale.
“I’ve been excited and inspired by Chemistry ever since I was at school and I’m looking forward to working with staff and students from across the department to achieve even more in terms of internationally renowned research and top quality education,” said Gill.
“Chemistry at Southampton is thriving,” she added. “The last national assessment of research quality (REF 2014) reflected our strengths across the subject and ranked us eighth in the UK for research power. Over the last few years, many world-leading academic staff have joined us, student recruitment is healthy and we have invested millions of pounds in essential infrastructure and laboratory facilities to maintain our position as one of the country’s leading chemistry departments.
“Chemistry affects everyone and has a vital role in everyday life. There are still so many things for us to discover and we have many fascinating research opportunities at Southampton. In terms of my own group’s research, we are working with GE Healthcare on developing new and improved medical imaging agents to detect and understand more about diseased tissue and organs, while we are also collaborating with colleagues in electronics and physics, carrying out research at the nanoscale into semiconductors, thermoelectric devices and solid state memory.”
Having arrived at Southampton as a lecturer in 1991, Gill was one of only two female academics in Chemistry. Now, there are many women in senior positions and the department has been awarded a coveted Athena SWAN silver award to recognise its continuing efforts to support female academics in their careers, eliminate gender bias and promote equal opportunities for all.
“While there is still more to do, I am proud of our progress so far and am confident that we can achieve even greater success in the future,” Gill added.