Neil Champness

Neil Champness is a British chemist currently serving as head of the School of Chemistry and Norman Haworth Professor of Chemistry at the University of Birmingham.^[1] His research focuses on supramolecular assembly and metal-organic frameworks.^[2][3]

Education

Champness received a BSc in chemistry from the University of Southampton in 1989 and a PhD in 1993.^[1][2]

Academic career

Following his PhD, Champness remained at Southampton to continue postdoctoral studies with Gill Reid.^[4] In 1995, Champness became a teaching fellow in inorganic chemistry at the University of Nottingham, becoming a reader in 2003 and gaining the Chair of Chemical Nanoscience in 2004.^[1] Champness moved to the University of Birmingham in 2021.^[5]

In 2019, Champness was appointed to the advisory board of the Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre.^[6] Champness served as the Chairman of the Editorial Board of the Royal Society of Chemistry journal CrystEngComm from 2007-2010, having previously served as a member of the journals Editorial Board from 2003-2006.^[7] He has been a member of the Royal Society of Chemistry Publishing Board since 2023.^[8] In 2020, Champness was appointed editor-in-chief of the organic crystalline materials section of Crystals, a journal of the Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute.^[2]

Throughout his career Champness has given many public lectures including a Friday Discourse^[9] at the Royal Institution in 2015.^[10]

Recognition

In 2013, Champness was elected a Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales,^[11] and in 2020 he was elected to Academia Europaea. ^[12] In 2011 Champness was named as one of the top 100 most cited chemists of the previous decade.^[13] In 2026 Champness was appointed a Royal Commissioner to the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851.^{[14] [15]}

Champness has received the following awards:

• RSC Surfaces and Interfaces Award (2016)^[4]
• Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award (2011)^[16]
• RSC Supramolecular Chemistry Award (2010)^[17]
• Corday-Morgan Prize (2006)^[18]

Personal life

Champness is a supporter of Southampton FC.^[7]

References

1. ^ "Professor Neil Champness". University of Birmingham. Retrieved 2026-03-15.
2. ^ "Professor Neil Champness Appointed Section Editor-in-Chief of Crystals". MDPI. 3 April 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2026.
3. ^ "Interview with Neil Champness, University of Nottingham". www.thenakedscientists.com. 31 January 2011. Retrieved 15 March 2026.
4. ^ "Neil Champness - University of Nottingham". University of Nottingham. Archived from the original on 27 March 2019.
5. ^ "New Haworth Chair appointed". University of Birmingham. 9 October 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2026.
6. ^ "CCDC announces the formation of a new Scientific Advisory Board | CCDC". CCDC. 23 July 2019. Retrieved 15 March 2026.
7. ^ Sheahan, Holly (21 May 2009). "Interview with Neil Champness – CrystEngComm Blog". Royal Society of Chemistry. Retrieved 15 March 2026.
8. ^ "RSC Publishing Board |". RSC. 29 May 2026.
9. ^ "The history of the Friday Evening Discourse | Royal Institution". www.rigb.org. 2023-07-07. Retrieved 2026-04-28.
10. ^ "Nanoscale Machines: Building the Future with Molecules - with Neil Champness". The Royal Institution on YouTube. 6 January 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2026.
11. ^ "Neil Champness". The Learned Society of Wales. Retrieved 2026-03-15.
12. ^ "Academy of Europe: Champness Neil". www.ae-info.org. Retrieved 2026-04-18.
13. ^ "Nottingham Chemist makes world top 100 - The University of Nottingham". www.nottingham.ac.uk. Retrieved 2026-04-28.
14. ^ "professor-neil-champness-appointed-royal-commissioner-to-the-1851-royal-commission"
15. ^ "Royal Commission 1851"
16. ^ "Royal Society Wolfson Merit Award". University of Birmingham. Retrieved 2026-03-29.
17. ^ "Supramolecular Chemistry Award". Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry (MASC) Group. 2024-04-29. Retrieved 2026-03-15.
18. ^ "Corday-Morgan Prize Previous Winners". rsc.org. Archived from the original on 15 July 2018.