Sir David Charles Clary, FRS (born 14 January 1953) is a British theoretical chemist. He was

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and ...

, from 2005 to 2020. He was the first chief scientific adviser to the

Foreign and Commonwealth Office The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is the ministry of foreign affairs and a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom. The office was created on 2 ...

from 2009 to 2013. He is a Professor of Chemistry at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

Education

He was born in Halesworth, Suffolk, and attended Colchester Royal Grammar School from 1964 to 1971. He has a BSc (1974) from the

University of Sussex The University of Sussex is a public university, public research university, research university located in Falmer, East Sussex, England. It lies mostly within the city boundaries of Brighton and Hove. Its large campus site is surrounded by the ...

and a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

(1977) and ScD (1997) from the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, where he was at Corpus Christi College. He undertook post-doctoral research at

IBM International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...

in San Jose,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, and at the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

Appointments

In 1980, he was appointed lecturer at the

University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology The University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) was a university based in the centre of the city of Manchester in England. It specialised in technical and scientific subjects and was a major centre for Research univer ...

(UMIST). In 1983, he was appointed lecturer and then reader in theoretical chemistry at the

, where he was fellow and senior tutor of

Magdalene College Magdalene College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary ...

. In 1996, he was made director of the Centre for Theoretical and

Computational Chemistry Computational chemistry is a branch of chemistry that uses computer simulations to assist in solving chemical problems. It uses methods of theoretical chemistry incorporated into computer programs to calculate the structures and properties of mol ...

and professor at

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

. In 2002, he moved to the

, where he was head of the Division of Mathematical and Physical Sciences and professorial fellow of St John's College. He was elected President of Magdalen College, Oxford in 2005. He was editor of '' Chemical Physics Letters'' from 2000-2020 and was a reviewing editor of ''

Science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

'' from 2003-16. He has held numerous visiting fellowships and given several named lectures. Some of his work as the first chief scientific advisor to the

is described in an article in '' Science and Diplomacy''.

Awards

In 1997 Clary was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

for his development of the quantum theory for

chemical reaction A chemical reaction is a process that leads to the chemistry, chemical transformation of one set of chemical substances to another. When chemical reactions occur, the atoms are rearranged and the reaction is accompanied by an Gibbs free energy, ...

s. He is a Fellow of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...

, the

American Physical Society The American Physical Society (APS) is a not-for-profit membership organization of professionals in physics and related disciplines, comprising nearly fifty divisions, sections, and other units. Its mission is the advancement and diffusion of ...

, the

Royal Society of Chemistry The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is a learned society and professional association in the United Kingdom with the goal of "advancing the chemistry, chemical sciences". It was formed in 1980 from the amalgamation of the Chemical Society, the ...

(RSC) and the

Institute of Physics The Institute of Physics (IOP) is a UK-based not-for-profit learned society and professional body that works to advance physics education, physics research, research and applied physics, application. It was founded in 1874 and has a worldwide ...

; International Honorary Member of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

and a member of the

International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science The International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science (IAQMS) is an international scientific learned society covering all applications of quantum theory to chemistry and chemical physics. It was created in Menton in 1967. The founding members we ...

. He was elected Einstein Professor of the

Chinese Academy of Sciences The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS; ) is the national academy for natural sciences and the highest consultancy for science and technology of the People's Republic of China. It is the world's largest research organization, with 106 research i ...

in 2014 and an honorary fellow of the

Chemical Research Society of India Chemical Research Society of India (CRSI) is an India based scientific society dedicated to the field of chemistry. It was established in 1999 as a part of celebrating India's 50th anniversary of independence Independence is a conditi ...

in 2019. He received an honorary DSc from the

(2011), and was elected an honorary fellow of

Magdalene College, Cambridge Magdalene College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary ...

in 2005 and

in 2020. Clary was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

in the Queen's 2016 Birthday Honours for services to international science. The citation for his knighthood stated: "Professor Clary has made an outstanding contribution to enhancing the international reputation of UK science and higher education. Through his leadership, he has enhanced Magdalen College’s position as one of the leading academic institutions in the world. In his own scientific research he developed new theories for calculating the rates of chemical reactions. As Head of the Division of Mathematical and Physical Sciences at Oxford University he facilitated links between physical, life and medical sciences, helping to raise Oxford's profile as a leader for scientific research and innovation. As the first FCO Chief Scientific Adviser he enhanced significantly the visibility of UK science and innovation overseas, being a major proponent of using scientific collaborations to enhance international relations."

Research

The citation for his election as a

states: "Professor Clary is distinguished for his use of quantum

collision theory Collision theory is a principle of chemistry used to predict the rates of chemical reactions. It states that when suitable particles of the Reagent, reactant hit each other with the correct orientation, only a certain amount of collisions result ...

as a practical tool for explaining a wide variety of experimental results in chemical reaction dynamics. His general theories and computational methods enable reliable predictions to be made on the reactions, energy transfer and dissociation of polyatomic molecules in selected quantum states. His work also has important applications in understanding interstellar, combustion and atmospheric chemistry, as the extreme temperatures of these environments can be hard to reproduce in the laboratory, but are readily treated with these theoretical methods." His current research focus is in developing semiclassical rate theories for chemical reactions. He is an authority on

Erwin Schrödinger Erwin Rudolf Josef Alexander Schrödinger ( ; ; 12 August 1887 – 4 January 1961), sometimes written as or , was an Austrian-Irish theoretical physicist who developed fundamental results in quantum field theory, quantum theory. In particul ...

, the discoverer of the form of quantum theory known as wave mechanics and Fellow of

Books

Schrödinger in Oxford
World Scientific Publishing, 2022.
The Lost Scientists of World War II
World Scientific Publishing, 2024.
Walter Kohn: From Kindertransport and Internment to DFT and the Nobel Prize
World Scientific Publishing, 2024.

References

External links

Biography at Magdalen College

Oxford University biography

Biography at the International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science

Royal Society biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clary, David 1953 births Living people People from Halesworth People educated at Colchester Royal Grammar School Alumni of the University of Sussex Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Fellows of Magdalene College, Cambridge Academics of University College London Fellows of St John's College, Oxford Presidents of Magdalen College, Oxford Fellows of the Royal Society Members of the International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Theoretical chemists British editors British academic journal editors British computational chemists Knights Bachelor