Gillian Reid (born 1964) is a British chemist who is Professor of Inorganic Chemistry and former Head of the Department of Chemistry at the

University of Southampton The University of Southampton (abbreviated as ''Soton'' in post-nominal letters) is a public university, public research university in Southampton, England. Southampton is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universit ...

. Her research considers

coordination chemistry A coordination complex is a chemical compound consisting of a central atom or ion, which is usually metallic and is called the ''coordination centre'', and a surrounding array of chemical bond, bound molecules or ions, that are in turn known as ' ...

, inorganic semiconductors and metal fluoride scaffolds. In 2020, she was appointed the President-elect 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 ...

, becoming President in 2022.

Early life and education

Reid became interested in chemistry while at high school. She eventually studied

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

, where she earned her bachelor's degree in 1986. She remained there for her doctoral research, where she studied macrocyclic complexes. After earning her degree in 1989, and a 2-year postdoctoral research position in Edinburgh, Reid moved to a lectureship in the

Research and career

In 1991, Reid joined the University of Southampton as a lecturer. She was promoted to Professor in 2006. Under her leadership, Southampton joined the Knowledge Centre for Materials Chemistry. Reid leads molecular assembly and structure at the University of Southampton. Her research considers inorganic

, with a particular focus on the design of macrocyclic ligands that involve

chalcogen The chalcogens (ore forming) ( ) are the chemical elements in group 16 of the periodic table. This group is also known as the oxygen family. Group 16 consists of the elements oxygen (O), sulfur (S), selenium (Se), tellurium (Te), and the rad ...

donor atoms. She makes use of non-aqueous electrodeposition to grow inorganic semiconductor alloys. Electrodeposition allows for bottom-up growth without the need for an

ultra-high vacuum Ultra-high vacuum (often spelled ultrahigh in American English, UHV) is the vacuum regime characterised by pressures lower than about . UHV conditions are created by pumping the gas out of a UHV chamber. At these low pressures the mean free path of ...

environment. Reid has created molecular reagents that allow the synthesis of compounds for use in

non-volatile memory Non-volatile memory (NVM) or non-volatile storage is a type of computer memory that can retain stored information even after power is removed. In contrast, volatile memory needs constant power in order to retain data. Non-volatile memory typ ...

thermoelectric generator A thermoelectric generator (TEG), also called a Seebeck generator, is a solid state device that converts heat (driven by temperature differences) directly into electrical energy through a phenomenon called the '' Seebeck effect'' (a form of the ...

s and

two-dimensional materials In materials science, the term single-layer materials or 2D materials refers to crystalline solids consisting of a single layer of atoms. These materials are promising for some applications but remain the focus of research. Single-layer materials ...

. The reagents were used to deposit a wide variety of thin films including highly pure

germanium telluride Germanium telluride (GeTe) is a chemical compound of germanium and tellurium and is a component of chalcogenide glass. It shows semimetallic conduction and ferroelectric behaviour. Germanium telluride exists in three major crystalline forms, room- ...

, molybdenum disulphide and tungsten disulphide. In 2002, Reid co-founded the ''Southampton Science and Engineering Day'', which has since evolved into the Southampton Science and Engineering Festival. The event was founded to coincide with British Science Week, which occurs annually in March. In 2010, Reid was made the Head of the Department of Chemistry Outreach Programme. In 2015, she co-led the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

Summer Science exhibit ''Taking Technology Smaller'', which introduced the public to

electrochemistry Electrochemistry is the branch of physical chemistry concerned with the relationship between Electric potential, electrical potential difference and identifiable chemical change. These reactions involve Electron, electrons moving via an electronic ...

as a means to build nanoscale electronic devices.

Awards and honours

* 2006 Vice-Chancellor's Award for Teaching in Chemistry * 2007

Award for Achievement in the Promotion of Chemistry * 2011 Elected a member of the Council of the Royal Society of Chemistry * 2012 Elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry * 2020 Appointed the President-elect of the Royal Society of Chemistry * 2022 Elected Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was establis ...

* 2024

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

"for services to the

chemical sciences Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions: their com ...

and to inclusion and diversity".

Selected publications

* * *

Personal life

Reid has two children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reid, Gillian 1964 births Living people British inorganic chemists 21st-century British chemists British women chemists Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellows of the Royal Society of Chemistry Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Academics of the University of Southampton Commanders of the Order of the British Empire