Two Christ Church contemporaries receive OBEs

Having completed his DPhil at Merton College in 1990, Professor Matthew Rosseinsky came to Christ Church in 1992 and was Tutor in Inorganic Chemistry here for seven years, during which time he served as a member of the Governing Body. He has since led a distinguished career as Professor of Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Liverpool, receiving the Harrison Memorial Prize in 1991, the Corday–Morgan Medal and Prize in 2000, and the Tilden Lectureship of the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) in 2006. 

In 2009 Professor Rosseinsky received the De Gennes Prize – a lifetime achievement award from the RSC, open globally, which celebrates outstanding work in materials chemistry. He has since also won the Hughes Medal (2011) and the Davy Medal (2017). Adding to this remarkable list of accolades, Professor Rosseinsky’s OBE – bestowed on him ‘for services to Materials Chemistry Research and Innovation’ – recognises his role as a global leader in his field. Learn about the work of his research group. 

Responding to news of his honour, Professor Matthew Rosseinsky said: ‘I am grateful for this award, which recognises the efforts of my team, my colleagues at Liverpool, and our academic and industrial partners in the UK and beyond. It reflects the critical importance of materials chemistry research for achieving a sustainable future.’

Professor Dudley Shallcross came at Christ Church in 1990 to complete a DPhil in atmospheric chemistry. Following postdoctoral and fellowship positions at the University of Cambridge, he joined the University of Bristol’s Department of Chemistry in 1999. He has been Professor of Atmospheric Chemistry at Bristol for much of his career and has been Extraordinary Professor at South Africa’s University of the Western Cape since 2018. 

Professor Shallcross’ career has been particularly distinguished by a commitment to science outreach and education. His outreach work began shortly after his arrival at the University of Bristol: ‘I was offered a couple of admin jobs, but I chose schools outreach, which wasn’t a popular choice with young academics at the time. But I really enjoyed it and soon met with secondary school teachers across the city, forging an effective link with the University.’

Professor Shallcross’ outreach work earned him the University of Bristol’s first National Teaching Fellowship, shortly after which he became Director of the Bristol ChemLabS Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (2005–10). He then served as the CEO of Primary Science Teaching Trust from 2010 to 2022, President of the Education Community of the Royal Society of Chemistry from 2020 to 2023, and Chair of the Enthuse Charitable Trust since 2023. 

In his many roles, Professor Shallcross has been a pioneer of science outreach and education. He has welcomed thousands of secondary school students from across the UK and worldwide to the labs of Bristol’s School of Chemistry, and has launched virtual labs – both as a means of preparing British students for real-life laboratories and (through his work with the University of the Western Cape) as a means of giving laboratory experience to South Africans for whom access to labs is more limited. It is for such initiatives that Professor Shallcross has been recognised in the King’s Birthday Honours List, receiving an OBE ‘for services to Education’. Learn more about Professor Shallcross’ impact as an educator. 

The Christ Church community would like to congratulate Professor Rosseinsky and Professor Shallcross on their much-deserved honours and wish them all the very best for the future.