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Authorised form of nameRichards; William Graham (1939 - 2025); chemist
Dates1939 - 2025
NationalityBritish
Place of birthHolylake, Chesire, United Kingdom
Date of birth01/10/1939
Date of death11/02/2025
OccupationChemist
Research fieldMolecular biology
Biophysics
Structural biology
Biochemistry
Theoretical Chemistry
Chemistry
ActivityEducation:
Birkenhead School; University of Oxford (BA, MA, DPhil) 1961-1964
Career:
Following completion of his DPhil, he undertook fellowships in Oxford (ICI Research Fellowship, Junior Research Fellowship at Balliol College) and Paris, France (Centre de Mécanique Ondulatoire Appliquée); returned to Oxford as a research fellow at Balliol College, Oxford (1964–1966); lecturer at Oxford University (1966–1994), to reader (1994–1996), and to professor (1996–2007); chairman of the chemistry department (1997-2006); retired from the University of Oxford (18 May 2007)
Awards/Medals:
The Lord Lloyd of Kilgerran Award, Foundation for Science and Technology 1996
Marlow Medal, Royal Society of Chemistry 1972
Award of the American Chemical Society for Computers in Chemical and Pharmaceutical Research 2004
Richard J. Bolte Sr. Award 2018
Honours:
CBE 2001
Memberships:
Co-Vice-President of the Royal Society of Chemistry 2010
Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales 2011
Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (HonFRSC) 2017
Richard J. Bolte Sr. Award by the Science History Institute 2018
Membership categoryFellow
Date of election09/05/2018
Age at election78
RSActivityAwards:
Royal Society Mullard Award 1998
Committees:
Newton International Fellowships Committee 2024-2025
Research Appointment Panel A(ii) 2021-2023
RelationshipsParents: Percy Richards and Gwendoline Julia Richards (née Evans).
Spouse: 1) (12 December 1970) Jessamy Kershaw (d. 1988); 2) (m. 5 October 1996) Mary Elizabeth Phillips, director of research planning at University College London.
Children: 2
PublishedWorksRCN R83690
RCN R80038
OtherInfoGraham Richards was a chemist, latterly Head of the Department of Chemistry at the University of Oxford. He was one of the pioneers of computational chemistry. His early work was on ab initio computations and spin-orbit coupling. He then turned his attention to pharmaceutical applications and introduced many of the techniques now widely used, including molecular graphics where he produced the first coloured images, and distributed computing. In the latter context he organised the Screensaver Lifesaver project involving more than 3.5 million personal computers in over 200 countries. The project screened billions of compounds in the search for drugs to treat cancer and also to protect against anthrax and smallpox.
He cofounded Oxford Molecular Group Plc, and was involved in the creation of Oxford University Innovation Ltd and of IP Group Plc, of which he was at one time chairman. He was the founder chairman of Oxford Drug Design Ltd, which concentrates on the design of novel antibiotics.
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SourceSources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graham_Richards
The Royal Society Fellows Directory, Professor Graham Richards CBE FRS, [URL: https://royalsociety.org/people/graham-richards-13838/; laast accessed: 16/04/2025]
Oxford University, Department of Chemistry, Professor Graham Richards CBE FRS, 14 February 2025, [URL: https://www.chem.ox.ac.uk/article/professor-graham-richards-cbe-frs; last accessed: 16/04/2025]
Balliol College, University of Oxford, Professor Graham Richards 1939–2025, 13 February 2025, [URL: https://www.balliol.ox.ac.uk/news/2025/february/professor-graham-richards-1939-2025; last accessed: 16/04/2025]
Virtual International Authority Filehttp://viaf.org/viaf/79104599
CodeNA10186
Archives associated with this Fellow
RefNoTitleDate
EC/2018/35Richards, William Graham: certificate of election to the Royal Society9 May 2018
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