In situ with Charlotte Williams

Charlotte Williams FRS is the Statutory Chair in Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Oxford, UK, where she researches sustainable technologies for polymer production and carbon dioxide usage. In 2011, she founded Econic Technologies, which sells catalysts transforming carbon dioxide into high-performance materials. Williams was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2020 for services to chemistry, and was elected a fellow of the Royal Society in 2021. She was speaking with Emma Pewsey.

As a very young child I was really interested in naming wildflowers, collecting and observing them in the countryside where I grew up. That was the beginning of being really interested and looking carefully at the natural world that often motivates scientists.

I also really wanted to be a librarian, because they had a stamp that looked fun to use that they put on the books when you took them home. That combination of enjoying reading books and learning things, but also observing and cataloging and spotting – I think that those are quite common characteristics of scientists.

My dad’s practical steps to make a difference in our local environment were very influential and motivated my future direction of research. He brought us up with this idea of preserving the place where you live for who comes after you, and an abhorrence for pollution and litter. Growing up with major environmental concerns, like ozone depletion as a critical issue in my childhood, as well as global warming and ecosystem threat, made a huge impression on me.

Universities are just amazing places to work. I like the huge range of different student and staff backgrounds – the bringing together of experiences from all over the world. The creativity and questioning, as well as the sense of possibility and opportunity – it’s a great environment to work in.

My team and I like to go out for social events. We go for group meals, and I’m always really happy when I see my group having their coffee and lunch together. These apparently small actions have very important consequences for good teamwork in the lab.

One of the good things about academia is we set our own limits

My advice to young researchers is to make sure to take every opportunity to broaden your training, go to seminars that sound interesting but perhaps not so directly relevant to your project. The postdoctoral research time is a great opportunity to move into new fields. It’s also an opportunity to observe different solutions in science so that you get a breadth of different opinions and approaches to solving problems.

Being an academic is a wonderful job. When I started I was worried whether I could combine it with being a mother, but I’ve been lucky to be supported both at home and in work as my family grow up. One of the good things about academia is that we set our own limits. We often choose to work very hard, but we have more control than many jobs over our timetables. And universities where I’ve worked have been good employers in terms of nurseries, provision for flexible working and experience of promoting different career structures.

Working in a university gives you the perfect opportunity to have a cup of coffee and chat to an expert in a completely different field. In recent years, I’ve become more involved in thinking about the bigger picture for plastics and sustainable chemicals. I’ve been collaborating with experts in fields well beyond chemistry, for example in environmental economics, policy and even chemicals law. That’s opened my eyes to the importance of technology not being developed in isolation of society. There’s an ecosystem for discoveries and many things need to align for impact and success.

I don’t think it has to be an either/or choice between industry and academia. In my areas of work, it can be a both. The more clearly that breadth of opportunity comes across to our students, the better, because chemistry is a very practical science. It has a very real world impact and importance, particularly in addressing major environmental challenges.

I’ve been so lucky to be able to found a business, Econic Technologies, while also being able to continue educating and researching in the university. In the UK, the connection between universities and both the chemical industry and the chemical-using industry is very strong. In the departments I’ve worked there is a very strong culture of a career path that could take many directions. Many of my colleagues at Oxford are founders of businesses, and we also have colleagues who’ve moved from the chemical industry into academia.

One of the things that I’ve really enjoyed about working with companies is the ability to work on a problem and with a team in the longer term. In the academic research group, it’s brilliant to work with researchers the beginning of their careers and then see them go on and flourish as an academic family. It’s a fantastic privilege to work with people at that stage in their lives, because it’s generally a very happy and optimistic time. But my work with Econic Technologies and with other companies has enabled a long term, inventive partnership. That ability to really get to know people over years and be able to work creatively together has been really rewarding and really fun.

I like to go to the outdoor swimming pool early in the morning and before I start work. I find the routine a very good contrast to the thinking of the job and the talking to people. I like both walking and swimming for the solitary time – it’s a bit meditative.

I like active holidays. This summer, I’ve been walking parts of the Welsh coastal path with my daughter. As a family, we like cycling holidays and hill walking, although avoiding the rain is always tricky even in the British summer.