Gillian Reid

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. Her research considers coordination chemistry, inorganic semiconductors and metal fluoride scaffolds. In 2020, she was appointed the President-elect of the Royal Society of Chemistry, becoming President in 2022. Early life and education Reid became interested in chemistry whilst at high school. She eventually studied chemistry at the University of Edinburgh, 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 University of Southampton. 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 coordination chemistry, with a particular focus on the design of macrocyclic ligands that involve chalcogen 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 environment. Reid has created molecular reagents that allow the synthesis of compounds for use in non-volatile memory, thermoelectric generators and two-dimensional materials. The reagents were used to deposit a wide variety of thin films including highly pure germanium telluride, molybdenum disulphide and tungsten disulphide.