About
Matthew Davidson is a Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Bath and serves as the Director of the Centre for Sustainable Chemical Technologies (CSCT) and its EPSRC Doctoral Training Centre. He has held a Chair in Inorganic Chemistry since 1999 and has led numerous high-impact research initiatives in sustainable chemistry and catalysis.
His educational background includes a BSc in Chemistry from the University of Wales, Swansea (1990) and a PhD from the University of Cambridge (1993). He was elected to a Research Fellowship at St John’s College, Cambridge in 1992 and held lectureships at Cambridge and Durham before joining Bath.
Davidson's research is centered on sustainable chemical technologies, with a focus on catalyst design, polymerization, and chemical recycling. His work contributes to UN Sustainable Development Goals related to climate action and responsible consumption. He leads major projects in AI-guided catalyst discovery, multiblock polymer synthesis, and biogas upgrading, often funded by EPSRC and Innovate UK.
His recent publications reveal a strong trend in developing catalysts for the chemical recycling of plastics such as PET, PLA, and POM, as well as creating novel sustainable polymers from renewable feedstocks. These works emphasize mechanistic understanding, selectivity, and industrial applicability.
- Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry
- Recipient of the Harrison Memorial Prize
- Held a Royal Society Industry Fellowship
Davidson actively supervises PhD students and postdoctoral researchers and collaborates across disciplines, including with Matthew Jones and industrial partners. He leads datasets and research outputs that support open science and reproducibility in sustainable chemistry.
He is a principal investigator on multiple active projects related to the circular economy, sustainable manufacturing, and chemical recycling, demonstrating ongoing leadership in the field.
