Richard Winpenny

Richard Winpenny is a Professor of Inorganic Chemistry and Materials Chemistry at the University of Manchester, leading the School of Chemistry from 2014–2018. He holds academic roles such as Associate Dean for Research (2008–2010) and Director of the Photon Science Institute (2009–2014). His research focuses on molecular magnetism, polymetallic cage complexes, and nanotechnology. Key contributions include developing single-molecule magnets and heterometallic rings for quantum computing applications.

Education: Both degrees from Imperial College London (PhD under Prof David Goodgame on metal-organic frameworks; postdoc with Prof John Fackler at Texas A&M on gold cluster mass spectrometry). Joined Edinburgh in 1990, moved to Manchester in 2000 as Chair.

Research Interests: Synthesis of polymetallic cages, molecular magnets, quantum information systems, and corrosion modeling. Current projects include hybrid inorganic-organic rotaxanes, Cr-Ni qubit systems, and nanofabrication via resist processing.

Awards

• Royal Society Wolfson Merit Award (2009)
• RSC Tilden Medal and Prize (2011)
• Ludwig Mond Medal (2016)
• ERC Advanced Fellowship (2018–2022)

Grants & Projects: EPSRC Established Career Fellowship (2018–2022), leading the Direct Writing of Nanodevices project (2023–2026). Collaborates globally with institutions like Texas A&M and Aarhus University.

Labs/Teams: Heads the Molecular Magnets Group and contributes to the Photon Science Institute. Supervises research on single-molecule magnets, ion mobility mass spectrometry, and quantum coherence in nanoscale systems.