Emeritus ProfessorJohn Seddon

John Seddon was Professor of Physical Chemistry at Imperial College London from 1999, and Deputy Head of Department since 2008, until his retirement in 2023. He is now a Senior Research Investigator and Emeritus Professor of Biophysical Chemistry. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC) and of the Institute of Physics (FInstP). His research is focussed on experimental studies by X-ray and neutron diffraction, optical and electron microscopy, calorimetry and solid-state NMR of the structure and dynamics of liquid crystalline systems, from lipid model membranes and surfactants, to lipid nanoparticles for medical applications. He has published some 200 research papers, supervised 50 PhD students to completion, and has been External or Internal Examiner for 70 PhD students. He has given 87 Plenary, Keynote and Invited lectures at scientific conferences. He was awarded the 2017 Royal Society of Chemistry Rita and John Cornforth Award, the 2015 Imperial College President’s Award for Outstanding Research Team, the 2015 Ben Sturgeon Lectureship of the British Liquid Crystal Society, and in 2013 was a Distinguished Visitor of the National University of Cordoba, Argentina.

He served as an Imperial College Consul from 2014-2017 and then 2021-2022, and in this role he was heavily involved with academic staff promotions, new academic appointments, and chairing disciplinary investigations. He was appointed as Faculty Senior Tutor for Natural Sciences from 2019-2023. This role had responsibility for student welfare and mental health across the faculty (>5,000 students), developing policies, ensuring compliance, and providing training and advice for Senior Tutors, Personal Tutors, and student support staff. In recognition of his service to the College, he was awarded the Imperial College Medal in 2023. He also has extensive experience as an undergraduate External Examiner in Physical Chemistry (Universities of East Anglia, Aberdeen, Durham, and Bristol).

He has been Secretary and Trustee of the European Biophysical Societies’ Association since 2013. EBSA is an association of 32 National Biophysics societies, spanning Europe and the Middle East. In this role he has contributed significantly to the development of biophysical sciences research and education across Europe. Previously, He was Secretary of the British Biophysical Society (2008-2013), and Treasurer of the British Liquid Crystal Society (1993-1999). He has been a member of various External Review Panels, e.g., beamline ID02, ESRF, Grenoble, Nov 2021; HiLIFE 2020, University of Helsinki, Oct 2020; York University Chemistry Department, Nov 2015. He has also sat on numerous grant panels for funding agencies over the years.

He has been closely involved with the Royal Society of Chemistry over many years, acting as Chair of the RSC Faraday Standing Committee on Conferences from 2017-2021. In this role he helped to promote a wide range of physical chemistry areas, commissioning eight Faraday Discussions per year. He has himself been Co-Chair of three Faraday Discussions (2012, 2021, and 2025). He was also a member of the Faraday Division Council (2009-12 and 2017-21), and was a member of the RSC Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics (PCCP) Ownership Board (2012-17).