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Graham Richards

CBE FRS FLSW
Graham Richards Royal Society.jpg
Richards in 2018
Born
William Graham Richards

(1939-10-01)1 October 1939
Hoylake, Cheshire, England
Died 11 February 2025(2025-02-11) (aged 85)
Education
Awards Richard J. Bolte Sr. Award (2018)
Mullard Award (1998)
Scientific career
Fields Quantum mechanics
Theoretical chemistry
Institutions Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, Oxford.
Thesis Electronic spectra of simple molecules (1964)
Doctoral advisor Richard F. Barrow

William Graham Richards (born October 1, 1939 – died February 11, 2025) was an English chemist. He was a respected Fellow at Brasenose College, Oxford. From 1997 to 2006, he led the chemistry department at the University of Oxford.

Richards was a leader in using computers to design molecules. This was especially helpful for making new medicines. He helped start a company called Oxford Molecular Ltd. He also created a new way for Oxford University to get money for research. This idea was so good that other universities started using it too. Oxford Molecular Limited made software to model tiny molecules and proteins. This software helped design new drugs. The company became very successful and was sold for a lot of money. Richards wrote over 300 scientific papers and 15 books.

Early Life and Education

Graham Richards was born on October 1, 1939, in Hoylake, England. His parents, Percy and Gwendoline Julia Richards, were from Wales.

He went to Birkenhead School. In 1958, he won a scholarship to study at Brasenose College, Oxford. He earned his first degree in Chemistry from the University of Oxford in 1961. He then continued his studies with Richard F. Barrow. He focused on how light interacts with diatomic molecules (molecules with two atoms). He received his Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in 1964.

Career and Scientific Work

After getting his doctorate, Richards continued his research in Oxford and Paris, France. He studied how molecules behave using special scientific methods.

He returned to Oxford as a research fellow at Balliol College, Oxford from 1964 to 1966. He then became a lecturer at Oxford University. He was promoted to reader in 1994 and then to professor in 1996. He led the chemistry department from 1997 to 2006. Richards officially retired from the University of Oxford in 2007. He was an Emeritus Fellow of Brasenose College.

Using Computers in Chemistry

During his studies, Richards started using Oxford's Ferranti Mercury computer. He used it to solve complex math problems in chemistry. Later, in France, he used even more powerful computers.

When he came back to Oxford, he worked on using computers to solve quantum mechanical problems. These problems deal with how tiny particles behave. He was especially interested in something called spin-orbit coupling.

In 1979, he wrote an important paper called Third age of quantum chemistry. This paper showed how computer methods could be as accurate as, or even better than, real experiments.

"The work represents perhaps a near perfect instance of theory being in harmony with experiment, each aspect vital to the other and the combination much more than the sum of the separate parts." – Graham Richards

Richards realized that computers could help examine how chemical compounds are built. This was very useful for making new medicines. He became a leader in using computers to design molecules. He was the first to create colorful computer images that showed molecular structures. Many of his techniques are now used widely in science and industry.

In 1982, Richards helped start the Molecular Graphics Society. This group later became the Molecular Graphics and Modelling Society (MGMS). The society began publishing the Journal of Molecular Graphics in 1983. Richards was the main editor of this journal from 1984 to 1996. The journal's name changed in 1997.

Starting Companies and Funding Research

In 1989, Richards helped start Oxford Molecular Limited. This company created computer programs for modeling small molecules and proteins. These programs were used to design new drugs.

The company was able to grow because of new economic rules in Britain. These rules made it easier for universities to work with investors and turn their research into businesses. Oxford Molecular Group, Ltd. (OMG) became a public company in 1992. This earned the university £10 million. At its best, the company was worth £450 million. It was later sold for £70 million. It joined with other companies to form Accelrys in 2001.

Richards also helped raise £64 million for a new lab at Oxford University. He did this with a new funding idea. He worked with David Norwood to get £20 million. In return, the investors would get half of the university's share in any new companies that came from the Chemistry Department for 15 years. This arrangement helped the Chemistry Department contribute over £100 million to the University of Oxford.

Richards was also a director at ISIS Innovation Ltd. This company helps turn university research into new businesses. It is now called Oxford University Innovation. It has helped create about 60 new companies.

The Financial Times newspaper said that this way of funding was "the way universities should be financed in the future."

Richards also introduced the idea of using many computers together for drug design. In 2000, he started the Screensaver Lifesaver project. This project used the unused time on over 3.5 million personal computers around the world. People downloaded a special screensaver that used their computer's idle time. This created a huge "virtual supercomputer." It screened billions of chemical compounds to find possible treatments for cancer, anthrax, and smallpox. This project was a team effort between Intel, United Devices, and the University of Oxford.

In 2001, Richards started another company called InhibOx Ltd. This company used cloud computing for chemistry and drug discovery. It created a large database of small molecules called Scopius. In 2002, Richards gave 25% of his shares in the company to the National Foundation for Cancer Research. In 2017, InhibOx changed its name to Oxford Drug Design Ltd. It now focuses on finding new antibiotics.

Richards also served on the Science Advisory Panel of Oxford Medical Diagnostics. He was also a director and chairman of IP Group plc.

Awards and Recognition

Graham Richards was a member of the council for the Royal Society of Chemistry and the Royal Institution. He was also a Fellow of the Royal Society. In 2001, he was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for his work in Chemistry.

In 2006, the Times Higher Education Supplement named Richards as one of the top academic "super-earners" in the UK. In 2010, Times magazine included him in its list of the top 100 British scientists.

He received many awards and honors, including:

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