Rachel O'Reilly facts for kids

Rachel O'Reilly is a British chemist and a Professor at the University of Birmingham. She studies how to make special materials called polymers. These polymers can act like tiny natural things, such as parts of viruses or cells. She is a respected member of important science groups like the Royal Society of Chemistry and the Royal Society.

Early Life and Education

Rachel O'Reilly was born in Holywood, County Down and went to a grammar school. She has dyslexia, which means her brain works a bit differently when it comes to reading and writing.

She studied science, called Natural Sciences, at the University of Cambridge. She finished her first degree in 1999. After that, she went to Imperial College London to work with Professor Vernon C. Gibson. There, she earned her PhD in 2003, which is a very high university degree. Her research was about designing special chemicals called catalysts.

Her Amazing Career

After her PhD, Rachel O'Reilly went to work with other top scientists in the United States. She joined Professor Craig Hawker and Professor Karen L. Wooley at Washington University in St. Louis. Here, she learned how to make tiny polymer particles that were ready for a special type of chemical reaction called "Click chemistry".

In 2005, she received a special award called a fellowship. This allowed her to do more research at Downing College, Cambridge. At the University of Cambridge, she also received another important award, the Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin fellowship. During this time, she created hollow polymer nanocages. These are like tiny boxes made of plastic that can pick out specific molecules.

Working with Polymers

In 2009, Rachel O'Reilly joined the University of Warwick. She received a special grant to explore new types of polymers. These were water-soluble polymers that could respond to their surroundings. Some of her polymers could even help start chemical reactions. Others could release catalysts, which are substances that speed up chemical reactions.

She became a Professor at the University of Warwick in 2012 when she was only 34 years old. That same year, she won a big international award called the Samsung Young Polymer Scientist prize. She was the first person from the UK to win it!

In 2012, she also appeared on a radio show called Start the Week with Andrew Marr. He described her as "a chemist who does strange things with plastics," which shows how unique and interesting her work is. In 2013, she won another award from the American Chemical Society.

Professor at Birmingham

In 2017, Rachel O'Reilly became a Professor of Chemistry at the University of Birmingham. She continues her important research there, working on new ways to use polymers.

Outside of her science work, Rachel O'Reilly loves geology and enjoys visiting volcanoes. She became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry in 2013. She was also named one of the Royal Society of Chemistry's "175 Faces of Chemistry," celebrating important chemists. In 2023, she was given an honorary fellowship at Downing College, Cambridge.

Awards and Honours

Rachel O'Reilly has received many important awards for her scientific work:

• 2022 – Fellow of the Royal Society
• 2020 – Corday–Morgan Prize
• 2018 – Journal of Polymer Science Innovation Award
• 2016 – Royal Society of Chemistry Gibson-Fawcett award
• 2014 – Royal Society of Chemistry and Society of Chemical Industry, McBain Medal
• 2013 – American Chemical Society Hermann Mark Young Scholar award
• 2012 – International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry Samsung Young Polymer Scientist prize
• 2012 – Royal Society of Chemistry Hickinbottom Award
• 2008 – Royal Society of Chemistry Macro group UK Young Researcher medal
• 2007 – Royal Society of Chemistry Meldola Medal and Prize