Professor Stephen Jenkins, Fellow of St Edmund’s College and Professor of Physical and Computational Surface Chemistry, has been appointed Co-Head of the Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry at the University of Cambridge. He will take up the five-year appointment in October 2026, serving alongside Professor Deborah Longbottom in the University’s first joint headship for the department.

The appointment marks a significant milestone both for Professor Jenkins and for one of the world’s leading chemistry departments. Together, the Co-Heads will provide strategic leadership for a department of more than 500 staff, researchers and students, overseeing all aspects of its research, teaching, governance and operations.

As Co-Head, Professor Jenkins will help shape the department’s long-term research strategy while sharing responsibility for academic leadership, financial management, fundraising, health and safety, human resources, estate planning and the delivery of undergraduate teaching within the Natural Sciences Tripos. The department is home to around 60 to 70 academic staff and supports a vibrant community of postdoctoral researchers, postgraduate students and professional services colleagues.

The new joint leadership model reflects the University’s growing recognition of the benefits of shared academic leadership. Professor Jenkins and Professor Deborah Longbottom bring complementary experience to the role and will work closely together to guide the department through the next five years.

About Professor Jenkins

Professor Jenkins directs internationally recognised research exploring the physics and chemistry of solid surfaces, ranging from studies of reactions involving small molecules to investigations of the exotic topological features of bulk and surface vibrations.

After completing his BSc (1991) and PhD (1995) in theoretical physics at the University of Exeter, he held a Royal Society University Research Fellowship at the University of Cambridge between 2001 and 2009 before being appointed University Lecturer in 2009. He was promoted to Reader in 2014 and Professor in 2018.

Alongside authoring nearly 170 peer-reviewed research papers, Professor Jenkins has written two books: Chirality at Solid Surfaces (Wiley, 2018) and Foundations of Surface Science (Oxford University Press, 2023).

Commenting on his appointment, Professor Jenkins said:

Having worked closely with several previous Heads of the Chemistry Department, it’s clear that we have several tough acts to follow, not least in the shape of our immediate predecessor, Professor James Keeler, and his Deputy, Dr Nick Bampos. Nevertheless, this is a great opportunity as well as a responsibility, and one that I am tremendously excited to seize.

Professor Chris Young, Master of St Edmund’s College, welcomed the appointment:

As a College, we are delighted at St Edmund’s to see our Fellows contribute fully to the life of the University. Our congratulations to Steve on his appointment as Co-Head of the Chemistry Department – an honour and mark of his standing among colleagues. We wish him every success.

Professor Jenkins’ appointment reinforces St Edmund’s College’s longstanding commitment to supporting academic leadership across the University of Cambridge and recognises his distinguished contributions to research, teaching and departmental service.