William James Feast (born 25 June 1938) is a British chemical scientist and academic.

Early life

Feast was born in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

to a school teacher and housewife, and was educated at the King Edward VI School in Lichfield, studying humanities but being redirected to scientific studies due to his 'inclination to sit and dream', which led to him calling himself an 'accidental chemist'. He initially planned to study mathematics at university, but changed his mind after an interview with

Rudolf Peierls Sir Rudolf Ernst Peierls, (; ; 5 June 1907 – 19 September 1995) was a German-born British physicist who played a major role in Tube Alloys, Britain's nuclear weapon programme, as well as the subsequent Manhattan Project, the combined Allied ...

at the University of Birmingham, and enrolled at the

University of Sheffield , mottoeng = To discover the causes of things , established = – University of SheffieldPredecessor institutions: – Sheffield Medical School – Firth College – Sheffield Technical School – University College of Sheffield , type = Pu ...

to study chemistry, graduating with a Bsc in 1960. After graduation, he began to study for a PhD at the

University of Birmingham , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...

in organo-fluorine chemistry, which he completed in 1963, staying until 1965 for the purpose of post-doctoral research. In 1965 he became a lecturer at

Durham University , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills (Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_chan ...

, specifically

Van Mildert College Van Mildert College (known colloquially as Mildert) is a college of Durham University in England. Founded in 1965, it takes its name from William Van Mildert, Prince-Bishop of Durham from 1826 to 1836 and a leading figure in the University's 1832 ...

, where he stayed for over 35 years until his 2003 retirement. In 1967 he married his first wife Jenneke, with whom he has two daughters, Saskia and Marieke.

Research and academic work

Despite his PhD in organo-fluorine chemistry he switched focus by 1970 to look more at polymer chemistry, specifically polymer synthesis after he had experimented with fluorinated diene monomers and 'found it fascinating that you could take a mobile, colourless fluid and produce a material that had potentially interesting properties.' He helped develop what is now known as the "Durham precursor route" to manufacturing

polyacetylene Polyacetylene (IUPAC name: polyethyne) usually refers to an organic polymer with the repeating unit . The name refers to its conceptual construction from polymerization of acetylene to give a chain with repeating olefin groups. This compound i ...

, and during the 70s and 80s the polymer synthesis knowledge of Feast and his group led to invitations to work as a guest lecturer, and eventually he spent two months a year teaching at the

Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research The Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research (german: Max-Planck-Institut für Polymerforschung) is a scientific center in the field of polymer science located in Mainz, Germany. The institute was founded in 1983 by Erhard W. Fischer and Gerhard ...

Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...

. During his time at Durham Feast was promoted up the academic ranks, rising from lecturer to senior lecturer in 1965 and professor in 1986. In 1996 he was made a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

, and in 2006 was elected president for two years of the

Royal Society of Chemistry The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is a learned society (professional association) in the United Kingdom with the goal of "advancing the chemistry, chemical sciences". It was formed in 1980 from the amalgamation of the Chemical Society, the Ro ...

. Other than his appointment at Durham he also held various guest and visiting lecturer positions, including at the University of Leuven between 1985 and 1988,

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

in 1993 and the

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

in 1999.

Retirement

He retired in 2003, but continues to work at Durham University as a research professor, and also at the

Eindhoven University of Technology The Eindhoven University of Technology ( nl, Technische Universiteit Eindhoven), abbr. TU/e, is a public technical university in the Netherlands, located in the city of Eindhoven. In 2020–21, around 14,000 students were enrolled in its BSc a ...

. In 2004 he was awarded an honorary DSc from the

University of Warwick The University of Warwick ( ; abbreviated as ''Warw.'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university on the outskirts of Coventry between the West Midlands (county), West Midlands and Warwickshire, England. The university was founded i ...

. He was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(CBE) for "services to polymer chemistry" in the 2007

New Year Honours The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year's Day, 1 January, being marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of other Commonwealth realms also mark this ...

. Later that year he was awarded a

Royal Medal The Royal Medal, also known as The Queen's Medal and The King's Medal (depending on the gender of the monarch at the time of the award), is a silver-gilt medal, of which three are awarded each year by the Royal Society, two for "the most important ...

for "his outstanding contributions to chemical synthesis with far reaching implications, particularly for the field of functional polymeric materials."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Feast, James British chemists Royal Medal winners 1938 births Living people Academics of Durham University Alumni of the University of Sheffield Alumni of the University of Birmingham Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Fellows of the Royal Society of Chemistry Fellows of the Royal Society People educated at King Edward VI School, Lichfield Presidents of the Royal Society of Chemistry Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research alumni Max Planck Society alumni