Rio Tinto Chair in Future Materials

About the role

Imperial College London seeks to appoint an endowed Rio Tinto Chair for Future Materials in the Department of Earth Science and Engineering within the Faculty of Engineering.

Situated in the Royal School of Mines, at the heart of South Kensington’s cultural and educational district, the Department of Earth Science and Engineering at Imperial College London is a multidisciplinary and diverse community. Our academics and researchers are at the cutting edge of discovering how Earth and planetary systems work and how we can support the energy transition and a zero-carbon and zero pollution future. We use a combination of pure, applied, and engineering research to solve the science and engineering challenges of the 21^st century.

We envision the Chair position to be closely associated with the Rio Centre for Future Materials, a $150M, 10-year (2024-2034), multidisciplinary, global effort to deliver a step-change in the approach to materials extraction, use and reuse, in a way that is more environmentally, economically and socially sustainable in support of the energy transition. The Rio Centre for Future Materials will accelerate the development of new sustainable techniques and technologies required to deliver the materials necessary for the energy transition. The Centre is hosted by Imperial College London and brings together Imperial, four global university partners (The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, The University of California, Berkeley, The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, The Australian National University, Canberra) and Rio Tinto.

We invite applications from candidates whose research focuses on developing new sustainable and environmentally friendly techniques and technologies to provide critical raw materials for the energy transition. We would especially welcome candidates who can demonstrate strong engagement with industry and encourage applications from groups who are currently underrepresented in these fields in the UK including women and people from Black and Minority Ethnic backgrounds.

We encourage you to arrange a discussion with our search partner, Perrett Laver, to find out more about the opportunity.

How to Apply 

Imperial College London have engaged Perrett Laver to support the Search Committee with this appointment and further information can be downloaded from their website at https://plusportal.perrettlaver.com/ quoting reference 8021.

For an informal discussion about the role, please contact Francesca Stevens at Francesca.Stevens@perrettlaver.com  or +44 (0)20 7340 7410.

Application is by submission of a curriculum vitae and a 2-page covering letter of application addressing the job description and person specification and should include the following:  

1. degrees (including universities and dates);  
2. past and present posts;  
3. list of publications;  
4. list of patents;  
5. external visibility;  
6. student supervision and postdoc mentoring;  
7. research grants and contracts obtained;
8. public engagement and thought leadership undertaken;  
9. information on community service and administrative roles;  
10. suitable daytime and evening telephone contact details.

Completed applications should be uploaded at https://plusportal.perrettlaver.com/ quoting reference 8021 by the deadline of 11.59pm GMT on 27th October 2025.

Should you require access to any documents in alternative formats, please contact Bharti Aggarwal on Bharti.Aggarwal@perrettlaver.com. If you have comments that would support us to improve access to documentation, or the application processes more generally, please contact: accessibility@perrettlaver.com. 

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