Careers Session with Prof Fraser A. Armstrong, FRS

This event has already happened

Friday 30 January 2026 3:00pm to 3:45pm

Wolfson Lecture Theatre, Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry

About

 

Professor Fraser A. Armstrong FRS

 St John’s College, Oxford University

https://www.chem.ox.ac.uk/people/fraser-armstrong#tab-2623071

 

TO PDRAS/PhDs: We are pleased to announce that Prof. Armstrong's seminar on 30th Jan will be followed by an Early Career Researcher Session (Wolfson LT 3:00-3:45 pm)

We are pleased to announce a "Careers Journey" talk by Prof. A. Armstrong FRS. The session will immediately follow his research seminar, but all are welcome (no need to have attended the research seminar).

There will be a 15-min informal presentation by Prof. Armstrong and then around 30 minutes of Q&A chaired by your peers. Sample questions might include:

  1. Were there any defining moments that shaped your career?
  2. What were the biggest challenges you faced early in your career?
  3. Have you ever considered leaving academia? If so, what made you stay?
  4. What strategies do you use to stay motivated and avoid burnout?
  5. What skills do you think are essential for a successful research career?

In these early stages of your science career, it is helpful to hear about the experiences of successful scientists, and how they arrived at where they are. Everyone has very different starting points and has taken vastly different journeys. These sessions are designed to help you make more informed decisions, mitigate pitfalls, and help plan your careers in STEM.

Fraser Armstrong is Emeritus Professor of Chemistry and a Fellow of St John’s College. His interests are in biological chemistry, bioenergetics and in the mechanisms and exploitation of enzymes related to energy production.

He has received a number of awards including the European Award for Biological Inorganic Chemistry, the Carbon Trust Innovation Award, the Max Planck Award for Frontiers in Biological Chemistry and the Royal Society of Chemistry Award for Interdisciplinary Chemistry.

He travels widely giving invited lectures on topics including catalysis, bioenergetics and renewable energy. He is co-editor of Energy … beyond oil which focuses on alternative energy-generating technologies.

Fraser has been elected Fellow of the Royal Society.