33 Facts About Graham Richards

William Graham Richards was an English chemist and Emeritus Fellow of Brasenose College, Oxford.

Graham Richards served as head of the department of chemistry at the University of Oxford from 1997 to 2006.

Graham Richards was the founding scientist of Oxford Molecular Ltd.

Graham Richards was one of the scientific co-founders of Oxford Molecular Limited.

Graham Richards developed software for modelling of small molecules and proteins, and drug design.

Graham Richards published more than 300 scientific papers, including 15 books.

Graham Richards was born on 1 October 1939 in Hoylake, England, to Percy Richards and Gwendoline Julia Richards.

Graham Richards won a scholarship to Brasenose College, Oxford, starting his studies there in 1958.

Graham Richards received his bachelor's degree in Chemistry with first class honours from the University of Oxford in 1961.

Graham Richards then studied the electronic spectroscopy of diatomic molecules with Richard F Barrow, earning his Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy degrees from the University of Oxford in 1964.

Graham Richards soon returned to Oxford as a research fellow at Balliol College, Oxford.

Graham Richards was promoted to a lecturer at Oxford University, to reader, and to professor.

Graham Richards served as chairman of the chemistry department from 1997 to 2006.

Graham Richards celebrated his formal retirement from the University of Oxford on 18 May 2007.

Graham Richards saw the potential to apply computer techniques for examining the structure and properties of compounds in the area of pharmaceutical applications.

Graham Richards became a pioneer in the field of computer-aided molecular design.

Graham Richards was the first to produce coloured images modelling molecular structure graphically, and introduced many of the techniques now widely used in academia and industry.

In 1982, Graham Richards became a founding member of the Molecular Graphics Society.

Graham Richards served as the editor-in-chief of the journal from 1984 to 1996.

In 1989, Graham Richards was the scientific co-founder of Oxford Molecular Limited.

Graham Richards developed software for modelling of small molecules and proteins, and drug design.

Graham Richards was possible in part because of economic and legal changes under the government of Margaret Thatcher that enabled British universities to become involved with venture capital and technology transfer.

Graham Richards became a non-executive director of IP2IPO in 2001, and non-executive chairman of IP2IPO in 2004.

Graham Richards introduced the use of distributed computing in pharmaceutical design.

The project involved collaboration between Intel, United Devices, and the Centre for Computational Drug Discovery at the University of Oxford, headed by Graham Richards and funded by the National Foundation for Cancer Research.

In 2002, Graham Richards donated his shares, twenty-five per cent of the company, to the National Foundation for Cancer Research.

Graham Richards was a non-executive director of IP Group plc, having served as its chairman.

Graham Richards married his first wife, Jessamy Kershaw, on 12 December 1970.

On 5 October 1996, Graham Richards married Mary Elizabeth Phillips, director of research planning at University College London.

Graham Richards died on 11 February 2025, at the age of 85.

Graham Richards was a council member of the Royal Society of Chemistry and of the Royal Institution, and a Fellow of the Royal Society, and was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2001 Birthday Honours for services to Chemistry.

The Times Higher Education Supplement considered Graham Richards to be one of twelve academic "super-earners" in the United Kingdom.

Graham Richards' work has been acknowledged through a number of more formal awards and honours, including:.