The School of Chemistry is delighted that both Emma King-Smith and Richard Kong have secured these prestigious fellowships to support their research. The Royal Society University Research Fellowship (URF) scheme is for outstanding scientists who are in the early stages of their research career and have the potential to become leaders in their field. These long-term fellowships, with funding for up to eight years, provide the opportunity to build an independent research career and pursue cutting-edge scientific research. Fewer than forty URFs are awarded each year, so it is a particular success that two School of Chemistry researchers have secured awards in this round.Both Emma and Richard joined the School of Chemistry in 2024 as University of Edinburgh Chancellor’s Fellows and we’re delighted to see them reach this exciting next step in their research careers.Read more about Emma and Richard’s research below, and look out for some exciting chemistry as it emerges from their projects. Emma King-SmithEmma’s URF will bring the synthesis of complex organic molecules into the AI-age. Organic molecules are essential: they are the molecules in fertilizer that yields abundant produce, medicines in our hospitals, and the key component of OLED screens, to name a few. Indeed, ~6% of the UK economy is tied to organic compounds, the same percentage as construction. Despite the AI revolution occurring in many fields, including our sister field of biology, making molecules is still a human endeavor. In part, it is hindered by the way in which we teach AI models chemistry. Emma’s work will develop new machine learning strategies to bring AI-assisted synthesis to fruition. I am honored to have been selected for this prestigious award. It is often said that success has a thousand godmothers, and this case is no exception. I am so grateful to my colleagues who have poured their time to reading, commenting, and questioning my research vision. Dr Emma King-Smith Chancellor’s Fellow - AI and Datascience Richard KongRichard's research seeks to create precise carbon architectures from carbon monoxide, building on pioneering breakthroughs from his lab in which catalytic and selective C–C bond formation was achieved using this feedstock. This milestone was reached with a catalyst based on magnesium, a sustainable and Earth-abundant main-group element. The programme will focus on engineering these catalysts to deliver specific products, driven by a deeper understanding of how catalyst structure influences reactivity. In parallel, the research will explore the use of visible light to drive novel reactions at main-group centres. Together, these studies aim to generate fundamental new insights into reactivity at Earth-abundant element centres, ultimately unlocking a new chemical space from CO and enabling inorganic methodologies that convert simple, potentially renewable C1 feedstocks into complex products. I am incredibly excited to be undertaking this award and project at the School of Chemistry at the University of Edinburgh. The collegiality, facilities, and support of the School have been invaluable in refining my ideas, and I am eager to get started on the science! The generous support of the Royal Society University Research Fellowship will allow me to grow my research group to develop this chemistry, and I am immensely grateful for this opportunity. Dr Richard Kong Chancellor's Fellow - Climate and Environmental Sustainability This article was published on Thursday 27 August 2026
