chemistry

Richard Catlow

Richard Catlow is a chemistry topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Richard Catlow rather than just read about it. In short: Sir Charles Richard Arthur Catlow FLSW (born 24 April 1947) is a British chemist and professor at University College London and Cardiff University. Previously, he was Director of the Davy-Faraday Research Laboratory (1998–2007), and Wolfson Professor of Natural Philosophy at the Royal Institution.

Key takeaways

Richard Catlow belongs to chemistry; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Richard Catlow to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Richard Catlow from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Sir Charles Richard Arthur Catlow FLSW (born 24 April 1947) is a British chemist and professor at University College London and Cardiff University. Previously, he was Director of the Davy-Faraday Research Laboratory (1998–2007), and Wolfson Professor of Natural Philosophy at the Royal Institution. Since 2016, he has served as the foreign secretary of the Royal Society., and since 2021 as President of the InterAcademy Partnership (IAP).

Education He earned a Bachelor of Arts honours degree in 1970 and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in 1974, from St John's College, University of Oxford.

Career and research Catlow has developed and applied computer models to solid state and materials chemistry. By combining his computational methods with experiments, Catlow has made contributions to areas as diverse as catalysis and mineralogy. His approach has advanced understanding of how defects (missing or extra atoms) in the structure of solids can result in non-stoichiometric compounds. Such compounds have special electrical or chemical properties since their contributing elements are present in slightly different proportions to those predicted by chemical formulae. Catlow's work has offered insight into mechanisms of industrial catalysts, especially involving microporous materials and metal oxides. In structural chemistry and mineralogy, simulation methods are now routinely used to predict the structures of complex solids and silicates respectively, following Catlow's demonstrations of their power.

Awards and honours In December 2014, Catlow was the winner of the Gerhard Ertl Lecture at the Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society in Berlin. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 2004 and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC). In 2017, Catlow was elected a Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales. In 2020, he was awarded the Faraday Lectureship Prize from the Royal Society of Chemistry. Catlow was knighted in the 2020 Birthday Honours for services to leadership in science and research. Catlow was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Science (Dsc) by the University of Bath in July 2022. The award recognised the ever-growing impact of Catlow's research, 'particularly in the context of the global challenge of climate change.'

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Richard Catlow

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Richard Catlow claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In chemistry, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Richard Catlow before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Richard Catlow ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Richard Catlow

In research: Richard Catlow appears in chemistry research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Richard Catlow in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Richard Catlow is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1947 births, Alumni of St John's College, Oxford, British chemists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Richard Catlow outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Richard Catlow in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Richard Catlow means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Richard Catlow out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Richard Catlow in simple terms?

Why does Richard Catlow matter?

Because it connects several chemistry ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Richard Catlow?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Richard Catlow.