Prof. G. Richard Stephenson is founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Cellexcel, Ltd and Emeritus Professor of Chemistry at the University of East Anglia. With 40 years research experience in synthetic and materials chemistry, he has published over 160 academic papers in international journals, co-authored/edited 2 books and contributed 4 book chapters and 21 academic reviews. He is a long-term regular contributor to Chemistry & Industry, the Journal of the SCI (UK’s Society of Chemical Industry). He is an author of 10 patents, with 2 further current patent applications in the field of biocomposites. He has been a Visiting Professor at the Université de Caen, and Invited Professor at Université Paris VI and the Université Catholique de Louvain. Stephenson has been a member of Working Groups in four EU COST Actions and UEA’s lead in two EU Interreg grants: ‘Innovative Synthesis: Chemistry and Entrepreneurship’ and ‘Academy-Industry Chemistry-Channel’. Stephenson is a Chartered Chemist (CChem), a Fellow of Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC), UK, and Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA), UK.

His main research interests include:

• Improved biomaterials
• Water resistant biocomposites
• Chemical modification of cellulosic materials
• Synthetic organic chemistry