May Copsey, Executive Editor
May is currently the Executive Editor for our flagship journal, Chemical Science. She joined the Royal Society of Chemistry in 2006 as an assistant editor and has worked on a variety of different journals during this time, including Dalton Transactions, CrystEngComm and Journal of Materials Chemistry. She was Executive Editor for our analytical portfolio of journals for four years, before moving to take over the general chemistry portfolio, including Chemical Science, ChemComm and Chemical Society Reviews. She has had the pleasure of leading the editorial team dedicated to Chemical Science since June 2018.
May is a main group chemist at heart, as before joining the RSC she worked for three years as Post-doctoral Research Associate at the University of Calgary after completing a PhD in main group chemistry at the University of Bristol.
She very much enjoys travelling as part of her role and the opportunity this brings to meet authors and scientists and hear about their research. Outside of work, she spends most of her time running around after her two small boys.
Samantha Apps, Deputy Editor
Samantha is currently the Deputy Editor for Chemical Science. She joined the RSC in 2021 as a Development Editor, and worked on the organic and inorganic journal portfolios, including Dalton Transactions and RSC Medicinal Chemistry.
Prior to joining the RSC, Samantha completed her PhD in inorganic chemistry at Imperial College London, followed by a Postdoctoral research position at the University of Minnesota. Her PhD and postdoctoral research focused on dinitrogen activation and functionalisation using transition metal complexes. Outside of work, Samantha is a keen baker, and also enjoys running, crocheting and tending to her growing house plant collection.
James Moore, Senior Editor
James is the Senior Editor for Chemical Science and oversees the production elements of the journal. He started at the Royal Society of Chemistry in 2015 as a publishing editor after completing a Master’s degree at the University of Birmingham working on porous materials for radioactive ion remediation. Prior to taking on the senior editor role, James worked on the general chemistry portfolio as first a publishing editor and then as a senior publishing editor, overseeing ChemComm, Chemical Science, ChemSocRev and RSC Advances.
Outside of work James is a keen walker and writer and enjoys visiting museums and the theatre.
Carri Cotton, Scientific Editor
Carri joined the Royal Society of Chemistry in July 2016 as a publishing editor on the sustainability journals after completing an MChem degree at the University of Warwick. During her degree, Carri took part in the ERASMUS programme carrying out work on single-molecule magnets under the supervision of Professor Andrea Cornia. Her final year project was with Dr Paul Wilson on self-assembled polymeric nanoparticles for drug delivery. In her spare time, Carri can be found at her allotment growing fruit and vegetables, or in the kitchen trying out new recipes with her produce.
Ellis Crawford, Scientific Editor
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5511-8370
Ellis joined the Royal Society of Chemistry in August 2018 and previously worked on the journals Green Chemistry, Energy & Environmental Science and Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics as a Publishing Editor. Before becoming part of the publishing team here, Ellis worked as a secondary school teacher at Waid Academy in Fife, Scotland, following completion of a PGDE at the University of Strathclyde.
They completed a PhD at the University of St. Andrews on computational chemistry applied to catalysis in 2015, focusing on enzymatic reactions and transition metal-mediated transformations with a particular interest in homogeneous palladium chemistry. Ellis also undertook a short postdoctoral research position at the same university to explore asymmetric catalysis with theoretical tools. Ellis enjoys walking, reading hard sci-fi novels, watching ‘80s and ‘90s Star Trek and attending rock and metal gigs.
Jingtao Huang, Scientific Editor
Jingtao joined the Royal Society of Chemistry in January 2023 as a scientific editor for Chemical Science. He received his BSc and MSc degrees in chemistry from Xiamen University, China and the University of Washington, Seattle, US, respectively. He then obtained his Ph.D. degree in materials science and engineering from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, where his research focused on functional nanomaterials and their applications in heterogeneous catalysis, energy storage and conversion, sensing, spectroscopy, etc. Prior to joining the RSC, he worked as an editor on Wiley-VCH chemistry titles.
Outside of work, Jingtao enjoys jogging, movies, music and science fiction.
Fiona Iddon, Scientific Editor
Fiona joined the Royal Society of Chemistry in October 2019 as a publishing editor, working on the Materials and Nano portfolio. Fiona then went on to work on journals in the Materials Interfaces portfolio, before moving to her current role. Previously, Fiona completed her PhD at the University of Cambridge, where her research focussed on the geochemistry of volcanic deposits in the Main Ethiopian Rift and the impact of volcanic processes on geothermal energy and mineral deposits in the region. Outside of her work, Fiona enjoys baking cakes and looking after her mischievous miniature dachshund Delilah.
Esther Johnston, Scientific Editor
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7807-4729
Esther joined the Royal Society of Chemistry in August 2021. She previously worked on the journals Journal of Materials Chemistry A, Nanoscale, and Green Chemistry as a publishing editor, and on Sensors & Diagnostics and RSC Chemical Biology as an assistant editor.
Esther completed a PhD in bioinorganic chemistry at Stanford University in 2015, working with Professor Edward Solomon, on understanding the mechanism of the multicopper enzyme nitrous oxide reductase. She then worked for three years as a Post-doctoral Research Associate at the University of York with Prof. Paul Walton and Prof. Gideon Davies, exploring the mechanisms of polysaccharide monooxygenases. Outside of work, she enjoys gardening, visiting museums and zoos, and going to parks with her two small boys.
Sophie Orchard, Scientific Editor
Sophie Orchard joined the Royal Society of Chemistry in June 2020 as a publishing editor, working on the Materials and Nano portfolio. Sophie then went on to work on the Energy & Environmental Science journal, before moving to her current role. Prior to this, Sophie obtained an MChem degree in Chemistry from Keele University, conducting electrochemical studies on the degradation of phenols in aqueous solutions using perovskites. Outside of work Sophie enjoys reading fantasy novels, fitness and embroidery.
Richard Thompson, Scientific Editor
Richard joined the Royal Society of Chemistry in March 2021 as a publishing editor, working on the journals Green Chemistry and Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics before moving to his current role. Richard obtained his PhD in polymer and surface science at the University of Leeds, having also previously completed his BSc and MSc degrees in chemistry at Leeds. His research focussed on using plasma treatments and plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition processes to provide surface modifications to polymer/textile materials. Outside of work, Richard enjoys walking, playing the guitar and travelling.
Amy Welch, Scientific Editor
Amy joined the Royal Society of Chemistry in September 2019 as a Publishing Editor, working on the journals ChemComm, ChemSocRev, Materials Chemistry Frontiers and Inorganic Chemistry Frontiers before moving to her current role. Prior to this, Amy obtained an MSci degree in Chemistry from University College London (UCL), conducting crystallographic studies of synthon hierarchies in molecular cocrystals. During her degree, Amy also undertook a summer placement in 2018 at GlaxoSmithKline, helping to implement an NMR technique called Selective Pure Shift NMR. In her spare time, Amy enjoys reading and taking her cocker spaniel Darcy on long countryside walks.
Karina Webster, Editorial Assistant
Karina joined the Royal Society of Chemistry in August 2017 as a Publishing Assistant in the Customer Services team helping authors submit their work and publishing their articles online. In January 2019 she moved to become an Editorial Assistant in the Inorganic portfolio to work on various journals including Dalton Transactions, CrystEngComm and NJC. Now she focuses on Chemical Science and RSC Advances and enjoys working closely with the Editorial Boards as well as promoting the journals through various commissioning and social media activities.
Karina moved from the Lake District to Cambridge in 2011 to complete her History degree and loves reading, writing and exploring new places.
David Bishop, Publishing Assistant
David joined the Royal Society of Chemistry in May 2017 as a publishing assistant for ChemComm and the wider journals portfolio. As the publishing assistant for Chemical Science he provides support to the assistant editors and authors from submission through to production. He completed an MA in Publishing at the Anglia Ruskin University whilst earning experience in publishing roles with commercial and academic publishers. Outside of work, David enjoys cooking, reading and writing.
