Deirdre Black

Deirdre Black is Head of Science and the Sustainability Strategy Lead at the Royal Society of Chemistry.  Her role includes using insights on global trends in science to inform strategy and develop programmes.  She has variously led the RSC’s policy, scientific programmes and international engagement teams.

Exploring the interfaces between science, digitisation and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, she has focussed on specific topics like AI and automation in R&D, recognition and multidisciplinary collaboration in science, and greener science.  She led the development of the RSC’s first organisational Sustainability Strategy Blueprint and is the sponsor of its Sustainable Labs programme.  She held postdoctoral positions in physics and in science education policy in the USA and UK before joining the RSC in 2011.