Professor Chris Knowles

About

Professor Chris Knowles gained his doctorate at the University of Leicester. He was a postdoctoral fellow for two years at Dartmouth Medical School, Dartmouth College, USA, and then for a year at the University of Warwick. In 1970 he was appointed as a lecturer and a founder faculty member of the Biological Laboratory at the University of Kent. He was successively Lecturer, Senior Lecturer, Reader and Professor of Microbial Biochemistry in the department.  He also spent periods as a visiting scientist at the Children’s Hospital, Harvard University, USA, the Royal Dental School, Aahus, Denmark and at McGill University, Montreal, Canada.  In 1997 he moved to the University of Oxford to become Professor of Environmental Science. At Oxford Professor Knowles developed and was director of a centre for technology transfer in environmental science involving a several universities and a wide range of companies.

The initial research interest of Professor Knowles was microbial respiration and bioenergetics, but he then widened his interest to biotransformation of molecules to more useful chemicals, and the biodegradation of toxic chemicals. He has published a large number of papers in scientific journals, and has been an editor or editor-in-chief of five scientific journals. 

Professor Knowles’ research interests led to engagement with industry and an enduring interest in technology transfer between academia and industry and the introduction of new technologies. He has been a consultant to several large companies and a non-executive director of five small technology companies. He has been a committee member of a wide range of UK and EU scientific initiatives and review boards. 

Since retiring, Professor Knowles has continued to be active and interested in technology transfer. He was for five years a Trustee of Plymouth Marine Laboratory. He is a member of the Advisory Board of Beacon, a technology transfer initiative of three Welsh universities with involvement of a range of companies for the development of plants-to-products processes. He was the Coordinator of the BBSRC Integrated Biorefining Research and Technology Club involving a range of major companies and many universities.

Professor Knowles is Emeritus Professor of Microbial Biochemistry at the University of Kent, Emeritus Research Fellow of Linacre College, Oxford, and Emeritus Professor of Environmental Science at the University of Oxford.