Professor David Payne

David is the Director of Research Complex at Harwell, providing leadership with the aim of maximising the quality of scientific delivery and outcomes. He is responsible for the strategic planning of Research Complex, working closely with Associate Director John Hand and other members of the Core Team. He works to ensure that synergies and cross-disciplinary activities are developed and delivered within the Research Complex and with the major user facilities on the Harwell site (including Diamond, ISIS, the Central Laser Facility, the Rosalind Franklin Institute, and the Mary Lyons Centre to name but a few).  

David is also Professor of Materials Chemistry at Imperial College London and leads the Solid State Electronic Structure Group in the Department of Materials. He is also Head of the Advanced Photoelectron Spectroscopy Laboratory. His research group focusses on the synthesis and characterisation of novel oxide-based materials for energy applications. This ranges from fuel cells to catalysis, photovoltaics to solar water splitting materials. His particular specialisation is in the use of photoelectron spectroscopy to probe the surface chemistry and physics of materials with unparalleled energy resolution and chemical sensitivity using state-of-the-art instrumentation.