Robin Westacott

 I joined Chemical Engineering at Heriot-Watt University in January 2001. I graduated from what was Hatfield Polytechnic in 1991 with a BSc in Applied Chemistry, which included an industrial placement at the ESSO Research Centre in Abingdon. I then obtained my PhD from the University of Reading under the supervision of Dr Mark Rodger. Following this I undertook two periods of Post-Doctoral experience. Firstly, with Dr Carolyn Koh at Kings College London where I studied gas hydrate formation and inhibition. Secondly, with Prof Peter Rossky and Prof Keith Johnston, at the University of Texas at Austin, where I studied chemical reactions in supercritical fluids.

In 2017 I was seconded out of chemical engineering tio lead the development of the University's Graduate Apprenticeship programmes and returned in Chemical Engineering in September 2024 as Global Head of Discipline.