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On July 8, Professor Robert Mokaya OBE F·¬ÇÑÉçÇø FRS became the 95th president of the ·¬ÇÑÉçÇø of Chemistry. The fact that Prof Mokaya is the society’s first Black president – and the only Black chemistry professor in the UK – are well documented. But in a wide-ranging interview he takes us behind the headlines to tell us more about his motivation for taking on the role and his ambitions for the next two years and beyond.

On becoming president

At the time of my election, I said I was humbled and honoured to be chosen as president, and two years on I feel just the same.

I think the process of having a president-elect who then goes on to be president is really very helpful. Of course, in my case, I had already been a trustee for a while, so I have observed a number of presidents in this role before and worked very closely with Annette Doherty, who I’d like to thank for the support and guidance she’s offered me, and also for the wonderful job she’s done as president over the past two years.

But actually being president-elect, working with the president and working with the leadership of the ·¬ÇÑÉçÇø really does mean that you get to know a lot more about the organisation. So for me, the last two years have really been eye-opening in some respects, but it's also been great preparation and I feel ready.

On Missing Elements and the path to the presidency

The publishing of the Missing Elements report was a turning point for me, but it doesn’t tell the whole story. I had been working with the ·¬ÇÑÉçÇø of Chemistry for a long time, way before 2022, when the report was published.

I was always aware that there were conversations and initiatives taking place but I wasn't really sure where I would be most effective in those conversations. And so, although I knew there was of a lack of participation from certain sections of the community in the chemical sciences, the Missing Elements report was really a watershed moment because the data was all there and it was undeniable. And of course, what that meant for me was that I found myself in a position where I was probably the one best placed to talk about the report and its implications.

It was a watershed moment, but it was also a call for action. And I could see how the work that was inspired by the report was something that I would be very interested in being involved in, and of course have been involved in since. And so yes, that leadership role was crystallised by the Missing Elements report.

On the ·¬ÇÑÉçÇø’s global role and impact

Anybody who knows me knows I'm not afraid to say that I see myself as a global citizen. I'm a great advocate of the free movement of people and of course chemical scientists.

The scientific community works best when it is connected, when people can move freely and contribute in different parts of the globe. My career has benefited from that, and it is something that I am very keen to see happen within the scientific community and beyond.

I see the ·¬ÇÑÉçÇø as a global organisation. I want our impact to continue to grow globally, but also for all members of our community, within and beyond the UK, to have a connection with our society.

I also want to increase our position as a trusted partner in working with global organisations to solve global challenges and work on innovative ways to improve people's lives, and to ensure that everybody who wants to participate in the chemical sciences is appropriately supported wherever they are from. That is something that is already a strength of the ·¬ÇÑÉçÇø, but something that I hope to see grow even more.

On making the case for chemistry

This is a big priority. We’ve just published the Contribution of chemistry report, and I hope as many people as possible will read that report, because I think the chemical sciences make a huge contribution – £60.5bn in the latest year for which we have data.

It’s not always visible or obvious, but chemical scientists consistently outperform others in terms of the value they add to priority sectors like life sciences and defence, often providing the bedrock for those industries.

So it's really important for people to understand the context in which we need to build and protect our chemical sciences, in education and training for graduates and apprentices and in every area of the economy where chemical scientists make a difference.

A big part of the report is to call on education and industry to communicate what they need to increase the contribution of the chemical sciences even more, and to put that case to government and decision makers, because actually the economy flourishes when the chemical sciences flourish, and I think that's an important message that we need to get across.

On chemistry’s impact

There are multiple ways in which we can maximise the impact of chemistry for our society and our economy. We must champion the great innovations and new research that our community is producing but also support it as well through programmes like Change Makers and the Emerging Technologies competition, and also through publishing and our prizes as well.

It’s so important that we recognise excellence where we see it. The ·¬ÇÑÉçÇø prizes were announced only last month, and I’m very pleased with the way they have evolved in terms of who is actually being recognised – more teams, more early-career scientists, more educators – but also the wide range of work being recognised for having a positive impact in terms of changing people's lives.

Building on our role as a convenor is also going to be key in my time as president, ensuring that the ·¬ÇÑÉçÇø is a trusted voice in policy making, in the information we provide to help inform the big decisions. I think of that convening power as being the engine that drives everything else. It’s something we already do very well and I’m keen for that to continue and increase.

But the way we communicate is more important now than ever before. Because we’re in an environment where information is at people's fingertips, but the question then becomes whether that information is actually valid or not? So we need to be very protective of ensuring that the information we share and our communication has integrity and is appropriately representing what we do. I think the ·¬ÇÑÉçÇø is already doing a good job, but we need to build on that.

On including everyone

I am a strong believer that if you want to have a high-performing team, you should have an inclusive and diverse team. If you exclude any section of the community, then I believe you are short-changing yourself. Fairness is important of course, but performance is what drives my passion for inclusion and diversity

This is an area the ·¬ÇÑÉçÇø has been working in for a long time, well before my time as chair of the Inclusion and Diversity Committee, but there has been some consolidation and some acceleration over recent years, which is reflected in the new Inclusion and Diversity strategy which we have just published. But of course that strategy is published during a period when there is an element of pushback that is being encountered. So in a changing landscape this work is much more needed now than it was ever before, but it must progress in a nuanced way because of that pushback.

The ·¬ÇÑÉçÇø is now seen as a leader in this area, and we are always pleased when other organisations come to us and ask how can they learn from us. And so yes, absolutely, I'm very happy to champion this area and say that it will be a specific focus for me over the term of my presidency.