Dr Josh Worch

Hailing from the United States, Josh completed his undergraduate studies at Manchester College (B.A. chemistry, 2011) and conducted his graduate training at Carnegie Mellon University (Ph.D. organic chemistry, 2016) under Kevin J.T. Noonan where he developed organic semiconducting materials for energy applications. In 2016, he moved to the University of Warwick and was awarded a Marie-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship (2017−2019) to investigate stereocontrolled Click polymerizations alongside Andrew P. Dove. The group moved to the University of Birmingham in 2018 and Josh was promoted to Group Leader in July 2020.

While Group Leader, Josh investigated sustainable materials synthesized from organocatalyzed step-growth polymerizations. Other topical research themes included the manipulation of polymer properties with stereochemistry, degradable materials, and intrinsically recyclable polymers.

Josh is an advocate for public engagement with research (receiving an RSC outreach grant in 2019 to fund the delivery of a degradable plastics program) and coordinates the Dove research group’s outreach activities. His teaching responsibilities at the University of Birmingham included a 4^th year undergraduate module on advanced sustainable polymeric materials and a 3^rd year laboratory module related to the chemical recycling of commercial plastics.