Professor Barbara Shollock is the Director of Net Zero Centre and Professor of Engineering at King's College London. She was Head of Department between 2019–2024, when the Department of Engineering was refounded at King's College London. Her work focuses on the physico-chemical aspects relating to steel and advanced alloy manufacture and usage.

Academic background and career

Professor Barbara Shollock holds degrees from Lehigh University (USA) and a DPhil from the University of Oxford, where she was awarded a Rolls-Royce Junior Research Fellowship, followed by a full Rolls-Royce Research Fellowship. Upon completing her doctorate, she joined the Department of Materials at Imperial College London as a Lecturer.

In 2014, she was appointed Tata Steel Research Chair at the Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG), University of Warwick, where she also served as Academic Director, leading strategic vision development under Professor Lord Bhattacharyya.

In 2019, she returned to London to relaunch the Department of Engineering at King’s College London as its founding Head. She led the creation of a strategy rooted in interdisciplinary research and education to meet both industrial and societal challenges.

As Department Head, she embedded diversity, equity and inclusion into academic recruitment and curriculum design. By 2022, 60% of new professors were women, 45% of academic staff were female, and over 40% of academic staff were from non-white backgrounds. The engineering student body was 30% female, with 40% female representation at MSc level.

She continues to advocate for inclusive excellence across STEM.

Research, Impact & Industry Engagement

Beginning her career at AT&T Bell Labs, Barbara has championed impact-oriented research throughout. She has secured over £15 million in funding, including patented work with Rolls-Royce, underpinning a REF2014 Impact Case Study and an EPSRC Prosperity Partnership on next-generation electric vehicles with Jaguar Land Rover.

She has deep experience collaborating with industry, government, and major initiatives like the High Value Manufacturing (HVM) Catapult and the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund.

Net Zero Research Leadership

In 2023, she founded the Net Zero Centre at King’s College London. The centre Integrates expertise from the five departments in the Faculty of Natural, Mathematical & Engineering Sciences, and she has established links with the Law, Health, Business, and Social Science Faculties. The Centre has grown to have two co-directors who are experts in physical sciences and climate finance. The centre focuses on research that drives societal and industrial decarbonisation through a systems approach.

Policy, Strategy & Global Engagement

Barbara regularly engages with policymakers and national strategy. She served for eight years on the EPSRC Engineering Strategic Advisory Team, becoming Chair in 2021-2024 and supported the development of the Tomorrow’s Engineering Research Challenges Report. She has led strategic bids to UKRI across sectors (built environment, textiles).

She established a partnership between King’s and Westminster City Council in 2024 to support the technical development and financial strategies to deliver their Local Aare Energy Plan. She has participated in high-level discussion events with David Miliband and Chris Skidmore.

Barbara actively contributes to the wider UK scientific and engineering communities. She is a member of the to the Royal Society’s Newton Committee and EPSRC Cross-Theme EDI Advisory Network. She serves on a range of College Royal Academy of Engineering strategic committees.

Mentoring & Academic Service

She actively mentors talent at every level—from school students to professors—and frequently chairs grant and interview panels for UK and international research councils.

International Partnerships

She has fostered deep global collaborations in engineering research and education. She built UK–India research links during her time at WMG. Since joining King’s, Barbara has extended her links into Africa, launching an AU–EU Centre for Research Excellence with the University of Pretoria.

Further Information

• Research Profile