Research in the Faculty of Science is characterised by its interdisciplinary and collaborative approach and has a prominent international profile thanks to its outstanding people, education, research and facilities.

Our research has real-world impact, addressing the challenges that we face in our society and our environment.

Key Strategic Areas

We are particularly seeking to grow our research work in the following areas:

Environmental research, with a multidisciplinary approach co-ordinated by the Cabot Institute for the Environment. We are part of a university-wide programme of work addressing the UK’s transition to ‘Net Zero’ greenhouse gas emissions, with a particular focus on energy (production, distribution, storage and reduced use). We are also members of the GW4 Climate Alliance with the universities of Bath, Cardiff and Exeter.

Novel materials, including life cycle analysis to understand impact on the environment in production and after use.

Data science, an interdisciplinary topic and a major growth industry. Data science is crucial to modern life, from systems that recommend what film you should watch next to modelling the spread of COVID.

Digital chemistry, using methods such as robotics, cloud computing and data science to transform how molecules and materials are designed and discovered.

Research in our Schools

The Faculty of Science consists of five Schools: Chemistry, Earth Sciences, Geographical Sciences, Mathematics and Physics. Click on the links below to find out more about their research areas.

Training the next generation of researchers

We are securing the future of excellent research by providing the best training for new researchers across the Faculty. As well as a wide range of individual PhD options, our nationally funded Doctoral Training Partnerships and Centres for Doctoral Training provide excellent opportunities for world-class research in partnership with business and industry, supported by comprehensive skills training.