| 1964 | Obtained a BSc degree from Edinburgh University. |
| 1966 | Completed his PhD at Edinburgh University. |
| 1970s | Joined Sheffield University as an Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) Research Fellow. Pioneered a new field of chemistry by developing mechanical bonds in molecular compounds and investigated the synthesis of carbohydrate-based chiral crown ethers, leading to key components in interlocking chemical structures. |
| 1980s | Awarded a DSc degree by Edinburgh for research into ‘Stereochemistry Beyond the Molecule’. Developed the first template-controlled synthesis of a catenane, a mechanically interlocked molecule. |
| 1990s | Appointed Chair of Organic Chemistry at Birmingham University and served as Head of the School of Chemistry. Advanced template-directed protocols for synthesising bistable mechanically interlocked molecules (MIMs), such as catenanes and rotaxanes, generated novel interlocked architectures. Moved to University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) as the Saul Winstein Professor of Chemistry and investigated self-assembly processes and developed electronically reconfigurable molecular switches and molecular Borromean rings. |
| Late 1990s- 2000s | Employed MIMs in the fabrication of molecular electronic devices (MEDs) and NanoElectroMechanical Systems (NEMS) and in the development of artificial molecular machines (AMMs). Created a molecular elevator based on the stepwise descent of a ring structure sliding down supporting molecules. |
| 2003 | Appointed Director of the California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI) and assumed the Fred Kavli Chair of NanoSystems Sciences. |
| 2004 | Received Nagoya Gold Medal in Organic Chemistry. |
| 2007 | Joined Northwestern University as a Board of Trustees Professor of Chemistry. Awarded the Albert Einstein World Award of Science. |
| 2008 | Appointed Emeritus Professor of Chemistry at UCLA and continued his contributions to advancements in molecular machines at Northwestern University. Awarded the Davy Medal of the Royal Society of London. |
| 2012 | Honoured as a Fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences. |
| 2014 | Received the Centenary Prize, Royal Society of Chemistry. Honoured as a Member of National Academy of Sciences, US. |
| 2016 | Awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the design and synthesis of molecular machines, shared with Jean-Pierre Sauvage and Ben Feringa. |
| 2018 | Honoured as a Foreign Member of Chinese Academy of Sciences. |
| 2023 | Became Chair Professor of Chemistry at The University of Hong Kong (HKU). Established a research lab comprising 17 members and led young scientists in pioneering research in materials science and molecular nanotechnology. |
