Andrew Orr-Ewing is a physical chemist who has made significant contributions to the study of fundamental mechanisms of chemical reactions in both the gas and liquid phases. He is recognized internationally for his use of ultrafast laser spectroscopy to observe the effects of liquid solvents on molecular reaction and photodissociation dynamics.

He obtained his BA and MA in Chemistry from the University of Oxford, and his DPhil in Physical Chemistry under the supervision of Professor G Hancock. After two years as a postdoctoral researcher with Professor RN Zare at Stanford University, he returned to the UK as the Royal Society Eliz. Challenor Research Fellow at the University of Bristol, where he has remained.

His research achievements have been recognized by the Harrison Memorial Prize (1994), Marlow Medal and Prize (1999), and Tilden Prize (2009) of the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), the RSC’s awards in Optical Spectroscopy (2002) and Chemical Dynamics (2014), a Leverhulme Trust Senior Research Fellowship (2005), and a Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award (2006-11).