King's College London

Rachel is a Professor of Ocean Chemistry and has received this award in recognition of her contributions to marine science throughout her career. As a deep-sea oceanographer, she has led research expeditions using submersibles and remotely operated vehicles to discover hydrothermal vents in the unexplored depths, transforming the understanding of chemical processes at the seafloor and the impact of these reactions on the distribution and vitality of life in the oceans. Her research links small-scale processes that impact transition metal reactions at redox boundaries to global cycles of key elements that impact the whole ocean system and climate. 

Speaking about this award, Professor Mills thanked those involved in her career journey saying “I am deeply honoured. This recognition is for the incredible teamwork, creativity, and passion of all those I have had the privilege to supervise, collaborate with and lead over many years. It is through these shared efforts that we have been able to advance our understanding of marine systems. Thank you all for being a part of this journey.” 

Passionate about developing ocean literacy across global societies to enable change, Professor Mills has contributed to a range of marine documentaries and was the lead educator of a free online course ‘Exploring our Ocean’ that has had huge reach with learners of all ages and backgrounds.

Using her expertise to inform policy, Professor Mills also regularly provides advice and direction for a range of international and UK organisations and high-profile programmes. The oral evidence she provided to the Cross-Party Environmental Audit Committee Sustainable Seas Inquiry influenced their conclusion that “the government should use its influence internationally to impose a moratorium on exploitation licences in [deep sea] environments.”, a position subsequently supported by UK government.

Since 2021, she has been acting as a Non-Executive Director for the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) and has served as the Chair of their Science Advisory Committee. In this role she provides leadership and challenge around the Cefas Science and Evidence Strategy, the outputs of which provide evidence to government on fisheries policy, sustainable oceans and ocean contributions to net zero ambitions.

Rachel is the Senior Vice President (Academic) at King’s, and she leads on the academic strategy and delivery for the Vice-Chancellor’s senior team. She brings together the Faculties across King’s to maximise the impact and effectiveness of their efforts. She sponsors a range of projects at King’s, including King’s Climate & Sustainability and King’s Interdisciplinary Science that promise to change the world through new cross-disciplinary innovations that will help sustain our future presence on this planet.