Rate My Professor David Lloyd

Professor David Lloyd is an Emeritus Professor at Adelaide University. A Dublin-born chemist, he holds a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Applied Chemistry and a PhD in Medicinal Organic Chemistry from Dublin City University. He also holds a Master of Arts from Trinity College Dublin. His academic specialty is computer-aided drug design. Following postdoctoral research at Trinity College Dublin and work in the pharmaceutical industry at De Novo Pharmaceuticals in Cambridge, he returned to Trinity College Dublin in 2004 as Hitachi Lecturer in Advanced Computing. There, he led the Molecular Design Group, focusing on the commercialisation and patenting of research. He later served as Dean and Vice President of Research, then as Bursar and Director of Strategic Innovation at Trinity College Dublin, and was elected a fellow of the college in 2008. In 2012, he was appointed the inaugural Chair of the Irish Research Council.

In 2013, Professor Lloyd became Vice Chancellor and President of the University of South Australia at the age of 38, Australia's youngest vice chancellor at the time. He held this position until February 2026. From March 2024 to January 2026, he served as a founding co-Vice Chancellor of Adelaide University alongside Professor Peter Høj. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (elected 2019). He has held leadership roles including Chair of Universities Australia, Chair of the Committee for Adelaide, and member of the South Australian Economic Development Board. He also holds an honorary professorship from Tianjin University.