Mike Turner obtained BSc and PhD from the University of Bristol, working on the synthesis of new organometallic complexes, before moving to the United States to investigate new routes to polyphosphazenes. He returned to the UK to work at the University of Sheffield on the mechanism of the Fischer-Tropsch reaction and was awarded a Royal Society University Research Fellowship to investigate the synthesis of novel polymers. He moved to the University of Manchester in April 2004 to a Chair in Materials Chemistry and to be Director of OMIC. Current research focusses on the synthesis of novel conjugated organic materials, the processing of these materials into devices such as light emitting diodes, solar cells and transistors and the application of these devices.