Chater obtained an MSci degree in chemistry from University of Birmingham in 2004. He also completed his PhD at Birmingham before carrying out post-doctoral research for the UK Sustainable Hydrogen Energy Consortium (UK-SHEC), researching complex hydrides for hydrogen storage and the link between reversibility and lithium ion conductivity.

In 2011, Chater joined University of Liverpool as a researcher working on the local structure of functional oxides, using X-ray and neutron Pair Distribution Function (PDF) analysis to study the short-range structure of materials. Structural characterisation from powders has been a theme underlying all of Chater’s research; he has investigated a broad range of systems, including complex hydrides, oxide ion conductors, metal organic frameworks, superconductors, and ferroelectric materials. As beamline scientist at Diamond, Phil was responsible for setting up I15-1, the X-ray PDF beamline. Phil is now the Principal Beamline Scientist on I15-1 and leads a team dedicated to the running and development of the beamline for rapid and robust production of high-quality X-ray PDF data.