William James Feast CBE, FRS, FRSC (born 25 June 1938) is a British chemical scientist and academic.
After graduation, he began to study for a PhD at the University of Birmingham in organo-fluorine chemistry, which he completed in 1963, staying until 1965 for the purpose of post-doctoral research.
'[3] He helped develop what is now known as the "Durham precursor route" to manufacturing polyacetylene, and during the 70s and 80s the polymer synthesis knowledge of Feast and his group led to invitations to work as a guest lecturer, and eventually he spent two months a year teaching at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research in Mainz.
[5] He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for "services to polymer chemistry" in the 2007 New Year Honours.
[6] Later that year he was awarded a Royal Medal for "his outstanding contributions to chemical synthesis with far reaching implications, particularly for the field of functional polymeric materials.