Whitaker was educated at University College School, London and the University of Sussex (Bachelor of Science in chemical physics, 1978) where he also completed his doctorate on laser induced emission spectroscopy under the supervision of Professor Tony McCaffery (Doctor of Philosophy, 1981).
He is mainly known for work in molecular reaction dynamics and photofragment-ion imaging. He is also associated with some of the early chemical applications of the web with Henry Rzepa. 86: 4500–4503, Bibcode:2001PhRvL.86.4500T, doi:10.1103/PhysRev86.4500 Whitaker, BJ.
Brechignac, P (1983), "A new fitting law for rotational energy-transfer".
