FARADAY INSTITUTION - Key Persons
Adam is developing an experimental solution to characterise lithium-ion batteries using nonlinear impedance spectroscopy, including software for automation and analysis.
Job Titles:
- Finance Manager
- Finance Manager / View Profile
Alison joins the Faraday Institution from Navitas, a leading global education provider where she helped to set up the European shared services centre and ran the General ledger team. Prior to that she had finance roles in an international paints and coatings company.
Alison has a BA (Hons) in Accounting and Finance from Leeds Metropolitan University and is currently in the process of completing her accountancy qualification with the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA).
Job Titles:
- International R & D Partnerships Manager / View Profile
Andrew joined the Faraday Institution in July 2023 as the International R&D Partnerships Manager. His focus is on leading the Ayrton Challenge on Energy Storage which will convene, coordinate and collaborate with other government programmes. The challenge aims to create and commercialise innovative battery technologies and associated business models for fossil fuel generator displacement and mobility applications in developing countries, to expand and accelerate the clean energy transition. This includes leading the delivery of an RD&D programme to reduce the cost and improve the performance of battery energy storage system technologies for use in these regions.
Prior to joining the Faraday Institution, Andrew enjoyed a near 27-year career at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL), the UK's national measurement institute. There he held a number of technical and managerial roles, most recently as the Group Leader for the Electrochemistry Group. Here he led a group of 20 scientists and engineers who apply world-leading measurement techniques to help improve the performance, safety and lifetime of materials and devices important for the energy transition, including batteries, fuel cells and electrolysers. In 2019 he was seconded to both the Faraday Institution and the Global Battery Alliance.
A physicist, who holds a BSc (Hons) degree in Applied Physics from the University of Portsmouth, Andrew's technical expertise is in spectrometry, specifically the measurement of the transmittance, reflectance, and colour of materials.
Job Titles:
- Member of Audit, Finance and Risk Committee
Aya graduated from the University of Bristol with a MEng in mechanical engineering and undertaking a PhD at the same university, focusing on the state of health of lithium-ion batteries under different conditions as well as the life cycle assessment for lithium-ion batteries at their end-of-life stage. She was motivated to continue a career in the battery sector after undertaking a Faraday Undergraduate Summer Experience (FUSE) internship in 2022 focused on extracting a lithium-ion cell's open circuit voltage and calculating its entropy coefficient. Fuelled by a fervent commitment to sustainability and the diminution of global reliance on fossil fuels, Aya harbours aspirations of establishing a career within the energy sector.
Callum holds a master's degree in chemistry from the University of Bristol and is undertaking a PhD focused on ultra-high-power cathodes with increased energy density. His research is under the supervision of Professor Jawwad Darr as part of the CATMAT project. He has maintained a continued interest in electroactive materials, following his master's project, which involved studying organic conducting polymers for the next generation of wearable electronics.
Colin Herron is MD Zero Carbon Futures (ZCF) and Professor of Practice at Newcastle University. He has 48 years' automotive industry experience, starting as a tool room apprentice then working in Nissan for 17 years, and then in public sector, civil service, further education and higher education roles. ZCF delivers research, workforce training: NVQ 2/3/4 and Masters continuing professional development courses. He has a close association with industry and has served on the Faraday Institution's Training and Diversity Panel since its inception in 2018.
Through the involvement of Colin Herron and Lois Warne, FINE will input the Faraday Intuition's voice as the UK's flagship energy storage research programme into regional conversations around energy storage research; skills development; regional policy; commercialisation, innovation and industrial collaboration. Specifically, it will target three areas for exploitation:
Research - to access the best battery science and engineering from regional university research and innovation centres and identify areas of strength for potential collaboration and funding;
Industry - to identify additional areas where the Faraday Institution and companies based in the region could meaningfully connect for mutual benefit, including vehicle production, battery cell manufacturers and associated supply chain partners; and
Regional and national government policy - to ensure the national programme led by the Faraday Institution is positioned in ways that are supportive of regional initiatives (such as in skills development, policy influence, North East Battery Alliance).
Job Titles:
- Fellow of the UK Energy Institute
As President of UK Electricity Distribution, National Grid, Cordi is responsible for the safe and reliable operation of the UK's largest electricity distribution network, serving more than eight million customers across the East and West Midlands, South West and South Wales. As President, Cordi is accountable for National Grid's £6bn investment programme that will be delivered between 2023-28, keeping clean, fair, affordable power flowing to homes and businesses across our region.
Previously Cordi was President of National Grid Ventures, where she led the development, financing, construction and operation of large-scale energy assets; such as electricity interconnectors, LNG storage and regasification, onshore wind and solar generation.
Cordi also served as Chief Operating Officer at National Grid's US Gas Business and before that she ran the UK System Operator for National Grid, where she oversaw the strategy, planning and operation of over 14,000 miles of gas and electricity networks in Great Britain.
In her time at National Grid, Cordi has been a strong advocate for innovative solutions to a decarbonised energy market, believing clean technology solutions and new demand response initiatives can help to deliver Government targets for net zero.
Cordi became a fellow of the UK Energy Institute in 2016, acknowledging her significant experience in UK and European energy markets and networks. She was awarded an OBE in 2019 for services to the energy industry.
Dame Lynn Gladden is the Shell Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Cambridge in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, and a Fellow of Trinity College and was the Executive Chair of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) from October 2018 to June 2023.
She is internationally recognised for her work on advancing magnetic resonance imaging techniques, originally developed for use in the medical environment, and using them in engineering research to gain a greater understanding of the physical and chemical phenomena that determine the performance of chemical processes and their resulting products.
In addition to her own research, Dame Lynn has held a number of research oversight roles in the UK and abroad, including Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research at Cambridge from 2010 to 2016. She is currently Chair of Judges for the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering
Job Titles:
- Training Manager
- Training Manager / View Profile
Dominic Grantley-Smith joined the Faraday Institution in October 2022 as the Training Manager and leads in the delivery of the PhD training and the Faraday Undergraduate Summer Experience (FUSE) internship programmes. Dominic's aim is to support the diversity and dynamic pool of talent going into the battery sector.
Dominic is passionate about sustainability and believes to solve the climate crisis we need to reduce barriers and provide opportunities for everyone wanting a STEM career. Dominic believes batteries and energy storage will play a key part in getting to net zero.
Before this role, Dominic led a botanic garden education team internationally, through public engagement and online training. He designed behaviour change activities to make the public more environmentally friendly. His work led him to speak at COP 26 and many global educational conferences. Before that Dominic worked in science communication in the museum sector and holds a degree in biology.
Job Titles:
- Non - Executive Director of the Institute of the Motor Industry
Dr Esther Taylor is a Non-executive Director of the Institute of the Motor Industry. She has worked in the automotive and energy industry for over 25 years, having started her career at Ricardo Consulting Engineers as part of their graduate scheme. She previously held senior roles in industry such as the Head of Product Testing & Engineering at BP, and as the Engineering Director at Aggreko responsible for responsible for leading product development of power generation and battery storage products. Her current role is as Engineering Director at Indra Renewable Technologies. She holds a master's degree in Engineering Acoustics and Vibration and a PhD in Structural Dynamics, both from the University of Southampton.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Professor at the University of Warwick
- Research Fellow
Dr Ferran Brosa Planella is an Assistant Professor at the University of Warwick working on mathematical modelling of lithium-ion batteries. He obtained a double Bachelor's degree in Mathematics and Industrial Engineering from Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya and holds a DPhil in Mathematics from the University of Oxford.
Job Titles:
- Postdoctoral Researcher - Diamond Light Source
- Researcher at the Diamond Light Source
Dr James Le Houx is a postdoctoral researcher at the Diamond Light Source. His research focuses on using X-rays to study structures, through both X-ray computed tomography, and X-ray powder diffraction techniques, with a particular focus on electrochemical devices. He uses the datasets from these characterisation techniques as computational domains for physics-based models, improving understanding of processes and performance. He has applied these techniques to a wide-range of science cases, including lithium-ion battery electrodes, supercapacitors, flow battery electrodes and rock microstructures (geophysics).
Dr Nicola Courtier is a Faraday Institution Research Fellow in the Department of Engineering Science at the University of Oxford.
Job Titles:
- Postdoctoral Research Fellow
- Postdoctoral Researcher - University of Sheffield - NEXGENNA
Dr Pooja Kumari is a Faraday Institution Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Materials Science & Engineering at the University of Sheffield. She completed her PhD in Nov. 2019 at the Malaviya National Institute of Technology (MNIT) Jaipur, India (with close collaboration to Hiroshima University, Japan), titled "Bi and its chalcogenides for all solid state Li-ion batteries" under the supervision of Dr Manoj Kumar.
Following this she joined the University of Birmingham, as a Research Fellow on FI project focused on in-situ/operando battery characterisation techniques for Li-ion batteries with Dr Melanie Britton. In this role, she did develop in-situ NMR and operando MRI techniques for Li-ion battery (half and full cell). In Sep 2021, she began her current role at the University of Sheffield as a PDRA in the Faraday Institution NEXGENNA project, where she is developing novel synthesis route for titanates based material that she is using as an anode for Na-ion batteries.
Job Titles:
- Events Manager
- Events Manager / View Profile
Emily Baird joined the Faraday Institution in December 2022 as Events Manager, leading the delivery of the Faraday Institution's Conference and annual events calendar.
Emily has 10 years' event management experience. Before this role she oversaw the scientific and technical events portfolio at Diamond Light Source, the UK's national synchrotron, delivering up to 40 in-person and online events per year including international conferences, workshops, training courses and networking events. Prior to that, she was a Senior Events Manager for The Sunday Times Fast Track, which organised awards dinners for Founders and CEOs of UK private companies, and has also managed events for a not-for-profit life sciences membership organisation.
Emily holds a degree in English Literature, Communications and Culture from Keele University.
Job Titles:
- Head of Training and Development
- Head of Training and Talent Development
- Head of Training and Talent Development / View Profile
- Trustee for the ENTHUSE Charitable Trust
Francesca is the Head of Training and Talent Development at the Faraday Institution and is working to create a dynamic and diverse pool of talent for the fields of battery technology and energy storage. An innovative educator and award-winning primary science specialist, who has conducted research into raising STEM career aspirations, Francesca is committed to boosting professional career development in the STEM sector through developing and leading programmes for early career researchers, PhDs, undergraduate students, young people (through STEM outreach) as well as a host of equality, diversity and inclusion initiatives that widen participation and foster inclusivity.
Francesca holds a first-class honours degree in Primary Teacher Education, received a Primary Science Teacher Award (PSTA) endorsed by the Institute of Physics and she is also a Fellow of the Primary Science Teaching Trust (PSTT). Today, talent development for the battery sector is her key focus with leading a bespoke PhD training programme and the Faraday Undergraduate Summer Experience (FUSE) internship programme, central to the role. Both aim to increase the knowledge, skills and aspirations of the next generation.
Francesca is also a trustee for the ENTHUSE Charitable Trust which seeks to foster and promote the continuing professional development (CPD) of STEM educators in the quest to increase young people's attainment and engagement in STEM subjects and develop awareness and understanding of STEM careers.
Gargi is a PhD researcher in the chemical engineering department at the University College London. She previously completed her BEng in chemical engineering from the University of Nottingham. After a two and half years of consulting work, she returned to academia to complete her MSc in chemical process engineering from the University College London, where she conducted research in zinc-air batteries. With an ambition to develop sustainable energy solutions, Gargi is currently working on the Nextrode project, focused on the calendaring process under the supervision of Professor Paul Shearing.
Georgia is a PhD researcher working on the improvement of lithium-sulfur batteries. Her project investigates how porous materials can prevent the degradation of lithium-sulfur batteries. She synthesises materials called metal-organic materials (MOFs) with different pore sizes and functional groups and employs them as a separator/interlayer to determine the best candidate for improving the cells. It is her goal to have a career that helps to improve our impact on the environment; developing safer, greener, longer-lasting batteries is an excellent way to achieve this. Therefore, after her PhD, she plans to continue researching next-generation battery technologies in an industrial setting. Georgia also aims to advocate for positive change, which is why she is a member of the Research Student Liaison Committee at her university, representing postgraduate demonstrators, and a member of the Faraday Institution Student Committee, representing her cohort.
Georgia is a PhD researcher working on the improvement of lithium-sulfur batteries. Georgia's project investigates how porous materials can prevent the degradation of lithium-sulfur batteries. She synthesises materials called metal-organic materials (MOFs) with different pore sizes and functional groups and employs them as a separator/interlayer to determine the best candidate for improving the cells.
Previously, Hanno was Executive Director, Tata Group Synergy Programmes, where he lead Tata Group activities in exploring opportunities in the battery space and was a member of the Jaguar Land Rover executive management board.
Hanno has been in financial and strategic management roles for the last 15 years, in roles as a CFO and with a focus on mobility and electrification strategies as well as the luxury automotive sector.
Job Titles:
- Engineer
- Technology Transfer Director / View Profile
Ian joined the Faraday Institution after six years in central government where he worked on designing and implementing innovation programmes in the energy sector. He was responsible for the government's energy innovation programme in the Department of Energy and Climate Change and continued in the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy as Head of Disruptive Energy Technologies and Green Finance Innovation.
Ian is an engineer who graduated from University of Cambridge with an M.Eng. in Manufacturing Engineering in 1993 and is now an experienced technical manager who has worked with small, medium and large corporates, academia and government. His early career was spent working on Gas Turbine engines with the Ministry of Defence before moving to project management at QinetiQ where he was responsible for research programme management and delivery of the large test programmes. He left QinetiQ to join Meggitt Defence Systems that developed and operated new technical products. As UK General Manager Ian set up and ran a new R&D and manufacturing facility.
Isobel Sheldon OBE is former Chief Strategy Officer of Britishvolt, responsible for overall business, manufacturing, technology and customer strategy. She previously served as Business Development Director at the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre. She has 20 years of experience in battery design and development, technology and industry, and is a globally renowned automotive battery specialist. Isobel has worked with many of the world's major automotive businesses and suppliers, including Jaguar Land Rover, Lotus, Nissan, Ricardo and Johnson Matthey Battery Systems, helping them advance their battery system solutions.
Job Titles:
- Research Programme Director / View Profile
James Gaade joined the Faraday Institution as Research Programme Director in April 2021, focusing on research portfolio delivery and working with the Expert Panel, industry and the wider team on the organisation's research priorities and direction.
James has led an independent consultancy, working with clients across electrified propulsion systems in research and technology delivery. He previously worked for Jaguar Land Rover for 20 years on vehicle propulsion systems in various leadership roles in product engineering, research and technology and commercially in product marketing, with his last role as the Head of Powertrain Research and Technology.
James is a Chartered Engineer, Fellow of the Institute of Mechanical Engineering and a member of the Department for Transport Science Advisory Council that provides strategic level scientific advice and challenge to the DfT. He graduated from De Montfort University with a B.Eng (Hons) in Mechanical Engineering and from Loughborough University with an MSc in Automotive Systems Engineering.
James is the Project Lead on the LiSTAR project based at the Electrochemical Innovation Lab at UCL. Having undertaken his undergraduate studies at in Chemical Engineering at University College Dublin James completed his PhD in UCL after which he was awarded a Royal Academy of Engineering UKIC Research Fellowship and EPSRC Doctoral Research Prize Fellowship. James' research interests include the development of advanced diagnostics for electrochemical technologies and the design of new battery systems.
Jessica has a Master's in chemical physics (MChemPhys) from the University of Edinburgh and is undertaking a PhD in electrolyte degradation in anode-free and traditional lithium-ion batteries, supervised by Professor Dame Clare Grey, as part of the Degradation project. Having always had a passion for science, she found a particular interest in battery studies during her industrial placement year and following employment at the Centre for Process Innovation Ltd (CPI). Here she worked on a variety of projects but found her attention always moving back to batteries. Jessica intends to build a career that combines her love for science with the desire to make a positive impact on society, particularly with climate change in mind, whether this be in academia or industry. She also enjoys sharing her passion for STEM outreach activities, either through an academic institution or the STEM Ambassadors platform.
Job Titles:
- Energy Storage Analyst / View Profile
John-Joseph Marie joined the Faraday Institution in August 2022 as an Energy Storage Analyst. His passions include the development of energy storage technologies, materials science, and sustainable development. He works closely with the Chief Economist, carrying out research for Insights and other Faraday Institution Reports. He also collaborates with the commercialisation team on TSCANs.
Prior to joining the Faraday Institution, he completed his PhD at the University of Oxford under the supervision of Prof. Sir Peter Bruce, FRS. His research was focused on the development of next generation cathode materials for Li-ion and Na-ion batteries.
John-Joseph graduated with Honours from the University of Southampton with a First-Class MChem degree in 2018. His Master's project focused on the development of nickel-based catalysts for alkaline electrolysers, with applications in green hydrogen generation.
Job Titles:
- Business Intelligence Manger / View Profile
Jonathan joined the Faraday Institution in May 2022 as a Business Intelligence Manager. He works closely with the Commercialisation Director to help identify and develop commercialisation opportunities and owns the TSCAN process. TSCAN is the Faraday Institution's methodology to prioritise and direct the activities of its internal commercialisation team to the research areas that are likely to have the most substantive impact on the UK economy.
Prior to joining the Faraday Institution, he worked in Dyson's battery research programme and was responsible for process development and industrialising lab-based research activities into manufacturing-scale concepts. Prior to that, he worked on novel technologies for Dyson's personal care products and was also seconded to the office of the CEO. Jonathan has also worked for IBM and has experience in a law firm.
Job Titles:
- Chairman
- Chief Executive Officer of VPI
Jorge is the Chief Executive Officer of VPI and is a representative of the members of VPI Immingham LLP. He joined the company in November 2022.
Close Julian Holland PhD Researcher - University of Southampton Julian Holland is a CASE PhD Student working on the atomistic simulation of battery materials using linear scaling density functional theory in the Skylaris group at the University of Southampton, and is affiliated to the Faraday Institution Multi-scale Modelling project. He maintains an active twitter account (@Julian_Q_Chem) highlighting topics of interest in his field and adjacent fields (please feel free to follow him!) Julian is the member of the Early Career Researcher Committee responsible for communications and visibility of the upcoming Faraday Institute ECR 2022 conference.
Job Titles:
- Market Analysis and Commercialisation Manager / View Profile
Laura is a Market Analysis and Commercialisation Manager, working closely with the Commercialisation Team and Project Managers to support commercial opportunities for energy storage research.
Responsibilities include assessing market potential of technologies and projects, identifying pathways to market for Faraday Institution research and supporting commercialisation opportunities.
Prior to joining the Faraday Institution, Laura worked in corporate social responsibility at Genel Energy plc, in corporate finance at JP Morgan and managed projects for private offices.
Laura has an undergraduate and Masters in Materials Engineering from University of Oxford.
Job Titles:
- Grants and Contracts Administrator / View Profile
Laura Male joined the Faraday Institution in June 2023 as Grants and Contracts Administrator.
Bringing with her experience in customer service, coordination, and administration roles in a wide variety of industries, she was most recently the Stakeholder Engagement and Visits Coordinator at Diamond Light Source for nearly 7 years. There, (in close collaboration with cross-campus counterparts) she was responsible for the logistics, planning and delivery for all high-level stakeholder, funding agency and VIP visits to the facility.
Prior to this Laura worked for Harley-Davidson Motorcycles as their Senior International Business Administrator where she coordinated the contracts document library and was responsible for collecting, collating, and delivering month end reporting for their portfolio of finance, insurance and warranty products in the Europe, Middle East, and Africa region.
Lou's background is Materials Science, graduating with a BEng and MRes from the University of Birmingham. Lou is undertaking a PhD focusing on the recovery and recycling of PVDF binder from electric vehicle lithium-ion batteries, under the supervision of Professor Paul Anderson. Prior to starting their PhD, Lou worked as a research master's student in the Kendrick group at Birmingham, where they focused on direct loop recycling of lithium-ion batteries. It was here that they decided that they wanted to pursue a PhD in the battery sector. Lou hopes to work in sustainability and critical materials in the future.
Job Titles:
- Head of Communications
- Head of Communications / View Profile
Louise Gould is a marketing and communications professional who has centred her career around technology-based organisations. She joined the Faraday Institution after 5 years as Marketing Communications Manager at the renewable fuels company Velocys. There she was responsible for all marketing, communications and brand activities for this pre-profit, publicly-listed company as it endeavoured to commercialise its proprietary technology by developing biorefineries in the UK and US to convert waste sources of carbon into sustainable fuels. Her role included formulation of communications strategy with C-suite executives, as well as the operational delivery of projects across messaging development, stakeholder management, PR, annual reporting, events, naming and branding, social media strategy and website development.
Prior to joining Velocys she served as Marketing Manager for an equipment manufacturer serving the print industry. She was also Product Manager for one of Oxford Instruments' range of low temperature sample environments used for spectroscopic techniques that sold into research institutions worldwide. She started her career as a scientific consultant and project manager at AEA Technology, who was also based at Harwell Science and Innovation Campus.
Louise graduated from the University of Cambridge with a BA in Natural Sciences (Chemistry) and holds an MSc in the Chemistry of Advanced Materials from the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST).
Job Titles:
- Chairman of Audit, Finance and Risk Committee
- Founder and CEO of Electric Revolution Ventures
Mark Newman is founder and CEO of Electric Revolution Ventures, and is a renowned expert, advisor and investor in batteries, semiconductors and electric vehicles. Mark was the top ranked analyst and lead author of Bernstein's all time most read research globally, "Electric Revolution" and "Battery Bible" and is a frequent speaker and commentator on these topics.
Mark was seed investor and formerly Chief Commercial Officer and Head of Strategy at fast-charge battery pioneers, Nyobolt. He is an active investor in several other start-ups and advisor to Ivanhoe Capital Acquisition and SES.ai, which recently combined and listed on the NYSE. Mark also advises other investors including Oxford Science Enterprises.
Mark previously spent over a decade as Managing Director and Senior Analyst covering technology at Bernstein, where he spearheaded the Electric Revolution thematic research covering batteries, semiconductors and the electric vehicle value chain. Prior to Bernstein, Mark worked at Samsung in Korea, where he led several strategic initiatives, venture investments and acquisitions. He also worked at Applied Materials in California, supporting the world's leading semiconductor manufacturing companies in the United States, Europe and Asia.
Mark holds a Master's in Chemical Engineering from University College London, and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Job Titles:
- Chairman
- Member of Audit, Finance and Risk Committee
- Vice - President
Professor Mark Spearing is the Vice-President, Research and Enterprise at the University of Southampton. Previously he was the Pro Vice-Chancellor (International) and Head of the School of Engineering Sciences, having been appointed as the Professor of Engineering Materials in 2004. He was a faculty member at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 1994-2004. His personal research focuses on structural and functional materials. He holds a BA and PhD in Engineering from the University of Cambridge. More...
Job Titles:
- Chief Strategy Officer
- Media Contact
- Chief Strategy Officer / View Profile
Matt Howard is Chief Strategy Officer for the Faraday Institution. He is responsible for working with the CEO and the Executive Team to drive the organisation's overall strategic direction. He oversees a portfolio that includes developing and stewarding new strategic partnerships, international and government relations and relationships that build the Faraday Institution's impact, visibility, value, thought leadership and longevity.
Matt is a thirty-year veteran in communications and engagement, specialising in research communications for some of the world's leading universities and scientific institutions, including the University of Chicago, University of Michigan and Columbia University among others.
For a decade, he served as the Chief Communications Officer and director of the communications, education and public affairs division for the US Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory, where he was responsible for communicating the distinctive scientific culture and the ground-breaking impacts of one of the largest science and engineering research laboratories in the US. In this capacity, he was responsible for communications strategy, brand and visual identity, media relations, crisis communications, internal communications, educational programmes and community engagement.
He holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, a master's degree from Miami University, and a bachelor's degree from the University of Rochester.
Job Titles:
- Research Project Manager / View Profile
Nick joined the Faraday Institution as Research Project Manager in December 2023. Collaborating closely with Research Programme Director James Gaade and fellow Project Managers, Nick oversees our diverse research projects. Nick has a broad background of working in industrially-led R&D in the automotive industry, spanning traction energy storage systems and electrochemistry application.
Nick's previous role at Jaguar Land Rover included working in the successful HMV Catapult collaboration with University of Warwick and Tata Motors, involving many of the academic and industrial partners who are active in the Faraday Institution's portfolio. He has extensive experience of complex collaborative projects and intellectual property management.
Nick's focus at the Faraday Institution is managing projects within the Ayrton Challenge on Energy Storage, in addition to the NEXGENNA and SafeBatt projects.
Job Titles:
- Commercialisation Director / View Profile
Since 2021, Nick has served as the Commercialisation Director of the Faraday Institution.
Prior to this, 2015 Nick set up the Energy Systems Catapult on behalf of UK Government. He was an Executive Director there for 5 years, helping to build it into a £20m, 200 staff organisation. His achievements included enabling the Catapult to leverage and acquire the Energy Technologies Institute's 10-year legacy including its Strategic Analysis capabilities and the Smart Systems and Heat Programme and also supporting the origination of the Industrial Strategy PFER programme.
In 2008 Nick co-founded and was CEO of PowerOasis Ltd, a spin-out from Motorola. PowerOasis developed energy solutions for telecoms networks in parts of the works where the electricity grid is unreliable or unavailable. Nick built the company into a micro multinational with business in Asia, Africa, Europe and the US before exiting after securing a large round of venture capital investment to further grow the company.
In 2002 Nick co-founded and was MD of SETsquared, the leading global technology accelerator that works with the Universities of Bath, Bristol, Cardiff, Exeter, Southampton and Surrey. SETsquared has supported over 4,000 entrepreneurs and helped raise over £1.8bn of venture investment.
Nicole is a Postgraduate researcher at The University of Southampton, focussing their work on the development of aluminium ion batteries. Nicole's work centres around the environmental impacts of battery production and use as a metric for their design development, which involves employing life cycle analyses, lab-based testing and the use of large facilities such as Diamond Light Source for diffraction studies.
Job Titles:
- Administration Officer
- Administration Officer / View Profile
Nicole has over 20 years' experience and has worked in a wide range of roles in administration, customer service and finance. Nicole joined after 7 years working within the medical service industry as a Finance & Administration Assistant. Prior to that she held a managing role at a printing company, where she gained experience in business management.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer
- Chief Operating Officer
- CEO, Professor
Professor Pam Thomas FinstP Cphys became the Chief Executive Officer of the Faraday Institution in September 2020 after a decade in senior management roles at the University of Warwick that culminated in a 5-year period as a Pro Vice Chancellor (Vice President) for Research. Pam is currently also a council member of the Science Technologies Facilities Council (STFC) and a Fellow of the Clean Growth Leadership Network (CGLN). Retaining her professorial status at the University of Warwick, she chairs the Social Inclusion Committee in her non-executive capacity as an Academic Vice President.
Her personal research is in the field of functional ferroelectric materials where she has published more than 160 peer-reviewed journal articles and two patents, one of which became the basis of a spin-out company, Pro KTP, to exploit the invention of a new low-conductivity variant of the nonlinear optical material potassium titanyl phosphate (KTP). She was educated at the University of Oxford, where she took a BA (Hons) in Physics and a DPhil on the subject of Optical Activity in Crystals in the Physical Crystallography Group of the Clarendon Laboratory.
Job Titles:
- Chairman
- Professor of Physics at the University of Chicago
Peter B. Littlewood is Professor of Physics at the University of Chicago. He served as the 13th Director of the US Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory, after having served as the associate laboratory director of its Physical Sciences and Engineering directorate. He spent the previous 14 years at the University of Cambridge, where he last served as the head of the Cavendish Laboratory and the Department of Physics. Littlewood is internationally recognized for his research in a number of areas, including superconductivity, semiconductor optics, and magnetic materials. Littlewood holds a bachelor's degree in natural sciences (physics) and a doctorate in physics, both from the University of Cambridge. More...
Job Titles:
- Digital and Social Media Coordinator / View Profile
Petra joined the Faraday Institution in November 2023 as the Digital and Social Media Coordinator, maintaining and growing an online presence for The Faraday Institution.
Her academic journey has laid a strong foundation for her passion for science communication. Embarking on her first full-time role, Petra brings a wealth of relevant experience from her various roles at university: as a STEM and digital ambassador, an events assistant, a publicist for a university society, and a science writer for her student paper.
Petra graduated from the University of Leeds in the summer of 2023 with an integrated master's in biology.
Ramin obtained her MEng degree in Chemical Engineering from University College London in 2021 and is currently completing her PhD at Imperial College London. Ramin's research focuses on studying dendrite nucleation and evolution in lithium-ion batteries and is part of the SafeBatt project. She has interests in nanoscale systems and correlative microscopic techniques which she hopes to leverage to help combat climate change and contribute towards global efforts to create a more sustainable world.
Job Titles:
- Research Fellow - University of Sheffield - NEXTRODE
Ruihuan Ge received his Ph.D. in 2018 with a topic of creating tuneable agglomerates via 3D printing from Monash University, Australia. Prior to joining the University of Sheffield, he was a research associate at University of Birmingham and University of Bath (2018-2020).
His research interests include but not limited to: particle dynamics, energy storage composites and additive manufacturing. He has published over 30 JCR-Q1 papers in renowned journals, e.g. AIChE Journal, Chemical Engineering Science, Chemical Engineering Journal, Energy, and Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing.
He joined the University of Sheffield as a Faraday Institution Research Fellow, working with Dr Rachel Smith and Dr Denis Cumming.
Sam is a PhD researcher based across Imperial College London and UCL working on electrospinning carbon fibres for high performance structural Li-S batteries. She obtained her Materials Science MEng at the University of Oxford in 2018.
Job Titles:
- Researcher
- Research Associate at the University of Leicester
Sean Scott is a Research Associate at the University of Leicester. In June 2023, he started his current position focusing on designing lithium-ion batteries for disassembly plus the characterization and relithiation of end-of-life materials as part of the ReLiB project. Prior to this he did a PhD, which was also associated with the Faraday Institution at the University of Leicester entitled ‘Alternative binders for simplified battery recycling' under the supervision of Prof. Karl Ryder and Prof. Andrew Abbott.
Sir Oliver served as the Member of Parliament for West Dorset from 1997 to 2019. From 2010, he was the Minister for Government Policy in David Cameron's coalition government and coordinated the push to make the UK a world leader in electric vehicles. He continued to serve as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Cabinet Minister in overall charge of the Cabinet Office until July 2016. He was educated at the University of Cambridge, Princeton University, and London Business School. In a varied career, Sir Oliver has been a research fellow at the University of Cambridge, a civil servant, and a bank director.
Job Titles:
- Chief Scientist, Chair of Expert Panel / View Profile
Professor Sir Peter Bruce FRS is a founder and Chief Scientist of the Faraday Institution. He is also leading the research project on solid state batteries and a member of the senior leadership team of the solid-state battery commercialisation initiative. He is the Wolfson Professor of Materials at the University of Oxford as well as Physical Secretary and Vice-President of the Royal Society. In this year's Birthday Honours List, Peter received a knighthood for his services to science and innovation.
Peter's research interests embrace materials chemistry and electrochemistry, especially lithium and sodium batteries. Recent efforts have focused on the synthesis and understanding of new anionic redox cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries, , the challenges of the lithium-air battery and understanding the processes taking place in solid-state batteries.
His research has been recognised by a number of awards and fellowships, including from the Royal Society, the Royal Society of Chemistry, the German Chemical Society and The Electrochemical Society. In June 2022 he received the RSC's Longstaff prize for pioneering research on the chemistry of materials with applications in renewable energy. He was elected to the Royal Society (UK Academy of Sciences) in 2007 and the Royal Society of Edinburgh (Scottish Academy of Sciences) in 1994. He has appeared on the Thomson Reuters/Clarivate list of highly cited researchers since 2015.
Sophia Constantinou is a science communicator with a BSc in Chemistry from the University of Edinburgh. She was a Faraday Institution undergraduate intern in 2020 and won an award for the infographics and podcast she created to explain lithium-ion battery manufacturing.
Job Titles:
- Chief Economist / View Profile
Stephen Gifford joined the Faraday Institution in March 2019. His focus is on making the organisation the go-to place for insights into the technological, economic and social benefits of batteries and electrical energy storage. He is developing techno-economic models of supply, demand and cost, covering both global and the UK markets.
Stephen has around 30 years of economics experience, including as the Chief Economist at Grant Thornton, the Director of Economics at the CBI and as a senior economist at KPMG, Oxford Economics, Civil Aviation Authority and the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit. Stephen is currently also a Non-Executive Director of the Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership and member of the Regulatory Policy Committee.
Stephen brings particular skills and expertise in economic policy, transport economics, infrastructure, market assessment and the role of the public sector. He has a first-class degree in Economics from the University of Liverpool and a MSc in Econometrics and Mathematical Economics from the London School of Economics.
Prior to joining the Faraday Institution, Susan was Chief Financial Officer of Velocys, the AIM-listed renewable fuels company, a position she held for 10 years through the company's transformational years from early stage start-up to the point of having a commercial plant in operation. Prior to that, she was at the BOC Group (now Linde Group) where she held various senior-level financial management and business development positions in the UK and in Japan. Susan helped to set up and then, from 2003 to 2006, served as Vice President and CFO of Japan Air Gases (JAG), a joint venture between The BOC Group and Air Liquide.
Susan has an honours degree in economics from the University of Cambridge and is a chartered accountant (FCA) having originally trained with Arthur Andersen in London.
Job Titles:
- Research Project Manager / View Profile
Sylwia Waluś joined the Faraday Institution as Research Project Manager in June 2021. She works closely with the Head of Program Management and is responsible for managing the portfolio of the main Faraday Institution research projects as well as supporting the team with her scientific background in battery technologies.
In the past she has been involved in various next-generation battery projects, both commercially and government funded. In particular, lithium-sulfur technology is her field of expertise, in which she has been very active for almost 9 years.
Prior to joining the Faraday Institution, Sylwia spent over 5 years with OXIS Energy, working on science and engineering of Li-S technology as a Senior Scientist and further as a Product Manager. She has also spent 1 year with Jaguar Land Rover as a Project Engineer, sharing her responsibilities between the research team on establishing a solid-state batteries project and advanced engineering on evaluation of commercial Li-ion cells.
Before moving to the UK, Sylwia obtained her PhD in Li-S batteries at CEA and Université Grenoble Alpes in France. She obtained her MSc degree through a European programme, part of the Alistore-ERI consortium, dedicated to Materials for Energy Storage and Conversion (MESC), during which she was a student in various European universities: Marseille, Cordoba, Uppsala and Warsaw. She obtained her BSc degree in Chemical Technology at Warsaw University of Technology in Poland, where she is originally from.
Job Titles:
- Director of the Argonne Collaborative Center for Energy Storage Science
Venkat Srinivasan is the Director of the Argonne Collaborative Center for Energy Storage Science (ACCESS) and a Senior Scientist at Argonne National Laboratory. As Director of ACCESS, he develops the strategy and execution plan for the energy storage activities at Argonne, linking the lab's capabilities and facilities to solve the numerous cross- cutting challenges that impede commercialisation of energy storage materials, devices, and systems. Previously, Venkat also served as the Deputy Director of the Joint Center for Energy Storage Research (JCESR), a $25 million-a-year programme aimed at developing a fundamental understanding of the challenges in beyond Li-ion batteries.
Venkat's research interest is in developing meso- and macro-scale models for battery materials and combining them with experimental characterisation to help design new materials, electrodes, and devices. Prior to joining Argonne National Lab, Venkat was a scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. Venkat joined the scientific staff at LBNL in 2003 after postdoctoral studies at LBNL and Pennsylvania State University. He received his PhD from the University of South Carolina.
Veronika studied chemistry at the University of Manchester and then joined WMG, University of Warwick as a Graduate Trainee Engineer, where she has gained experience in cell testing and fabrication in the Electrochemical Materials and Battery Scale Up facilities. Veronika is undertaking a PhD at the University of Warwick under the supervision of Professor Louis Piper, developing instrumented cells for degradation research. She decided for pursue the PhD to further understand the operation and degradation of batteries, as her career interest lies in the fundamental development of battery technology which can help mitigate the effects of climate change.
Job Titles:
- Executive Assistant
- HR Officer
- Executive Assistant and HR Officer / View Profile
Vicki has over 25 years' experience working in the administrative, HR and office management fields. Most recently Vicki held the position of Office Manager at Oxford Biotrans, a University of Oxford spin-out company developing and commercialising enzymatic process technologies that yield high-value chemical compounds. Prior to that she was at Velocys plc, an AIM-listed renewable fuels company for 11 years, where she was the Office & HR Manager. Vicki holds an advanced diploma in business studies and also a certificate in Human Resource Management. She is an associate member of The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).
Job Titles:
- Research Project Manager / View Profile
Will Richardson joined the Faraday Institution as Research Project Manager in September 2022. He works closely with the Research Programme Director James Gaade, and other two Project Managers, who collectively are responsible for managing the Faraday Institution's portfolio of research projects. Will supports the team with his previous experience in the UK battery industry in materials selection and cell design.
Prior to joining the Faraday Institution, Will worked at Nexeon developing and testing silicon anodes for use in high-energy pouch and cylindrical cells. He was responsible at Dyson for cathode materials selection and pouch cell testing for high-power applications. In 2017, Will developed improved production and characterisation methods for the microfabrication of solid-state batteries at Ilika Technologies. He completed his PhD in electrochemistry at the University of Southampton.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Oxford Archers Club
- Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Yige Sun is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Materials at the University of Oxford, a MPLS divisional enterprise and innovation fellow, and a mentor in careers support network led by the University's People and Organisational Development unit. She obtained an MS degree from Tsinghua University and a PhD from the University of Tsukuba. She was a junior researcher in the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), Japan.
Job Titles:
- Researcher
- PhD Researcher - University of Oxford - NEXGENNA
Zoë completed an undergraduate degree in Chemistry at the University of Birmingham and is undertaking a PhD focusing on high power sodium-ion batteries, supervised by Professor Bill David, as part of the NEXGENNa project. Having undertaken a Faraday Undergraduate Summer Experience (FUSE) Internship in 2021 creating interactive electrode manufacturing resources, she was inspired to continue her studies and research into batteries and the energy sector. Zoë has a real passion and drive for research into new sustainable battery technologies and developing commercially viable alternative battery materials.
If you would like to contact the committee or are interested in joining, please email ecr@faraday.ac.uk.