CIRCULAR CHEMICAL - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Research Fellow / University of Surrey
Ben's background is in Materials Engineering having graduated from Swansea University in 2019 with an MSc by research in collaboration with industry. His EngD continued a collaborative approach to research and specialised in advanced manufacturing, polymer science, and circular economy principles. In 2020, he worked with the Resource Efficiency and Circular Economy division at the Welsh Government to develop strategic plans and assessments for a sustainable recovery in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. He recently joined the University of Surrey as a Research Fellow, where he works in the department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering. His industry driven research focus is to transform wasteful chemical engineering technologies to circular ones through techno-economic modelling and life cycle analysis, with a vision to deliver maximum value creation at near zero waste production by unlocking the potential for industrial symbiosis across the chemical sectors.
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- Marketing Co - Ordinator / University of Liverpool
Bhavin is a postdoctoral researcher in electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide at the University of Liverpool with broad experience across catalysis, electrochemistry, and chemical engineering. During his undergraduate and Master's degree studies at the University of Tokyo, he conducted research on photocatalytic water splitting using semiconductor particles. His DPhil work in bioelectrochemistry, with Prof. Fraser A. Armstrong at the University of Oxford, led to a novel electrochemical nicotinamide cofactor regeneration system, based on an enzyme from a photosynthetic pathway. He returned to the University of Tokyo as a postdoctoral researcher in heterogeneous catalysis for methane conversion. At Liverpool, his current work is focused on catalyst and electrode design for scalable carbon dioxide reduction systems.
Darren Budd - Chief Commercial Officer
Darren Budd was born in Taplow, United Kingdom, in 1967. Darren studied Chemistry at Kingston University, United Kingdom, and then went on to do his doctorate on Transition Metal Complexation of Conducting Polymers. Darren has worked for BASF for the last 24 years and has held a number of positions within the company including having worked in Germany for BASF's Venture Capital Business for 5 years. Since 1 st Jan 2016, Darren has been Commercial Director for BASF Plc. This role is responsible for the Chemical Sales activities of BASF in the UK as well as the Commercial activities of BASF in the UK to develop growth. In addition to this Darren is part of BASF's Academic Partnership development team Darren represents BASF on the board of two trade associations; Chemical Business Association (CBA - Currently Chairperson) and the British Coatings Federation (BCF). In addition, he is an Executive Member of the IBioIC in Glasgow and a Board member of the Science and Technology Facilities Council - Industry and Business board. Outside of work Darren is Chair of Governors for a local Primary Academy in Wilmslow and in his spare time is a keen Golfer.
Job Titles:
- Research Associate
- Research Associate / University of Liverpool
Donald Inns is a post-doctoral research associate working in the Rosseinsky group, having joined in 2023. His current research focuses on the development of catalysts for the transformation of polymer waste to liquid chemicals and fuels. He received his MChem from Cardiff University in 2018, where he conducted a research project within the Cardiff Catalysis Institute. Following this, he studied a PhD at Loughborough University in the Kondrat group. His thesis was focused on the development of new lanthanum-based catalysts for sustainable hydrogen production via the aqueous phase reforming process. His research interests include the synthesis and advanced characterisation of heterogenous catalysts, the production of chemicals and fuels from biomass and waste, and the study of catalyst structure-activity relationships and deactivation mechanisms.
Job Titles:
- Early Career Research Lead and Project Co - I / Cardiff University
In 2010 the physical-chemistry department at the University Rovira i Virgili awarded me with a PhD which received the recognition of the Best Thesis in Computational Chemistry in 2011. I moved to University College London as the computational lead in EPSRC funded programmes investigating carbon dioxide reduction catalysed by iron sulfides and oxide surfaces in direct collaboration with experimental groups. This successful research activity was recognised in 2012 when I was awarded the Ramsay Memorial Fellowship Trust allowing me to develop further in the field of materials and catalytic chemistry. I was appointed a University Research Fellow (URF) in 2015,… [Read more]
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- Project Co - I / University of Liverpool
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- Research Associate / Imperial College
Andrea is a PDRA at the Sargent Centre for Process System Engineering, Imperial College London. As a member of the UKRI National Interdisciplinary Centre for Circular Chemical Economy, his research focuses on techno-economic and life-cycle environmental assessment of enabling technologies for a UK circular chemical economy. Andrea received his PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Padova in 2015 and in 2017 he joined Imperial College. He contributed to different research projects, including the EPSRC funded initiatives Future Targeted Healthcare Manufacturing HUB, and Flexible Routes to Liquid Fuels from CO2 by Advanced Catalysis and Engineering. Prior to joining Imperial College, he worked at the Chemical Engineering Department of University of Padova in the area of biofuels production from microalgae with a focus on the modelling of light-growth interaction for process optimisation purposes. His research interests lie in energy systems, low-carbon fuels, process modelling, optimisation and parameter estimation.
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- Project Co - I / University of Sheffield
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- Academic Programme Lead / Loughborough University
I joined Loughborough as Lecturer in Chemical Engineering in 2018, with a background in thermochemical biomass conversion, catalytic bio-oil upgrading and algae process development and scale-up. My current research is focused on the production of sustainable chemicals and fuels from biomass and wastes, by combining and integrating biological, thermochemical and catalytic processes to develop optimal conversion pathways. [Read more]
Job Titles:
- Associate Member / University of Sheffield
Katie is currently working as a technician for STFC Daresbury Laboratories. Katie was a Research Associate for the Chemical & Biological Engineering (CBE) Department at The University of Sheffield. Katie started her role in 2021 and was working with the Centre and the Styring group to develop evidence-based policies for the implementation of a circular economy in the chemicals manufacturing industries. Using her knowledge of carbon dioxide and green chemistry, Katie focused on evaluating the performance of competing technology pathways and devising new evidence-based policy instruments to stimulate supply, demand and investment in sustainable chemicals. Katie has a strong background in chemistry, in particular green and carbon dioxide chemistry, completing her PhD in Green Chemistry at the University of York in 2017. Katie's PhD research consisted of developing novel and sustainable carbon dioxide utilization and carbon capture and storage methodologies. From 2018 to 2020, Katie was a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence of the University of York, researching the development of sustainable catalysts for cyclic carbonate synthesis, in collaboration with researchers at the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. Katie then spent a short time from 2020-2021 working as a Technician for the Central Teaching Laboratories at the University of Liverpool.
Job Titles:
- Associate Member / University of Surrey
Dr. Lei Xing joined the Department of Chemical and Process Engineering, University of Surrey, as a lecturer in September 2022. Prior to this, he worked as postdoctoral research associate in world-leading universities, including Loughborough University, University of Oxford, Purdue University, University of Birmingham, etc. Dr. Lei Xing received his PhD in Chemical and Process Engineering from Newcastle University in 2014. His research interest lies in the sustainable growth of chemical and energy industries via industrial decarbonation and AI-based digitalisation within the context of circular economy, emphasis on innovative carbon capture and utilisation, fuel cells, flow batteries, and electrolysis technologies for next-generation processes, devices, and systems. His current research focuses on the whole system thinking and optimisation of the industrial clusters consisting of advanced carbon capture and utilisation and intermittent renewable energy, in which AI-based adaptive optimisation, techno-economic analysis (TEA) and life cycle assessment (LCA) are performed to underpin the Net Zero target.
Job Titles:
- Project Management Board Representative / Cardiff University
- University of Cardiff in 2021 As a Research Associate
Dr. Mohammad Mazharul Islam joined University of Cardiff in 2021 as a Research Associate in Dr. Alberto's research group. Currently his research focuses on Computational study for the development of advanced catalytic processes to enable effective transformation of polymer waste into chemicals or fuels. Prior to this, Dr. Islam has worked as Faraday Institution Research Fellow at the Department of Chemistry of the University of Bath, UK between July 2018 and May 2021. He has been awarded with the visiting researcher contract by the Mulliken Center for Theoretical Chemistry, University of Bonn for a period between 2019-2021. He has completed… [Read more]
Dr. Mohammad Mazharul Islam joined University of Cardiff in 2021 as a Research Associate in Dr. Alberto's research group. Currently his research focuses on Computational study for the development of advanced catalytic processes to enable effective transformation of polymer waste into chemicals or fuels. Prior to this, Dr. Islam has worked as Faraday Institution Research Fellow at the Department of Chemistry of the University of Bath, UK between July 2018 and May 2021. He has been awarded with the visiting researcher contract by the Mulliken Center for Theoretical Chemistry, University of Bonn for a period between 2019-2021. He has completed his BSc (Hons) and MSc in Chemistry from the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh in 1999 and 2001 respectively. He has obtained his PhD in Theoretical Chemistry from the University of Hannover, Germany in July 2005 with the ‘George-Christoph-Lichtenberg' Scholarship of the Land Niedersachsen. As of 2021, Dr. Islam has over sixteen years of experience in academia. Prior to joining Bath, Dr Islam has worked as senior research fellow between 2010-2018 at Mulliken Center for Theoretical Chemistry of the University of Bonn, as postdoc at ENSCP, CNRS, Paris between 2007-2010, as visiting researcher at the University of Milano in 2009, as research associate at the University of South Australia between 2005-2007. Over the years, he has gained vast experience in the computational simulation of a wide variety of materials having practical applications in daily lives through interdisciplinary research areas including (i) energy materials such as batteries, solar energy, (ii) investigation of photocatalytic activities of TiO 2, (iii) materials for construction, transportation, power generation etc, and (iv) catalyst materials based on mesoporous oxides. He has the expertise to teach many courses in Chemistry and Materials Science including Theoretical and Computational Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, for undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Dr. Islam has experience as a mentor. So far, he has successfully guided three Postdocs, five PhD, one MSc and three BSc students. He has successful collaboration with many world-renowned research groups and has been successful in several funding applications.
Job Titles:
- Research Assistant / Newcastle University
I am a Research Assistant for the UKRI Interdisciplinary Centre for Circular Chemical Economy at Newcastle University. I am working with the Centre and Professor Libby Gibson to unify efforts across the three work themes by preparing a roadmap showing the current status and future prospects for the Circular Economy of Olefins. I have a background in physical chemistry, studying a PhD at Durham University. My PhD focused on the phase behaviour of limonene microemulsions and how they interact with oil, with an emphasis on the kinetic processes of micelle exchange. [Read more] Contact Email: matthew.royle@newcastle.ac.uk
Job Titles:
- Associate Member / Heriot - Watt University
- Research Assistant at the Edinburgh Business School
Melissa Marques is a Research Assistant at the Edinburgh Business School at Heriot-Watt University. As a part-time member of the UKRI-funded Interdisciplinary Centre for Chemical Circular Economy, she contributes to research investigating how moving to a circular economy impacts businesses and what interventions in the wider system are required to accelerate the transition in the chemical sector. Additionally, Melissa is at the final stages of her PhD which discusses the relationships between circular economy and firm productivity and value creation. Having collaborated with dozens of companies in funded projects in recent years, she has published peer-reviewed reports and academic papers, and regularly presents at industry-focused workshops, webinars, and academic conferences. She also has experience supporting and delivering teaching in systems thinking, managing business performance, and operations management at Heriot-Watt University.
Prior to joining the University of Edinburgh as a Lecturer in Finance, Mengfei worked on policy, society, and finance for a UK circular chemical economy in the UKRI NICER Programme, based at Heriot-Watt University. Mengfei holds a PhD in carbon finance from the University of Edinburgh. She was involved in several research projects, including the UKRI VaCoBD project, BHP CCS in China's Iron and Steel Sector project, Carbon Emission Modelling of Energy Systems for Retrofit sponsored by the SFC and RGC, Developing a Linkage Readiness Carbon Market in China funded by the World Bank Group, and Enabling the Legal and Regulatory Framework for Large-scale CCUS Projects in Guangdong, China sponsored by the UK FCO and Guangdong DRC. Her research interests lie in climate investment and finance, energy and low-carbon policies, including carbon pricing, emission trading schemes, and sustainable finance.
Job Titles:
- Associate Member / University College London
Preetam Sharma was a Research Associate at Loughborough University between June 2021 to Sept 2023. In CircularChem project under Professor Eileen Yu's supervision, he developed nano-catalysts and electrochemical reactors for carbon dioxide utilisation. He is currently working as a research fellow on solar-driven electrochemical system for sustainable direct CO 2 reduction in the Institute of Materials Discovery at the University College London. Specifically, he is developing electrocatalysts and scaling them up for the direct conversion of CO 2 to methanol. The investigation of the electrocatalysts by advanced techniques including in-situ techniques is also of particular focus for him. He is also interested in developing electrochemical reactors and systems which can be operable at high current and high selectivity at industrially relevant operational lifetime. Preetam Sharma has several years' experience in electrocatalysis, photoelectrochemistry and materials development for water splitting and CO 2 reduction.
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- Knowledge Transfer Manager
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- Business Development Manager / Newcastle University
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- Research Associate / University of Sheffield
I am a research associate in the group of Prof Peter Styring in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering (CBE) at the University of Sheffield, aiming to develop evidence-based policies for a circular economy of essential chemicals, especially via non-fossil fuel routes. More broadly, my research interests have spanned high-density polyethylene (HDPE) melt processing, crystallisation and thermomechanical characterisation, carbon fibre-epoxy aerospace composites and synthetic chemistry for novel drug pre-cursors. I have particular interest and expertise in polymer melt rheology and the application of novel time-resolved techniques. Prior to joining the centre, I held a research associate post at the… [Read more]
Job Titles:
- Co - Director of the UKRI National Interdisciplinary Circular Economy Research Hub
Job Titles:
- Associate Member / Imperial College
- Research Associate at the Imperial College London
Grazia Leonzio is a Research Associate at the Imperial College London (Chemical Engineering department). Grazia has a strong background in renewable energy, carbon dioxide, modelling and optimization of chemical processes with environmental analyses. In her PhD thesis, she developed a mathematical model for a carbon capture utilization and storage supply chain, focusing the attention on carbon dioxide utilization (particularly methanol production). Currently, she is working on direct air capture to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, electrochemical processes for carbon dioxide utilization according to a digital and circular economy and supply chains modelling. [Read more]
Job Titles:
- Student / Cardiff University
Max completed his BSc in Chemistry at the University of Liverpool in 2018. As an undergraduate, he was awarded the Liverpool International College Excellence Scholarship, and volunteered as a demonstrator as part of an outreach programme for disadvantaged high school students. After graduating, Max returned home to the Isle of Man, where he received a job offer to work in Japan as a teacher in 2020. However, after the COVID-19 pandemic, he decided to return to academia and was invited into the Alberto Roldan Group at Cardiff University in 2021, under the joint supervision of Dr Roldan and Prof Marc Pera-Titus. While Max originally joined the Roldan group as an MPhil student, he was promoted to a full PhD student within nine months of study on the joint recommendation of his postgraduate review panel and his supervisors. Currently, Max is working towards completing his doctoral thesis on the uses of DFT modelling in green catalysis. His computational research interests include biomass-based synthesis and d-block heterogeneous catalysis.
Job Titles:
- Research Associate / Loughborough University
Before being appointed Chief Executive Officer in April 2018, Philip worked with NEPIC for 6 years helping deliver ERDF projects, and serving its pharmaceutical members. Prior to his time with the Cluster, Philip held roles at the Centre of Excellence in Life Sciences and technical management positions within GSK in the UK and US. With extensive pharmaceutical process development and manufacturing experience in the fields of antibiotics and biopharmaceuticals, Philip holds a first degree in Biochemistry, a masters in Biochemical Engineering and is a member of the Institution of Chemical Engineers.
Job Titles:
- Project Co - I / University of Birmingham
I lead a research team that develops and studies catalysts for the sustainable production of fuels. Recent work has focused on the chemistry of carbon dioxide utilisation with programmes exploring how solar energy can be used to drive the production of useful fuels from only carbon dioxide and water. I completed my PhD in Chemistry at the University of Nottingham (2007) on the study of inorganic reaction mechanisms with transient spectroscopy and postdoctoral positions at Nottingham developing catalysts for the reduction of carbon dioxide and Imperial College London to study photoelectrochemical water splitting. I was appointed to a Lectureship in… [Read more]
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- Professor at Delft University of Technology
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- Professor
- Project Co - I / Loughborough University
Professor Buckley completed his degree in Manchester working with Dr Julia Dickinson and Professor Ian J. S. Fairlamb on the synthesis of alpha pyrone mimics and then moved to Loughborough to carry out a PhD with Professor Philip C. B. Page in the area of organocatalytic asymmetric epoxidation sponsored by the EPSRC and Avecia (with Professor John Blacker as Industrial Supervisor). Following this Prof Buckley worked as a PDRA with Professor Philip. C. B. Page for a further year working on the synthesis of N-Heterocyclic carbene ligands with Professor Steven D. R. Christie. In 2004 he was appointed as a university research fellow, working on projects with Professor Philip. C. B. Page and DSM (Netherlands), Prof. Harry Heaney, Prof. Graham Hutchings FRS (Cardiff University), Prof. Frank Marken (Bath University). In September 2007 he was appointed as a Research Councils UK Fellow, in September 2012 to a permanent Lectureship and in March 2014 he was promoted to Senior Lecturer in Organic Chemistry. In 2014-15 he was a Visiting Professor at the University of Utah with Professor Matthew S. Sigman's group and appointed Associate Editor of the RSC Advances Journal. In 2017 Ben joined the management board of the EPSRC Grand Challenge Network CO2Chem, in Feb 2020 was promoted to Reader in Organic Chemistry and in 2024 to Professor of Organic Chemistry.
The overall goal of our research is to develop safe, economically and environmentally sustainable chemical and biological processes through the synergistic use of advanced computational modelling and optimisation methods and process data. Our vision of process systems engineering has a strong focus on rigorous computation to predict the performance at scale of both existing and novel technology and empower decision-making, and we work in close collaboration with experimentalists. We furthermore develop software tools that implement these methods to ensure their dissemination (https://github.com/omega-icl). [Read more]
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- Theme 3 Lead and Project Co - I / Heriot - Watt University / 0 Blog Posts
I hold a MA(Hons) in Business Studies & Accounting and a PhD in Management both from the University of Edinburgh. I am an Associate Professor of Finance in the Edinburgh Business School at the Heriot-Watt University. My research focuses on banking and investment analytics by modelling the impact of uncertainty (e.g., macroeconomic and policy uncertainties, climate-risks) on banks'/firms' performance, lending/investment and risk-taking behaviours. I am also interested in the design of multidimensional frameworks (e.g., DEA, multi-criteria decision-making analysis-based approaches) to evaluate energy strategies and prediction models. She also has works related to energy economics around modelling/forecasting oil prices, and studying the dynamic impact of energy market uncertainty on the economy. I am… [Read more]
Job Titles:
- Professor
- Project Co - I / Loughborough University
Eileen joined Loughborough in 2020 from Newcastle University and she holds a Chair of Electrochemical Engineering in the Department of Chemical Engineering. After obtaining her PhD from Newcastle University pioneering the development of direct methanol alkaline fuel cells, she worked as a research fellow at Max Planck Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems, Germany, before returning to Newcastle University to take a prestigious EPSRC Research Fellowship (Life Science Interface). She has a wide range of experience and interests in various fields in electrochemical and bioelectrochemical systems for energy, carbon dioxide utilization, environmental and biomedical applications. [Read more]
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- Engagement Lead and Project Co - I / Newcastle University
- Professor of Energy Materials at Newcastle University
Libby is a Professor of Energy Materials at Newcastle University. Research in the Energy Materials group focuses on developing materials and devices for sustainable power, fuel and feedstocks. This includes solar cell and solar fuel devices that function at a molecular level and challenge the conventional solid-state photovoltaic technologies. It also involves extracting value from waste. Her team's research involves materials development, device assembly and characterization of the underpinning photophysics and electrochemistry. Her current roles include being the academic lead for the Northern Net Zero Accelerator PB-IAA, the EPSRC Northeast Transient Absorption Spectroscopy & Microscopy Facility, Institution Director of the… [Read more]
Libby is a Professor of Energy Materials at Newcastle University. Research in the Energy Materials group focuses on developing materials and devices for sustainable power, fuel and feedstocks. This includes solar cell and solar fuel devices that function at a molecular level and challenge the conventional solid-state photovoltaic technologies. It also involves extracting value from waste. Her team's research involves materials development, device assembly and characterization of the underpinning photophysics and electrochemistry. Her current roles include being the academic lead for the Northern Net Zero Accelerator PB-IAA, the EPSRC Northeast Transient Absorption Spectroscopy & Microscopy Facility, Institution Director of the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training, Renewable Energy at Northeast Universities (ReNU), and she is the engagement lead for the UKRI Interdisciplinary Centre for Circular Chemical Economy and the Light Harvesting theme lead for the UK Circular Chemicals Network. She is co-Director for Post-Graduate Research in the School of Natural and Environmental Science. Libby took up a lectureship at Newcastle in September 2014 and was promoted to Reader in 2018 and Professor in 2022. Her roles have included the founding co-Director of the Centre for Energy at Newcastle and Director of the £30M Newcastle University Academic Track (NUAcT) Fellowship scheme. Previously, she was awarded a Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Research Fellowship and a University of Nottingham Anne McLaren Research Fellowship 2010, having spent 3 years as a post-doc at the Centre for Molecular Devices, Uppsala University, Sweden, developing dye-sensitized solar cells. She completed her PhD in 2007 at the University of York, supervised by Prof Robin Perutz FRS and Prof Anne-Kathrin Duhme-Klair.
Jeremy leads Shell's strategic thinking and innovation agenda to enable the company to thrive through the energy transition. He is a member of the Shell Science Council, which comes together with leading external technology experts from top universities around the world to help Shell stay at the forefront of energy technology innovation. Prior to this, Jeremy was General Manager in Shell's Projects & Technology division where he was responsible for R&D on advanced biofuels and hydrogen at Shell's technology centres in Netherlands, USA, UK and India. Jeremy joined Shell in 1986 and has held various commercial and technology leadership positions based in the UK, Belgium, United Arab Emirates and Singapore, covering a variety of businesses including chemicals, lubricants, product safety, fuels and renewable energies. He holds a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Bristol and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and the Royal Society of Biology. He is a member of several advisory boards including NECEM (North East Centre for Energy Materials), the Solar Fuels Network, and Genome Canada. He is Honorary Professor in Chemistry at the University of Manchester. Shell chemicals companies are among the leading global producers of lower olefins, including ethylene, propylene, butadiene and isoprene. We also make intermediates, such as mono ethylene glycol (MEG), polyols and alpha olefins, and performance products, such as polyethylene. Our global chemicals business sells around 18 million metric tons of petrochemicals per year to over 1000 industrial customers. Shell is at the forefront of developing circularity in its processes. Our ambition is to use one million tonnes of plastic waste a year in our chemical plants by 2025. For example, since 2019 we produce high-end chemicals using a liquid feedstock made from plastic waste at our petrochemical facility at Norco, Louisiana. In addition, we seek new opportunities to produce chemicals from bio-feedstocks, from CO 2, with energy from green electricity or green hydrogen. We anticipate that NIC 3 E will provide insights into new and emerging routes, based on novel thermo- bio- or electrochemical- conversions.
Job Titles:
- PI and Director of the Centre / University of Surrey
I graduated with a PhD degree from The University of Hong Kong in 2012, with the research topic in electrochemical engineering. My academic career in the UK started in 2014, when I took up a Lectureship in the School of Engineering and Physical Sciences at Heriot-Watt University. I was appointed as the Associate Director of the Research Centre for Carbon Solutions (RCCS) at Heriot-Watt in 2017. I joined Loughborough University in 2018 as a Senior Lecturer, was promoted to Professor/Personal Chair in Low Carbon Processes in 2019 and became the Head of Department of Chemical Engineering in 2020. In 2022,… [Read more]
I studied Chemistry at the University of Oxford, receiving a BA in 1987 and a D. Phil in 1990. I moved to A.T.&T. Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, New Jersey where I was a Postdoctoral Member of Technical Staff. In 1992, I returned to Oxford as a Lecturer in Inorganic Chemistry and Student (Fellow) of Christ Church. In 1999, I moved to the University of Liverpool as Professor of Inorganic Chemistry. I have been awarded the Harrison Memorial Prize (1991), Corday-Morgan Medal and Prize (2000) and Tilden Lectureship (2006) of the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). In 2009, I received the… [Read more] Contact Email: M.J.Rosseinsky@liverpool.ac.uk Website: https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/chemistry/staff/matthew-rosseinsky/
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- Project Co - I / Imperial College
Job Titles:
- Project Co - I / Imperial College
My interests lie in the use of modelling and optimisation at different scales e.g. technologies, processes and value chains with a view to quantifying performance at a range of scales and supporting decision-making. I'll be supporting Benoit Chachuat in Theme 2. [Read more] Contact Email: n.shah@imperial.ac.uk Website: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/people/n.shah
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- Professor of Circular Economy and Co - Director of the Exeter Centre for the Circular Economy / University of Exeter
I joined Exeter University Business School in 2018. Together with Professor Fiona Charnley Peter is Co-Director of the UKRI National Interdisciplinary Circular Economy Research Hub, part of a £30M investment to accelerate Circular Economy Research and Innovation across the UK. Peter has a background in environmental science and economics and is widely known for his work in the Circular Economy, systems thinking and the implementation challenge. Peter leads a number of interdisciplinary research projects investigating the technical challenge of legacy materials such as construction materials, plastics and critical materials and the requirement for the design, financing and enablers for new circular economy systems. Peter, together with Fiona, also leads a Global Master class Implementing the Circular economy designed to support practitioners seeking to understand, initiate and implement circular economy in multiple manufacturing, service, governmental and educational settings. After 7 years and over 1500 delegates from large companies such as Google to start-ups in Australia, this is the longest and largest professional education course of its type in the world.
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- Policy Lead and Project Co - I / University of Sheffield
Peter is a Fellow of both the Royal Society of Chemistry and the Institution of Chemical Engineers and a Chartered Engineer. He is also a former Head of Department of Chemistry at Sheffield. Peter's research considers a wholistic approach to the circular economy, drawing on catalysis, synthesis, reactor and process design as well as life cycle analysis (LCA) and techno-economic analysis (TEA) together with policy development and social justice. This covers waste management, carbon dioxide utilisation and air quality improvement. Peter is involved in a number of All Party Parliamentary Groups in Westminster and was a recipient of a Royal Society MP Pairing Scheme award in 2015, pairing with the FCO. Peter contributed to the Mission Innovation ‘Accelerating Carbon Capture, Storage, and Utilization Technologies' workshop as panel chair in 2017, which included the publication of the policy report in 2018. Peter will be working on policy development and social justice as part of the centre's activities.
After obtaining his degree and PhD from St John's College, Oxford University, he held his first academic position at University College London (UCL). Since then, he has held many senior academic positions including the Director of the Royal Institution, Chair of Chemistry and Dean of the Faculty of Mathematical and Physical Sciences also at UCL. He has won many awards and accolades, being awarded the Solid State Chemistry, Interdisciplinary, Liversidge and Faraday awards of The Royal Society of Chemistry. He is a Fellow of The Royal Society, Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales and of the Leopoldina - the… [Read more]
Job Titles:
- Professor of Business Performance
Umit Bititci is a Professor of Business Performance and the Executive Dean of Edinburgh Business School at Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh, UK. He has a background that blends engineering, management consulting and academic research. He has authored several papers and books some of which have been widely cited. He has also led several large research and development projects at the UK and European scale in collaboration with industry partners across Europe. His research is underpinned with a whole systems approach to understanding how organisations measure and manage performance where he uses industry as his research laboratory through collaborative consultancy, KE and action research projects. Throughout his career he has been a prolific user of the Knowledge Exchange Partnership (KTP) programme and in 2009 his contribution to knowledge change was recognised when he was awarded the UK‘s first academic excellence award by the UK‘s Technology Strategy Board. More recently he has been using his expertise in whole systems approach to modelling understanding and improving circularity, sustainability and carbon performance. His recent projects in this context include projects such as: electronics waste logistics demonstrator run in the west of Scotland; Maximising circularity in the North Sea Decommissioning; Value through circularity, all funded through the Scottish Government and the Scottish Institute for Remanufacturing.
Job Titles:
- Professor
- Project Co - I / Cranfield University
Professor Wijayantha has considerable expertise in low-carbon H2 technologies, electrochemical energy storage, energy materials and the circular chemical economy, having led industrial development of green H2 production in the UK that were then expanded to the US. He currently serves on two technical task groups of the International Energy Agency, and is part of the team behind HyDEX, a project aiming to accelerate innovation in H2 by supporting SMEs to develop the technologies and skills needed.
He graduated with BSc (Hon) and then received MPhil from the University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka. He was awarded a PhD from the University of Bath, UK. After working in Bath University (as a PDRA) and then in industry, he moved to Loughborough University where he worked until April 2022 as a Professor of Physical Chemistry before moving to Cranfield University.
His current research interests include hydrogen in a whole system (production, storage, transport, distribution and end-use), electrochemical energy storage, energy materials and the circular chemical economy.
I have started my PhD study at Heriot-Watt University in 2021. I have a background in green finance and actuarial science. For my PhD study, my research interests include the financial aspect of the circular economy, corporate social responsibility, and socially responsible investing. [Read more] Contact
Job Titles:
- Research Project Manager ( Engagement Team ) Newcastle University
Rose is a Research Project Manager within the Infrastructure & Strategic Projects Team, part of the SAgE Faculty within Newcastle University. She works closely with Prof Elizabeth Gibson to organise and deliver engagement activities for the Centre. Prior to working at Newcastle University in January 2023, Rose has worked in management, research and marketing roles, primarily in the private sector, as well as for a Member of the European Parliament. She has a Bachelor's degree in politics, and Master's degree in digital business. [Read more]
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- Associate Member / Heriot - Watt University
Ruini Qu joined the Edinburgh Business School at Heriot-Watt University as a Research Associate in 2022. Prior to her involvement in the UKRI Interdisciplinary Centre for Circular Chemical Economy, she worked as a Project Officer for ASTUTE 2020 at Cardiff University where she focused on delivering bespoke supply chain solutions to companies from different backgrounds. She was also involved in the EPSRC-funded project "Resilient Remanufacturing Networks: Forecasting, Informatics and Holons", conducting research on remanufacturing and circular economy. Her research interests include supply chain resilience, machine scheduling, combinatorial optimisation and simulation. [Read more]
I joined the Centre in 2021 as Centre Administrator. I have worked within a Higher Education setting since 2017 and had previously worked as a Student Support Administrator at Loughborough University. I assist in the day-to-day operational aspects of the Centre, liaising with the project team to co-ordinate research and outreach events. [Read more]
Job Titles:
- Centre Manager / Loughborough University
I joined the Centre in 2021 as Manager. I have been part of the Higher Education Environment since 2012 and until recently was Operations Manager for the School of Business at University of Leicester. I am responsible for the day-to-day operational aspects of the Centre and work closely with the project team to co-ordinate, monitor and facilitate the research and outreach activities. I am supporting the team to establish a project framework, reporting and communication strategy in this national multi-partner project. I also work with the Centre's wider academic team to identify and develop new opportunities and provide support for… [Read more]
Job Titles:
- Research Associate
- Associate Member / Loughborough University
Swathi Mukundan is a Research Associate working with Dr. Jonathan Wagner at the Department of Chemical Engineering, Loughborough University. Before joining the Circular Chemical Economy Centre, Swathi studied Chemistry in Bharathidasan University, received PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Queensland, Australia, then worked for petrochemical industry and postdoctoral research in India. Her primary research themes are solid state catalysis, material characterisation, biomass conversion technologies, waste plastic utilisation, green chemistry, renewable energy. At Loughborough University, Swathi focusses on the catalytic hydrothermal liquefaction of biomass and chemical wastes, catalytic bio-oil upgrading, and aqueous phase reforming of the aqueous phase. [Read more]
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- Centre Administrative Assistant / University of Sheffield
Hongjuan Zhu joined the Centre in 2021 as Centre Administrative Assistant. Before joining the Circular Chemical Economy Centre, Hongjuan received MA in Psychology of Music from the University of Sheffield, then worked as a Casual Researcher for the Sheffield Institute of Education Research and Knowledge Exchange Centre, Sheffield Hallam University. She is responsible for providing administrative support for the Policy Development and Social Impact effort of the NIC3E project, liaising with the project team to coordinate research and outreach events. [Read more]
Job Titles:
- Research Associate / Loughborough University
- Research Associate in Dr Jonathan Wagner
Xiao is a research associate in Dr Jonathan Wagner's group in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Loughborough University. Her current research focuses on microalgae cultivation and algae-based carbon capture and utilization. Xiao received her PhD at the National University of Singapore in May 2023, with a multi-disciplinary background in chemistry, microbiology, cell biology, and materials. She used to study the antimicrobial and antifouling activity of the Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) graphene-based coating system and its potential in biomedical applications. [Read more]