The magic Lanterna: harnessing light for sustainable chemicals
January 8, 2021
Dr Anabel Lanterna is Assistant Professor in the School of Chemistry and a member of the Green Chemicals Beacon. Her expertise in photochemistry and materials chemistry has led her to work with world experts in the field, most recently with Prof. Tito Scaiano in Canada. In 2020 she moved to Nottingham to start her independent …
Super sustainable processes: making green hydrogen from waste.
December 17, 2020
Chai Lee (Jesslyn) is a Research Fellow in Sustainable Processing in the Green Chemicals Beacon and is also a member of the Sustainable Processing Technologies Group. In this interview, she talks to Jo Gregory about her research, inspirations and the importance of using sustainable processes for the generation of electricity and power. What is your …
A shock to the system: how biotech is using nature to tackle climate change.
December 9, 2020
Dr John Heap is Associate Professor in Synthetic Biology and Metabolic Engineering at the University of Nottingham and member of the Green Chemicals Beacon. His recent grant successes include funding from the BBSRC to produce high-value chemicals using biotechnology. He is also an Honorary Senior Lecturer at Imperial College London. In this interview he talks …
Planet organic: an interview with Dr Mattia Silvi
December 3, 2020
Dr Mattia Silvi joined the Green Chemicals Beacon as a Nottingham Research Fellow in October 2019. Based in the GSK Carbon Neutral Laboratories for Sustainable Chemistry he directs a research group who are focused on the development of new organic chemistry reactions. In this interview, he talks to Jo Gregory about his research, his inspirations …
Machines can be green: how AI is making chemistry more sustainable.
October 26, 2020
Jonathan Hirst is a Professor of Computational Chemistry and member of the Green Chemicals Beacon. He has recently been awarded the Royal Academy of Engineering Chair in Emerging Technologies. The prestigious award is a significant financial investment over ten years and will support Jonathan and his team with their aim of developing machine learning models, …
The goal is a greener future: An interview with Dr Omar Aboelazayem
October 5, 2020
Dr Omar Aboelazayem joined the University of Nottingham in November 2019 as a Technical Specialist in Sustainable Chemical Processing in the Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering aligned to the Green Chemicals Beacon. In this interview, he talks to Jo Gregory about his inspirations, his approach to work during the pandemic and how his research …
A different class: an education in the circular economy
September 9, 2020
With the enforced closure of the University due to COVID resulting in limited access to labs, a group of first year PhD students from the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Sustainable Chemistry faced an uncertain start to their studies, specifically the need to rethink their end of year project on the circular economy. Adapting …
Reopening laboratories: sharing best practice
August 7, 2020
The nationwide lockdown due to the spread of COVID-19 saw an impressive response from the chemicals industry and research community, both from companies that continued through lockdown and had to quickly adapt their working practices as well as organisations and universities like the University of Nottingham who rapidly closed laboratories for all but essential research. …
Synthetic genomics and sustainability: An interview with Dr Ben Blount
May 6, 2020
Ben Blount recently returned to the University as a Nottingham Research Fellow in the School of Life Sciences and is a member of the Green Chemicals Beacon. In this interview, Ben talks to Jo Gregory about his research, his inspirations, working from home during COVID and his plans for the future as part of the …
Total Food 2020: addressing global challenges
January 31, 2020
Following on from our last blog which introduced the origins of the event and its evolution, Jo Gregory talks to Dr Eleanor Binner, Associate Professor in Chemical and Environmental Engineering and conference chair for Total Food 2020, about the theme for this year’s conference and the importance of getting maximum value from every part of …
