09:30-10:15 Registration 10:15-10:20 Welcome
10:20-10:50 Professor Magda Titirici, Imperial College London
10:50-11:10 Dr Alex Walton, University of Manchester
11:10-11:30 DrVeronica Celorrio, Diamond Light Source
11:30-11:40 Break
11:40-12:10 Dr Ifan Stephens, Imperial College London
12:10-12:40 Professor Sven Schroeder, University of Leeds
12:40-13:20 Lunch & posters
13:20-13:50 Professor Ian Metcalfe, Newcastle University
13:50-14:10 Dr Baran Eren, Weizmann Institute of Science
14:10-14:30 Dr David Grinter, Diamond Light Source
14:30-14:45 Break
14:45-15:15 Dr Alex Cowan, University of Liverpool
15:15-15:35 Dr Nick Clark, University of Manchester
15:35-16:30 Discussion: Big Ideas and CAM-IES Future Directions
16:30-17:30 Drinks & posters
Confirmed speakers include:
Professor Sven Schroeder, University of Leeds
Sven holds the RAEng Bragg Centenary Chair in Engineering Applications of Synchrotron Radiation (SR), a joint appointment between University of Leeds, Diamond Light Source and Infineum Ltd., UK. Sven’s research also makes also use of the NSLS (Brookhaven Nat’l Lab, USA) and BESSY (Germany) beamlines. In 2011 he proposed a Phase III high-throughput X-ray spectroscopy facility for the UK at Diamond Light Source, which is now under construction at the VERSOX beamline. Sven’s research spans in situ X-ray spectroscopy, scattering and fluorescence, spectroscopy and microscopy for a broad range of materials systems.
Professor Magda Titirici, Imperial College London
Magda holds the Chair in Sustainable Energy Materials at Imperial. Magda’s research focuses on carbon and carbon hybrids produced via hydrothermal processes, waste recycling into advanced products, renewable energy technologies, clean energy storage, flexible supercapacitors, carbon-based O2 electrocatalysis, CO2 capture and conversion, and exploring the optoelectronic properties of nanocarbons.
Dr Ifan Stephens, Imperial College London
Ifan’s research aims to enable the large-scale electrochemical conversion of renewable energy to fuels and valuable chemicals and vice versa, focusing on electrolysis for the storage of renewable electricity, fuel cells for automotive vehicles, green synthesis of valuable chemicals, such as H2O2, battery degradation, and catalyst discovery.
Dr Baran Eren, Weizmann Institute of Science
Baran’s group is interested in the atomic, chemical, and electronic structure of solid surfaces for heterogeneous catalysis, electrochemistry, corrosion, and lubrication. Baran’s group performs high-resolution surface-sensitive spectroscopy and atomically-resolved microscopy measurements in the presence of reactant gases or liquids. Baran uses ambient pressure photoelectron spectroscopy (APXPS) and polarization-modulated infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (PM-IRRAS), to monitor the changes in the chemical nature of model catalysts and adsorbed species. He also uses high pressure scanning tunnelling microscopy (HPSTM) to probe the atomic structure of model catalysts in the presence of reactant gases like CO, CO2, and CH3OH. Baran plans to extend instrument operation into 1 bar of environmental gas, and in (electrified) liquids, and to probe insulating materials such as functional oxides.
Dr David Grinter, Diamond Light Source
Dave is a Beamline Scientist on B07, with primary responsibility for B branch (high-throughput NEXAFS and XPS). Dave has research interests in the behaviour of surfaces and nanostructured materials such as heterogeneous catalysts, as well as advances in spectromicroscopy techniques, surface structure and behavior, and in situ characterisation methods. Dave’s research includes studies of fundamental oxide surface structure and reactivity, and the development of novel microscopic and spectroscopic experimental techniques.
Dr Alex Walton, University of Manchester
Alex’s research interests lie in understanding the surface chemistry of functional materials, with a particular emphasis on a broad range of heterogeneous catalysts, using the University of Manchester's cutting-edge Near-Ambient Pressure X-Ray Photoelectron Spectrosopy (NAP-XPS) facility (
http://www.chemistry.manchester.ac.uk/our-research/facilities/nap-xps/).
Dr Alex Cowan, University of Liverpool
Alex leads an active research group that develops and studies catalysts for the sustainable production of fuels at Liverpool University’s Department of Chemistry and the Stephenson Institute for Renewable Energy. 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.
Dr Veronica Celorrio, Diamond Light Source
Veronica is a Senior Support Scientist at B18 at Diamond Light Source, interested in applying in-situ techniques for probing electrocatalytic reactions on metal and metal oxide nanostructures.
Professor Ian Metcalfe, Newcastle University
Ian is Professor of Chemical Engineering at University of Newcastle and a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering. Ian's research focusses on applying chemical engineering to problems in the areas of catalysis and high temperature membranes. While the emphasis is very much on applied research, often a fundamental understanding of the nature of the problem is necessary. Much of this involves the application of both solid electrolytes and mixed-conducting membrane systems for reaction and separation.
Dr Nick Clark, University of Manchester
Nick Clark received a PhD in Nanoscience from the University of Manchester in 2016 for his work on the fabrication and applications of suspended graphene membranes. He is currently a PDRA in Sarah Haigh’s group at the University of Manchester, working with graphene-windowed cells for in situ STEM/ TEM imaging of thin liquid samples.
Scientific Organising Committee
Dr Robert Weatherup, Diamond-Manchester Research Fellow and Lecturer in Physical Chemistry
Professor Stephan Hofmann, University of Cambridge
A brighter light for science
