People of Photo-Electro
Photo-Electro aims to conduct revolutionary multi-disciplinary research in photo-, electro-, and thermo-chemistry to transform current chemical, pharmaceutical and agrochemical production within the UK. To accomplish our goals, Photo-Electro is comprised of experts spanning academic and industrial sectors. Meet the researchers, industrial partners and external advisory board playing pivotal roles in Photo-Electro's goals.
Photo-Electro researchers are based in three universities across the UK: the University of Nottingham, the University of Southampton, the University of Bristol. Meet our investigators below!
University of Nottingham
Professor of Chemistry
Mike George is Principle Investigator on Photo-Electro and is an expert in photochemistry and spectroscopic process analytics, with particular interest in mechanistic chemistry.
University of Nottingham
Research Professor of Chemistry
Sir Martyn Poliakoff CBE FRS leads Theme 2, Reactor Design. He has expertise in flow reactors and cleaner solvents. His research combines fundamental science and applied research in Green Chemistry, pioneering the use of supercritical solvents for continuous chemical processes.
University of Nottingham
Hives Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Steve Pickering leads Team 3, Integration. He is a mechanical engineer with expertise in applying thermodynamics, heat transfer and fluid mechanics to industrial problems. His skills will be key to the success for the development of photo- and electro-chemical reactors.
University of Bristol
Royal Society Research Fellow, School of Chemistry
Ali Lennox is a synthetic organic chemist who specialises in reaction development and catalysis using electrochemistry. His expertise in reactivity, synthesis and mechanism will be important to Theme 1.
University of Southampton
Professor of Chemistry
Deputy Head of Chemistry
Richard Brown has pioneered synthetic organic electrosynthesis in extended pathlength flow reactors. He is an organic chemist focused on both natural product synthesis and new technologies. He will be a major contributor to all three Themes.
University of Southampton
Professor of Organic Chemistry
David Harrowven is an organic chemist working on total synthesis, and flow chemistry techniques involving thermo, photochemical and cascade reactions. His skills will be important for linking light, heat, and electricity in all three Themes.
University of Nottingham
Research Professor of Chemistry
Director of GlaxoSmithKline Carbon Neutral Laboratories
Peter Licence is an organic chemist with interests in sustainable solvents, particularly ionic liquids. He is the Director of the GSK Carbon Neutral Laboratory at Nottingham, an unique environment for testing the innovations from our team. His skills in assessing environmental impact of chemical activities and understanding of organic chemistry will be essential in Themes 1 & 3.
University of Nottingham
Assistant Professor, Faculty of Engineering
Richard Jefferson-Loveday is an engineer bringing extended knowledge in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to the team. His expertise will benefit both Themes 2 and 3 by aiding in the optimisation of both reactor design and daisy-chaining.
The Photo-Electro EPSRC Grant is fortunate to be supported by 27 industrial partners. We welcome any industry interested in our programme to inquire about collaboration. Please contact us at photoelectro@nottingham.ac.uk if you are interested in collaboration.
Current Industrial Partners
ANSYS, Arcinova, AstraZeneca, Asynt, Beta Technologies, Britest, Cambridge Reactor Design,
CPI, Eli Lilly, Enlumo, Givaudan, GSK, HEL Group, Huvepharma, Johnson Matthey, Knowledge Transfer Network, Mettler-Toledo AutoChem, Merck, Novartis, Photodiversity, Process Systems Enterprise Limited (PSE), Sanofi, Syngenta, Thomas Swan, Unilever, Uniqsis, Vertex Pharmaceuticals
Photo-Electro EPSRC is evaluated by an External Advisory Board comprised of an EPSRC representative in addition to academic and industrial leaders.
- Dr. Ian Shott CBE FREng; Chairperson
- Professor Thorsten Bach; University of Munich
- Professor Richard Catlow FRS; University College London
- Professor Lee Cronin; University of Glasgow
- Professor Janine Cossy; EPSCI Paris
- Dr. Paul Burton; Syngenta
- Dr. Talit Ghaffar; EPSRC
- Dr. Simon Grant; Thomas Swan & Co Ltd.
- Professor Steve Marsden; University of Leeds
- Dr. Helen Sneddon; GSK
