New podcast alert!
This month I’ve been talking to three researchers at Imperial College London about their work on formulations. Formulations are a class of modern products which are all complex mixtures of many different elements. The evidence is the ingredients list on the back of the packet. These kinds of advanced formulated chemical products are everywhere in modern life: we use them daily to stay healthy, warm, dry, fed, clean and connected.
The Science and Engineering in Cultural Heritage network of excellence (which IMSE supports) is hosting its first one-day conference on 20 September 2023, 9.30-17.30. This free conference is a forum for researchers, students and staff at Imperial College London and cultural heritage organisations in London to meet, explore current challenges, showcase tools/techniques, and build collaborations to solve problems.
New podcast alert!
This month I talked to two of the authors of the latest IMSE briefing paper about low carbon fuels for aviation. This was launched on 1 March 2023. I spoke to Andrea Fantuzzi and Nadine Moustafa about their experience writing the paper.
Most companies today have sustainability and net zero targets. They are becoming increasingly important to attract customers, employees and investment. What does this mean for companies that make formulations?
And I’m not talking about green food colouring, I’m talking about making formulations more sustainable.
Or vaccines, or paint, or glue, or perfume, or dishwasher tablets… What do all these products have in common? The answer is they’re all formulations: complex mixtures of substances which all contribute to how the final product works.
On 1 March 2023, IMSE launched its ninth briefing paper, on low carbon fuels for aviation. I have been working with a great team of postdocs and PhD students on this for the last year. It was exciting to hear what a professional audience thought of our work at last.
New podcast alert!
Silicon-based solar panels are four times as efficient as plants at harvesting energy from sunlight. But they’re expensive to produce because the material they’re made of has to be very precisely engineered. What if we could make solar panels out of layered copper oxides (CuO/Cu2O)? These materials are cheap to produce, Earth abundant and fully recyclable.
I’ve been working with a great team of authors for a year to develop a briefing paper about low carbon fuels for aviation. We’re looking in depth at biofuels, power-to-liquid fuels (AKA synthetic fuels) and hydrogen. This is the first briefing paper that I’m taking though the production process in my time at IMSE. There are another 2 in the works, due out later this year.
We’re launching this on 1 March 2023 at 15.00 in South Kensington. Book your tickets here. This event in joint with the newly-founded Brahmal Vasudevan Institute for Sustainable Aviation.
Researchers are human too, though possibly more curious than many. So why do many recognise that interdisciplinary research is valuable, but don’t want to do it? What are the barriers to doing this work?