Nicola Mingotti 
Professor Matthew Davidson is the director of the Institute of Sustainability and Climate Change of the University of Bath. He visited us today and discussed some of the challenges in making the chemical industry more sustainable and less dependent on fossil resources. Whereas decarbonisation of the energy sector is feasible through the development of
Methane availability is crucial to the energy transition. Currently, most hydrogen is produced by steam methane reforming, a carbon-intensive process. A small amount of green hydrogen is being obtained from the electrolysis of water; however, for this carbon-free hydrogen to become prevalent, electrolysis must become much more efficient than it currently is. PhD student James
In temperate climates, many buildings need heating in winter and cooling in summer. A significant amount of energy can be saved by storing excess heat during the warmer months, and using it to warm up a building in winter. Similarly, storing the wintertime thermal energy reduces the need for air conditioning during the summer. PhD
Professor Daniel Fuster is the CNRS Research Director at the Institut d’Alembert, and works at Sorbonne University in Paris. He visited us today, and presented his recent work on the collapse of non-spherical bubbles. Professor Fuster’s work was motivated by some interesting laboratory observations. In the experiments, a pulse of laser energy is used to
A fully funded PhD at the University of Cambridge, under the supervision of Professor Alex Routh is available. It is in collaboration with a Dynamic Smart Glass manufacturer. Dynamic Smart Glass windows become opaque or clear in response to an external trigger. Example uses can be temperature modulation in cars through to maintaining a pleasant environment in a
Encapsulation is used to deliver materials to specific sites, protect fragile materials from harsh external environments or to delay release of an active compound until a desired time. Mohammed Al Sharabi and professor Alex Routh have been working on an EPSRC-funded project looking at making novel encapsulated materials. The project was joint with the Universities
In a number of natural or industrial settings, such as magmatic intrusions or geothermal power systems, subsurface porous rocks are flooded by fluid of a different density and composition than the original formation fluid. As the invading fluid migrates through the formation and reacts, its density and composition might change. In turn, this may lead
All buildings require ventilation to keep the indoor air fresh and clean. With underfloor air distribution, fresh air is supplied at a low level, while exhaust air is extracted from the top of a room. If the room contains a heat source, then a temperature stratification develops and occupants are surrounded by fresh air in
Renewable energy sources such as wind and solar are intermittent, and this leads to the need for substantial energy storage. At times of excessive generation, some of the renewable energy might be converted into hydrogen and stored underground. The hydrogen will then be recovered and used when the renewable sources produce insufficient energy. A recent
Professor Alex Routh has long been interested in colloidal suspensions, and today he told us about some of his recent work in the field. When a pool of fluid containing a suspension of particles is left to dry, the liquid slowly evaporates and the particles consolidate into a solid, which eventually cracks. We can see