Our team

Donald Inns is a post-doctoral research associate working in the Rosseinsky group, having joined in 2023. His current research focuses on the development of catalysts for the transformation of polymer waste to liquid chemicals and fuels.  He received his MChem from Cardiff University in 2018, where he conducted a research project within the Cardiff Catalysis Institute. Following this, he studied a PhD at Loughborough University in the Kondrat group. His thesis was focused on the development of new lanthanum-based catalysts for sustainable hydrogen production via the aqueous phase reforming process. His research interests include the synthesis and advanced characterisation of… [Read more]

Prior to joining the University of Edinburgh as a Lecturer in Finance, Mengfei worked on policy, society, and finance for a UK circular chemical economy in the UKRI NICER Programme, based at Heriot-Watt University. Mengfei holds a PhD in carbon finance from the University of Edinburgh. She was involved in several research projects, including the UKRI VaCoBD project, BHP CCS in China's Iron and Steel Sector project, Carbon Emission Modelling of Energy Systems for Retrofit sponsored by the SFC and RGC, Developing a Linkage Readiness Carbon Market in China funded by the World Bank Group, and Enabling the Legal and Regulatory Framework for Large-scale CCUS… [Read more]

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Dr Rossen Kazakov is a research associate, based in the School of Social Sciences and Edinburgh Business School. Rossen became a valuable member of CircularChem and Bing Xu's team within Theme 3 in 2024. His research interests include: Policy evaluation for decarbonization, circular economy and green energy systems, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, agrifood systems, green finance, strategy decision making and innovation systems, scenario planning and impact evaluation, sustainability transitions, ethics and public good. [Read more]

I am a Research Associate in the Department of Chemical Engineering with Professor Eileen Yu. My research activities involve the development of nanocatalysts, biocatalysts, and (bio)electrochemical reactors for carbon dioxide conversion and wastewater treatment. In the CircularChem project, My focus is on electrochemical and bioelectrochemical CO2 reduction to produce valuable chemicals. I obtained a PhD in Chemistry from Aligarh Muslim University, India, in 2021, and I was also a Commonwealth split-site scholar at Newcastle University during my PhD in 2019. I also worked at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, India, before joining Loughborough University. Since completing my PhD, I… [Read more]

Katie is currently working as a technician for STFC Daresbury Laboratories. Katie was a Research Associate for the Chemical & Biological Engineering (CBE) Department at The University of Sheffield. Katie started her role in 2021 and was working with the Centre and the Styring group to develop evidence-based policies for the implementation of a circular economy in the chemicals manufacturing industries. Using her knowledge of carbon dioxide and green chemistry, Katie focused on evaluating the performance of competing technology pathways and devising new evidence-based policy instruments to stimulate supply, demand and investment in sustainable chemicals. Katie has a strong background… [Read more]

Grazia Leonzio is a Research Associate at the Imperial College London (Chemical Engineering department). Grazia has a strong background in renewable energy, carbon dioxide, modelling and optimization of chemical processes with environmental analyses. In her PhD thesis, she developed a mathematical model for a carbon capture utilization and storage supply chain, focusing the attention on carbon dioxide utilization (particularly methanol production). Currently, she is working on direct air capture to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, electrochemical processes for carbon dioxide utilization according to a digital and circular economy and supply chains modelling. [Read more]

I joined Imperial College London as a PhD candidate in 2021 after working for two years in the oil and gas sector. I’ll be supporting the centre via Theme 2 under the supervision of Prof Benoit Chachuat and Prof Nilay Shah. My research area focuses on multi-scale modelling and optimisation within the chemical industry as well as quantifying life-cycle impacts of emerging sustainable technologies. [Read more]

I have started my PhD study at Heriot-Watt University in 2021. I have a background in green finance and actuarial science. For my PhD study, my research interests include the financial aspect of the circular economy, corporate social responsibility, and socially responsible investing. [Read more]

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Melissa Marques is a Research Assistant at the Edinburgh Business School at Heriot-Watt University. As a part-time member of the UKRI-funded Interdisciplinary Centre for Chemical Circular Economy, she contributes to research investigating how moving to a circular economy impacts businesses and what interventions in the wider system are required to accelerate the transition in the chemical sector. Additionally, Melissa is at the final stages of her PhD which discusses the relationships between circular economy and firm productivity and value creation. Having collaborated with dozens of companies in funded projects in recent years, she has published peer-reviewed reports and academic papers,… [Read more]

Swathi Mukundan is a Research Associate working with Dr. Jonathan Wagner at the Department of Chemical Engineering, Loughborough University. Before joining the Circular Chemical Economy Centre, Swathi studied Chemistry in Bharathidasan University, received PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Queensland, Australia, then worked for petrochemical industry and postdoctoral research in India. Her primary research themes are solid state catalysis, material characterisation, biomass conversion technologies, waste plastic utilisation, green chemistry, renewable energy. At Loughborough University, Swathi focusses on the catalytic hydrothermal liquefaction of biomass and chemical wastes, catalytic bio-oil upgrading, and aqueous phase reforming of the aqueous phase. [Read more]

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Ruini Qu joined the Edinburgh Business School at Heriot-Watt University as a Research Associate in 2022. Prior to her involvement in the UKRI Interdisciplinary Centre for Circular Chemical Economy, she worked as a Project Officer for ASTUTE 2020 at Cardiff University where she focused on delivering bespoke supply chain solutions to companies from different backgrounds. She was also involved in the EPSRC-funded project “Resilient Remanufacturing Networks: Forecasting, Informatics and Holons”, conducting research on remanufacturing and circular economy. Her research interests include supply chain resilience, machine scheduling, combinatorial optimisation and simulation. [Read more]

Max completed his BSc in Chemistry at the University of Liverpool in 2018. As an undergraduate, he was awarded the Liverpool International College Excellence Scholarship, and volunteered as a demonstrator as part of an outreach programme for disadvantaged high school students. After graduating, Max returned home to the Isle of Man, where he received a job offer to work in Japan as a teacher in 2020. However, after the COVID-19 pandemic, he decided to return to academia and was invited into the Alberto Roldan Group at Cardiff University in 2021, under the joint supervision of Dr Roldan and Prof Marc… [Read more]

I studied Chemistry at the University of Oxford, receiving a BA in 1987 and a D. Phil in 1990. I moved to A.T.&T. Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, New Jersey where I was a Postdoctoral Member of Technical Staff. In 1992, I returned to Oxford as a Lecturer in Inorganic Chemistry and Student (Fellow) of Christ Church. In 1999, I moved to the University of Liverpool as Professor of Inorganic Chemistry. I have been awarded the Harrison Memorial Prize (1991), Corday-Morgan Medal and Prize (2000) and Tilden Lectureship (2006) of the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). In 2009, I received the… [Read more]

Dr Matthew Royle was a Research Assistant for the UKRI Interdisciplinary Centre for Circular Chemical Economy at Newcastle University. He worked with the Centre and Professor Libby Gibson to unify efforts across the three work themes by preparing a roadmap showing the current status and future prospects for the Circular Economy of Olefins. Matt has a background in physical chemistry, studying a PhD at Durham University. His PhD focused on the phase behaviour of limonene microemulsions and how they interact with oil, with an emphasis on the kinetic processes of micelle exchange. Matt has now joined DEFRA as one of… [Read more]

My interests lie in the use of modelling and optimisation at different scales e.g. technologies, processes and value chains with a view to quantifying performance at a range of scales and supporting decision-making. I’ll be supporting Benoit Chachuat in Theme 2. [Read more]

Preetam Sharma was a Research Associate at Loughborough University between June 2021 to Sept 2023. In CircularChem project under Professor Eileen Yu’s supervision, he developed nano-catalysts and electrochemical reactors for carbon dioxide utilisation. He is currently working as a research fellow on solar-driven electrochemical system for sustainable direct CO2 reduction in the Institute of Materials Discovery at the University College London. Specifically, he is developing electrocatalysts and scaling them up for the direct conversion of CO2 to methanol. The investigation of the electrocatalysts by advanced techniques including in-situ techniques is also of particular focus for him. He is also interested… [Read more]

Bhavin is a postdoctoral researcher in electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide at the University of Liverpool with broad experience across catalysis, electrochemistry, and chemical engineering. During his undergraduate and Master’s degree studies at the University of Tokyo, he conducted research on photocatalytic water splitting using semiconductor particles. His DPhil work in bioelectrochemistry, with Prof. Fraser A. Armstrong at the University of Oxford, led to a novel electrochemical nicotinamide cofactor regeneration system, based on an enzyme from a photosynthetic pathway. He returned to the University of Tokyo as a postdoctoral researcher in heterogeneous catalysis for methane conversion. At Liverpool, his current… [Read more]