I am incredibly honored to have been amongst only 650 scientists worldwide to be selected to attend this year’s 73rd Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting in June. See the press release at the FHI website for more information about the Meeting and the yearly conference in Lindau.
Organising this year’s CECAM Flagship workshop on Machine Learning of First Principles Observables. To submit an abstract for a talk or poster please visit https://www.cecam.org/workshop-details/1322
Part of the organising team of PostDoc Day Berlin 2023! We had an exciting day of speakers, flash talks, and workshops at this year’s event. For more information, and to check out the next year’s PostDoc Day, visit https://www.mdc-berlin.de/postdoc-day#t-home
Pubilshed an article on “Modelling amorphous materials via a joint solid-state NMR and X-ray absorption spectroscopy and DFT approach: application to alumina” available Open Access at https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlehtml/2023/sc/d2sc04035b
Awarded the Alexander von Humboldt Postdoctoral Fellowship to fund my Postdoctoral work at the Fritz-Haber Institut in Berlin.
Started as a Post Doc working with Dr. Christoph Scheurer at the Fritz Haber Institute.
Finished my thesis after a Viva examination from Prof. Judith Driscoll, Cambridge and Prof. Jonathan Yates, Oxford.
Given a 3rd place prize in the 2021 CoSeC Impact Award for my work using the CASTEP code as part of my PhD. Details of the award can be found here
Took place in the 2021 reserve races against Oxford to win the 2021 Blondie Boat Race. (I am the coxswain and yes the one being thrown into the river)
As part of the 2021 ChuTalk series, I presented on Using computational structure searching to find the next Li ion battery anode
As part of the 2021 Cambridge University Science and Policy Exchange Program, I recorded a talk on our Cambridgeshire Business Decarbonisation Fund, which was sent out to local businesses.
Was invited to give a talk on my most recent paper Computational Investigation of Copper Phosphides as Conversion Anodes for Lithium-Ion Batteries in the group of Kit McColl at the University of Bath
Was invited to give a talk on my most recent paper Computational Investigation of Copper Phosphides as Conversion Anodes for Lithium-Ion Batteries.
Stayed at Diamond Light Source for 72 hours taking measurements as part of a proposal on ALD deposited alumina coatings. The measurements were performed at the i09: Surface and Interface Structural Analysis Beam.
Gave a talk titled “Amorphous Al2O3 from atomic layer deposition” on my project on ALD deposited alumina coatings at the ESDG meeting.
Now officially a PhD student in Physics at the Unviersity of Cambridge
Presented a poster on my work on Cu-P anode materials at the MMM Hub Conference
Attended a two week summer program on the fundamentals of condensed matter theory. Details of this program can be found on their website.
Through the internal call for compute time on HPC Midlands+ the high performance computer in the Unviversity of Birmingham, we were awarded 6 months of computing time.
In the Frontiers of Electronic Structure Theory Session, I presented on my recent work predicting XAS Spectra for battery interfaces. The experiments for this project are being done in the Grey Group in Chemistry at the University of Cambridge. The talk can be found here
Presented my MPhil research in a 20 minute presentation at the Electronic Structure Discussion Group in TCM. The talk gave an overview of crystal structure prediction, density-functional theory, and its applications to low-cost Na-ion battery materials. Details of the talk can be found here.
The prize winning poster can be found here. This work builds on my Masters project on metal phosphide anodes.
I won 2nd place in the poster competition at the 2018 CASTEP Workshop for my poster on “Ab Initio predictions of metal phosphiide anode materials”
Presented a poster on “Ab initio predictions of metal phosphide anode materials” at the 2018 CASTEP Workshop, and attended the tutorials, lectures, and entire workshop throughout the week.
Attended the 2018 CCP9 Young Researchers Event and Community Meeting held in York, UK.
Attended the Cambridge Centre for Science and Policy (CSaP) conference sponsored by the Churchill Scholarship. This was a one day event held in London to discuss the role of science, especially machine learning and AI in policy decisions.
More information can be found at the CSaP website here
Gave a talk titled “Discovering Novel Materials for Energy Storage Using Computational Techniques” to a collection of Churchill MCR (Graduate Students), Fellows, and Faculty at the 2018 Conference on Everything held at Churchill College, Cambridge.
The growing need for sustainable and efficient energy storage devices demands research into rechargeable batteries, specifically lithium-ion batteries, which currently dominate the battery research field due to their high energy density. However, this technology at the present state contains two main limitations: first, the dwindling abundance of Li which has led to steep increases in cost, and second by the efficiency of the electrode materials used. Sodium-ion batteries have thus received increased attention in recent years, given the relatively high abundance of Na. Given that Na+ ions have a larger radius than Li+, attention must be given to the choice of suitable anode materials, which allow for adequate sodiaition. To address both issues, an automated computational approach is employed which predicts novel anode materials with higher capacities from first principles calculations.
The ab initio Random Structure Searching code (AIRSS) is used to search for the initial anode structures, and a ternary hull is constructed between these compounds and either Li or Na. The structures which lie close to the hull, and thus are most energetically favorable are then further studied as a means of understanding the chemical transformations undergone during lithiation or sodiation. AIRSS can then be used to predict the structures formed both at the interface between these anodes and an electrolyte, and within the grain boundaries of the bulk materials. From this highthroughput method we can understand the chemical pathways of ion conduction in novel battery materials and calculate energetic barriers at the anode-electrolyte interface.
Presented a poster titled “Ab Initio Prediction of Metal Phosphide Anode Materials for Lithium and Beyond Lithium Batteries” at the AIP Horizons conference held at Trinity College in Cambridge, UK. This poster detailed my work on ab initio calculations for transition metal phosphides as high capacity anodes for Li+ and Na+-ion batteries done during my MPhil year at Cambridge.
Abstract:
Graphite, the most commonly employed Li-ion battery anode, is inherently limited in its performance due to its maximal capacity of 372 mAh/g; thus there exists a space for understanding higher capacity active materials to increase the overall battery energy density and improve performance [1]. Transition metal phosphides (TMPs) in general are an attractive class of materials to study within the field of battery anodes given that phosphorus has a high theoretical capacity of 2596 mAh/g, and the added benefit of transition metals to improve conduction and structural stability of these compounds. Here we employ a crystal structure prediction method to analyze and study two families of TMPs, copper and iron. Copper has been widely studied as a battery anode material, and Iron is an earth-abundant element which has recently been employed in Na-ion batteries, making it an attractive choice to lower the cost of beyond-lithium batteries
I am honored to have been awarded a Winton Scholarship for the Physics of Sustainability in order to pursue a PhD in Physics at the University of Cambridge in the Theory of Condensed Matter Group. I will be studying materials for energy storage applications, using computational techniques.
More information on the Winton Scholarship can be found here
I am honored to have been awarded a Gates Cambridge Scholarship in order to pursue a PhD in Physics at the University of Cambridge in the Theory of Condensed Matter Group. I will be studying materials for energy storage applications, using computational techniques.
More information on the Gates Cambridge Scholarship can be found here and my Gates Cambridge Scholars Profile can be found here.
At the 2018 APS March Meeting in Los Angeles, CA, I was invited to give a talk on “Laser printed flexible electronics” as the winner of the 2018 LeRoy Apker Award. The abstract of the talk is given here and a description of my award here.
Gave a talk titled “Ab Initio Prediction of Metal Phosphide Anode Materials for Li and Beyond Li Batteries” at the 2018 American Physical Society Meeting in Los Angeles, CA. The full abstract can be found here.