Heather was born in Gießen, Germany. She graduated from the University of Nottingham with an MSci in Medicinal and Biological Chemistry. For her masters project she worked in Dr Nicholas Mitchell’s group looking at the chemical synthesis of native and engineered proteins as therapeutics for cancer. Throughout the project Heather developed a passion for research and an interest in making these processes more sustainable. She enjoys gym and fitness; including boxing and competitive horse riding, as well as cooking, baking, travelling, reading.

Heather's research project is aligned to the following United Nations Sustainable Development Goals:

Born in Hereford and brought up in Suffolk, Oliver graduated from the University of Surrey with an MChem degree in Chemistry. He spent his third year at Aalto University in Finland under the supervision of Prof. Ari Koskinen, studying and working towards synthesising a natural product drug candidate, for the treatment of Alzheimer’s and cancer. During Oliver’s final year project, he worked under Prof. Dulcie Mulholland, looking at optimising the synthesis route of an anti-inflammatory compound and synthesising different analogues. He has strong research interests in the organic synthesis of novel drugs using renewable and creative methods. In his spare time, he enjoys playing American football, going to the gym and gaming.

Oliver's research project is aligned to the following United Nations Sustainable Development Goals:

Originally from Blackpool, Michael graduated with an MChem degree from Manchester Metropolitan University. He was awarded the Division of Chemistry prize for his efforts. Throughout his degree he worked under the supervision of Dr Alan Jones. The research undertaken was based primarily on natural product scaffolds but included aspects of photo-redox catalysis and heterocyclic chemistry. Michael is interested in organic synthesis and new reaction methodologies, carrying a relation to medicinal chemistry. Due to his interests Michael would like to develop sustainable processes to produce useful molecules and structural motifs. Aside from chemistry, Michael enjoys keeping fit, hiking, fishing, camping and cooking. 

Michael's research project is aligned to the following United Nations Sustainable Development Goals:

Originally from Sasebo, Japan, Akiharu graduated from the University of Mount Olive, US, in 2016 with a BSci in Chemistry. During his undergraduate study, he first  worked under the supervision of Dr. Rahman investigating a greener nitration method of vanillin and later with Dr. Jason Pajski and Dr. Megan Pajski to study the electrochemical degradation of atrazine in commercial products by using aluminium electrodes. For his MSc project at the University of Nottingham, he studied the extraction of heavy metals using ammonium-based ionic liquid systems under the instruction of Prof. Peter Licence. His main interest in research is water purification and separation chemistry. His hobbies include running, playing the Japanese koto, and growing an avocado tree.

Akiharu's research project is aligned to the following United Nations Sustainable Development Goals:

Catherine graduated with an MChem degree from the University of York in 2015. Under the supervision of Professor Robin Perutz, Catherine completed her masters research project at Johnson Matthey, investigating the hydrothermal stability of zeolite materials. Following graduation she completed a two year graduate scientist scheme at Johnson Matthey, where she investigated various heterogenious catalysis research projects. Catherine has a broad interest in inorganic and material chemistry and hopes to work on applications in the renewables energy sector. Outside of chemistry she enjoys mountaineering, travelling and cross country running.

Catherine's research project is aligned to the following United Nations Sustainable Development Goals:

Katie is originally from Manchester, and went to university in St Andrews Scotland to read Chemistry with Medicinal Chemistry. During her studies, Katie partook in a year in industry, working in one of GSK’s primary manufacturing sites developing existing manufacturing routes. In her final year, she worked with Dr Matt Clarke on the Manganese-catalysed selective reduction of ketones and esters.

Katie’s interests are predominantly in organic and organometallic synthesis, however she also has a keen interest in the development of more effective routes for primary manufacture of compounds. In her spare time, Katie enjoys writing, LARPing, and going on walks.”

Originally from Sheffield, Ben completed an MSci in Chemistry at the University of Nottingham; as part of his degree, he also spent a year studying abroad at the University of Connecticut. His final year project was carried out under the supervision of Prof Hon Wai Lam, and focused on asymmetric nickel catalysis. Ben’s research interests centre on the application of catalytic methodologies to the synthesis of natural products. In his spare time, he likes quizzing and travelling.

Ben's research project is aligned to the following United Nations Sustainable Development Goals:

Aaron was born in Chelmsford, Essex, and completed his undergraduate degree in Nottingham in 2017, graduating as a Master of Chemistry. His interest in organic chemistry lead him to undertake a summer placement at GSK Stevenage in the Green chemistry department, working to find greener conditions for known routes to potential drug molecules. Aaron completed his masters project under the supervision of Dr Andrew Nortcliffe, producing a scaffold of 3-azetidinones via an NH insertion strategy. From his experiences at GSK and his masters project, Aaron’s interests have developed to focus on finding more sustainable processes around chemical reactions, especially insertion reactions.

Aaron's research project is aligned to the following United Nations Sustainable Development Goals:

Born in Suffolk, Jacob graduated from the University of Sheffield in 2017 with a Masters in Chemistry with year in Industry. His industrial placement was undertaken in Belgium working for Huntsman Polyurethanes, researching and developing novel insulation materials. For his Masters project, he worked under the supervision of Dr. Rob Dawson developing microporous polymers for the removal of toxic heavy metals from wastewater. As a result of these experiences, Jacob’s main research interests lie within porous materials due to the wide diversity of their applications. He is also keen to explore other areas that encompass sustainable chemistry. In his spare time Jacob enjoys athletics and playing drums.

Jacob's research project is aligned to the following United Nations Sustainable Development Goals:

Originally from Chester, Claire graduated from Durham University with an MChem degree with a Year in Industry. For her Masters project, she completed a twelve-month placement at Lucite International. Throughout this placement, she worked on various projects covering homogeneous catalysis, organic synthesis and the use of renewable feedstocks in obtaining platform chemicals. Parts of this work involved understanding aspects of process engineering, and she hopes to use this knowledge in her future work. Outside of Chemistry, Claire enjoys swimming, cycling and exploring the countryside. She is also a keen volunteer and loves getting involved with the local area. 

Claire's research project is aligned to the following United Nations Sustainable Development Goals:

Originally from Russia, Ekaterina moved to Portugal in her early life.
Ekaterina has a BSc in Biochemistry and MSc in Biotechnology from the Faculty of Sciences and Technology at the New University of Lisbon (FCT-NOVA).

During her BSc, she was granted a scholarship in nanotechnology supported by REQUIMTE and CQFB to study bionanoconjugates of tyrosinase and gold nanoparticles as environmental sensors for simple detection of pesticides and phenolic compounds, under the supervision of Dr. João Cortez (FCT-NOVA). Her Masters project was conducted under the supervision of Prof. Susana Barreiros (FCT-NOVA) and Dr. Alexandre Pavia (FCT-NOVA). It focused on biomass fractionation technologies, such as semi-continuous hydrothermal pretreatment for valorization of agro-industrial wastes. 

Ekatarina also spent three years  at LNEG in Lisbon where she was involved in several European projects (BioBlocks2, ProEthanol 2G and BabetReal5) working on valorization of lignocellulosic biomass for biofuel production.

She spends most of her spare time reading, cycling, camping, and travelling.

Ekatarina's research project is aligned to the following United Nations Sustainable Development Goals:

Originally from Gateshead, James studied chemistry at Newcastle University, graduating with an MChem in 2017. For his masters, he worked in Dr. Knight’s group and developed a silica-immobilised ruthenium catalyst. His study also included an industrial placement at AstraZeneca in Macclesfield, where he investigated a new route to an oncology compound, facilitated its scale up to the kilo lab, and researched a synthesis of a functionalizable hetrocyclic fragment.

Having enjoyed working in industry, James’ current research interests are in organic process chemistry, particularly new methodologies and the efficient synthesis of complex fragments. In his spare time, James plays pool, table tennis and keeps up to date with the latest films.

James' research project is aligned to the following United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: