Reaction Chemistry & Engineering Blog

2023 RCE Outstanding Early-Career Award Winner: Nicholas Warren

14 Mar 2024

We are thrilled to announce Dr Nicholas Warren (University of Leeds, UK) as the winner of the 2023 Reaction Chemistry & Engineering Outstanding Early-Career Paper Award.

This is in recognition of his leadership of the paper, ‘Continuous synthesis of block copolymer nanoparticles via telescoped RAFT solution and dispersion polymerisation in a miniature CSTR cascade‘, DOI: 10.1039/D2RE00475E

Check out this bespoke infographic summarising the paper:

Please join us in congratulating Dr Warren!

About the winner

Nicholas Warren graduated with a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Sheffield in 2012 specialising in polymer synthesis and self-assembly under the supervision Prof. Steve Armes and Prof. Beppe Battaglia. He continued as a post-doc in Sheffield where he worked with Prof. Steve Armes to develop new block copolymer materials using polymerisation-induced self-assembly, with a particular focus on hydrogels for stem-cell storage. In 2016 he was appointed as a University Academic Fellow at the University of Leeds and was subsequently promoted to Associate Professor in 2021.

His research group focusses on enhancing precision of controlled polymer synthesis through the application of new ‘enabling’ technologies, including flow-reactors, online monitoring and artificial intelligence. His contribution to this field resulted in him being awarded the Macro Group UK Young Researchers Medal in 2022.

Read our interview with Dr Nicholas Warren:

Can you briefly summarise your paper?

We design a flow reactor to facilitate continuous production of polymer nanoparticles using a process known as reversible addition-fragmentation polymerisation-induced self-assembly (RAFT-PISA). This chemistry enables rational control over polymer molecular weights, which then dictates nanoparticle size and morphology. By coupling with a flow reactor we demonstrate that further precision and reproducibility can be obtained. The fact that this polymerisation is heterogenous means good stirring is required, and the implementation of a mini-CSTR cascade is ideal. Furthermore, a careful understanding of how the residence time distribution affects the polymerisation enables an additional handle for controlling the properties of the product. Finally, we also implement a two stage “telescoped” polymerisation, whereby an initial solution polymerisation conducted in a tube is then fed into the CSTRs alongside the second monomer. The multi-scale nature of these flow platforms also enables scale-up of the product easily using the same platform.

What aspect of your work are you most excited about at the moment?

I’m most excited by the prospect of automating the whole process. This includes conducting machine learning directed closed-loop optimisation to target polymer products with defined characteristics. We have done something similar with solution polymerisation (Polym. Chem., 2022,13, 1576), and are now dealing with the various additional challenges presented with heterogeneous PISA systems! Watch this space!

Where do you see the field of continuous-flow chemistry in five years time?

I think the huge focus on automation is going to dominate the field. There is a huge amount of activity in this area and this is only going to grow. Our work on polymers has been recognised by the polymer community and I know there are several groups now exploiting flow for polymerisation.

How do you feel about Reaction Chemistry & Engineering as a place to publish research on this topic?

The balance between engineering and chemistry within Reaction Chemistry & Engineering means the articles can appeal across disciplines. This is enhancing the quality of interdisciplinary research in a highly symbiotic manner. By publishing my work in this journal I am confident it will be seen by a wide range of individuals and the new insights gained in dealing with polymerisation will provide solutions for other areas of chemistry.

How do you like to spend your time when not doing research?

With two very energetic kids, I spend a lot of time outside – mainly walking in the Peak District.

Can you share one piece of career-related advice for those beginning their research career?

Work with people you get on with, even if their research may not be directly aligned. By embracing new areas you’ll naturally begin to broaden your research as a whole. This causes a natural shift to independence.

Continuous synthesis of block copolymer nanoparticles via telescoped RAFT solution and dispersion polymerisation in a miniature CSTR cascade

Peter M. Pittaway, Ghadir Ghasemi, Stephen T. Knox, Olivier J. Cayre, Nikil Kapur and Nicholas J. Warren*

React. Chem. Eng., 2023,8, 707-717, DOI: 10.1039/D2RE00475E

About the award

The aim of the Reaction Chemistry & Engineering Outstanding Early-Career Paper Award is to recognise a researcher in the earlier stages of their research career for their leadership in reporting original research published in the journal.

The journal Editorial Board award this prize annually, selecting the paper which they find to demonstrate the highest quality of research, as well as importance to the advancement of the field of reaction engineering, out of all qualifying papers published in the journal each year.

Eligibility

In order to be eligible for this award, the candidate must:

Be listed as a corresponding author on the paper.
Currently be an independent research leader.
Have either a) received their PhD on or after 1^st January of the year 12 years prior to the award year (2012 for prize year 2024) or b) spent no more than an equivalent amount of time in research when taking into account any career breaks.
Have a paper featured in the journal’s Emerging Investigator Series – further information about eligibility for the Emerging Investigator Series can be found here. The Editorial Office will consider applications to the Series on their own merit; please contact us if you are interested in being considered for the series or nominating an exceptional early-career colleague.
Not be a previous winner of this award.

Prize

The winner of the Reaction Chemistry & Engineering Outstanding Early-Career Paper Award will receive an engraved plaque, a bespoke infographic from Impact Science for the winning paper and £500 cash award that would be used for conference travel/attendance of their choice.

To have your paper considered for the 2024 Reaction Chemistry & Engineering Outstanding Early-Career Paper Award, indicate when prompted upon submission of your revised manuscript if a corresponding author of the paper fulfils the criteria to feature in the Emerging Investigator Series. If accepted, your paper will be added to the ongoing collection and will be considered for the award. Multiple eligible authors of a winning paper will share the prize fund equally. You can contact the editors at reactionchemeng-rsc@rsc.org if you have any queries.

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Reaction Chemistry & Engineering Emerging Investigator- Hilal Ezgi Toraman

12 Jan 2024

By Sean Browner.

Dr. Hilal Ezgi Toraman, Wilson Faculty Fellow is an Assistant Professor of Energy Engineering and Chemical Engineering at The Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Toraman is the Elected Director for the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AICHE) Catalysis and Reaction Engineering Division and Elected President of Pittsburgh-Cleveland Catalysis Society (PCCS). She is the member of the International Editorial Board for Fuel Communications and ACS Engineering Au. Dr. Toraman’s research is in the field of chemical reaction engineering and catalysis with a focus on developing new processes, materials and technologies for efficient and sustainable use of non-traditional feedstocks such as shale gas, biogas, biomass and plastic waste. Dr. Toraman has received prestigious recognition and awards from prominent organizations in the field of chemistry and chemical engineering. She has been selected to receive the Virginia S. and Philip L. Walker Jr. Faculty Fellowship in Materials Science and Engineering and the Fuel Science Program at Penn State University. She has been acknowledged as a Rising Star by the American Chemical Society’s Division of Energy & Fuels, and was recently selected as one of the 2023 Pioneers of Catalysis and Reaction Engineering (CRE) in the honorary session by the CRE division of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE). Additionally, Dr. Toraman has been honored by being recognized in Chemical & Engineering News’ esteemed list of Talented 12 in 2023. Toraman was selected for her research in technologies that turn waste into fuels, chemicals and other products.

Prior to joining the Penn State University, she was a postdoctoral researcher in Prof. Dionisios Vlachos’ group at the Delaware Energy Institute, and Department of Chemical Engineering at University of Delaware. She received her B.S. and M.S. degree in Chemical Engineering from Middle East Technical University, Turkey. She received her Ph.D. degree in Chemical Engineering from Ghent University, Belgium, under the supervision of Prof. Kevin Van Geem and Prof. Guy Marin.

Read Ezgi’s Emerging Investigator article, ‘Catalytic co-pyrolysis of LDPE and PET with HZSM-5, H-beta, and HY: experiments and kinetic modelling – Reaction Chemistry & Engineering‘, DOI: 10.1039/D2RE00144F

1. How do you feel about RCE as a place to publish research on this topic?

As a researcher working in the field of reaction engineering and catalysis, having a platform as Reaction Chemistry and Engineering to publish our research enables to reach easily the interested audience and go beyond considering the interdisciplinary topics that RCE publishes as well.

2. What aspect of your work are you most excited about at the moment and what do you find most challenging about your research?

I’ve always been drawn to the intricacies of complex chemistries, whether they stem from the challenges at the reaction level—like activating and converting highly stable molecules such as methane—or arise from diverse feedstock sources like biomass and more recently, used plastics. The dynamic nature of these chemistries presents a multifaceted puzzle, and I’m exhilarated by the prospect of contributing solutions to comprehend and eventually control these processes.
One aspect that truly excites me is the current stage of our experimental capabilities. We’re now able to conduct experiments under precisely defined and controlled conditions, even for demanding solid-to-gas chemistries, and pair them with cutting-edge analytics. This technological leap offers immense opportunities for exploration and innovation in our field.

Additionally, the accessibility of data science tools is a significant advantage that I believe holds the potential to accelerate scientific progress. However, one of the most pressing challenges I encounter, not only in my own research but across the entire field, is effectively managing and ensuring the quality of the vast amounts of data generated. Achieving efficient data organization and maintaining data quality is paramount for leveraging the full potential of these tools and advancing our understanding.

3. Can you share one piece of career-related advice or wisdom with other early career scientists?

As scientists, we often gravitate toward challenging problems, and coupled with our high expectations, the journey can be inherently stressful, especially for those juggling additional responsibilities, such as being a professor. Through my own experiences, I’ve learned the value of maintaining an open-minded approach to regularly revising strategies. Embracing the whole process rather than fixating solely on the end result has been a crucial revelation.

My advice to fellow early career scientists is to acknowledge the inherent difficulty in our chosen paths and to prioritize adaptability. Embrace the journey, focusing not just on the destination but on each step along the way. Allow yourself the flexibility to reassess and refine strategies as needed, finding fulfillment in the learning process itself rather than being consumed by the pressure of achieving immediate results. Remember, it’s the iterative journey toward understanding and discovery that truly shapes our scientific endeavors.

You can read more about Ezgi’s research here: https://sites.psu.edu/toramanlab/

You can see Ezgi’s Linkedin here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hilal-ezgi-toraman-0726a4133/

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Reaction Chemistry & Engineering Emerging Investigator- Dirk Ziegenbalg

29 Mar 2023

By Molly Colgate, Assistant Editor.

Dirk Ziegenbalg studied chemistry at Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Germany from where he graduated with a PhD in Industrial Chemistry in 2013. In 2012 he moved to University Stuttgart, Germany to establish a junior research group at the Institute of Chemical Technology. He holds a M. Sc. degree in Economics from the Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Germany. In 2018 he was appointed as a Professor at the Institute of Chemical Engineering of Ulm University, Germany.

His research interests focus on photochemical reaction engineering at the interface between chemical engineering, microreaction technology and photochemistry.

Follow Dirk’s research group on Twitter to find out more

Read Dirk’s Emerging Investigator article, ‘Photochlorination of toluene – the thin line between intensification and selectivity. Part 1: intensification and effect of operation conditions‘, DOI: 10.1039/D0RE00263A

1. How do you feel about RCE as a place to publish research on this topic?

RCE’s focus on the interface between chemistry and engineering is actually identical to my research interests. It has always been and still is a great challenge to communicate between the two disciplines, but such interdisciplinary research adds significant value to the generation of knowledge. A journal dealing with such interdisciplinary topics is very attractive and meets the research needs, which is reflected in the high quality of the published articles.

2. What aspect of your work are you most excited about at the moment and what do you find most challenging about your research?

The increasing research activities in the field of light-driven reactions, both at the fundamental and application level, are currently creating a very stimulating research environment. Bridging the gap between laboratory and industrial applications is very interesting, as there is a plethora of different aspects that need to be addressed. We have recently found that controlling the availability of light is not only a means to control the reaction rate, but also a powerful strategy to increase the efficiency of photoreactions and to switch between reaction pathways. I’m very excited to see how this how potent this strategy will be, The most challenging aspect of photoreaction engineering research is the strong coupling between reactions and transport processes, which requires extensive studies to unravel the underlying fundamentals.

3. In your opinion, what are the most important questions to be asked/answered in this field of research?

Objective and comprehensive documentation of experimental results and details is required to reduce the barriers to transferring laboratory results to industrial application. This explicitly includes details of the photoreactors and light sources. The development of reliable methods for measuring photons in (large) photoreactors is of great importance in this context. Scale-up and transfer strategies can only be derived with such comprehensive data sets. In this context, well-founded techno-economic evaluations of comparable light-driven and thermal synthesis routes are required to identify the bottlenecks. The impact of dynamic irradiation, either caused by changing environmental conditions for solar photochemistry or imposed by the operator when using artificial light sources, on reaction performance should be understood to develop appropriate control strategies and enable efficient use of photons.

4. Can you share one piece of career-related advice or wisdom with other early career scientists?

Stay curious and challenge yourself with new topics throughout your career. Go beyond the mainstream. New topics will be more challenging at first. But they will pay off in the long run.

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Reaction Chemistry & Engineering Emerging Investigator- Kumud Malika Tripathi

06 Mar 2023

By Sean Browner.

Dr. Kumud Malika Tripathi is a Ramalingaswami faculty/Assistant Professor in the
Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Petroleum and Energy Visakhapatnam India. She received her PhD in Chemistry from Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur in 2013. Before joining IIPE, she held several positions including Assistant Professor in Gachon University, South Korea; postdoctoral fellow at the University of South Brittany, Lorient, France, IIT Kanpur, India, and Gachon University. Dr. Kumud has published more than 60 publications in highly reputed journals, which have been cited over 3300 times with an H-index of 38. She has five successful grants. She received the prestigious Ramalingaswai Re-entry Fellowship and award. Her research activities include the green synthesis of multifunctional nanomaterials for energy, healthcare and environmental applications. Kumud works at the interface of chemistry, material science and biology, exploring nanomaterial based new strategies for environmental monitoring and remediation, self-recharge power unit, energy storage devices, CO₂capture and conversion, flexible electronics and photocatalytic water splitting for green hydrogen production. She is also focusing on fabrication of nanomaterials based sensors for non-invasive disease diagnosis.

Read Kumud’s Emerging Investigator Article: ‘Structural Control in Nano-assembly of Tungsten and Molybdenum Dithiolene Complex Analog’, DOI: 10.1039/D2RE00205A

How do you feel about RCE as a place to publish research on this topic?

Inter and multidisciplinary approach for research is the present need of time. That can provide the solutions to present and coming scientific challenges. I did my Ph.D. in chemistry and postdoc research in chemical engineering. As an academician, publishing papers in peer-reviewed-reputed journals is quite important. In RCE, publishing is recommendable as it adheres to the engineering aspects to scale up the processes.

Further, it has a rigorously peer-reviewed RCE, an interdisciplinary journal that merges the broad areas of chemical technology with chemical science to derive solutions for societal issues. Performing the experiments in laboratories is entirely different from the industrial scale. So, it’s a suitable place for researchers like me, those working in a multidisciplinary approach and interface of science and technology.

What aspect of your work are you most excited about at the moment and what do you find most challenging about your research?

As a young researcher training undergraduate and graduate minds is the most exciting and interesting aspect of my work at the movement. I am stressing about how I can make my research useful for a common person.

In your opinion, what are the most important questions to be asked/answered in this field of research?

During a social gathering or interacting with common peoples including my relatives. The most common interactive question is, “what is your research about?”. To explain the research to a common person and make them understand the research topic is a fundamental question, as per my opinion. If I can explain my research output to a common man and if they find it interesting and valuable, it is the most relaxing thought for me.

Can you share one piece of career-related advice or wisdom with other early career scientists?

Everyone must be open to new learning skills, gaining experiences from students, colleagues, and co-workers, and growing their academic circle and collaborations. The road for the scientists is quite bumpy but it is worth the journey.

Follow Kumud and her research group on these social media;

Facebook

Researchgate

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Reaction Chemistry & Engineering Emerging Investigator- Miguel A. Modestino

03 Mar 2023

By Molly Colgate, Assistant Editor.

Miguel A. Modestino is the Director of the Sustainable Engineering Initiative and the Donald F. Othmer Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering at New York University (NYU). Miguel obtained his B.S in Chemical Engineering (2007) and M.S. in Chemical Engineering Practice (2008) from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley (2013). From 2013-2016, he was a post-doctoral researcher at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland where he served as project manager for the Solar Hydrogen Integrated Nano-electrolysis (SHINE) project.

He is a winner of the Global Change Award from the H&M Foundation (2016), the MIT Technology Review Innovators Under 35 Award in Latin America (2017) and Globally (2020), the ACS Petroleum Research Fund Doctoral New Investigator Award (2018), the NSF CAREER Award (2019), the Inaugural NYU Tandon Junior Faculty Research Award (2020), and TED Idea Search Latin America (2021).His research group at NYU focusses on the development of electrochemical technologies for the incorporation of renewable energy into chemical manufacturing. He is also co-founder of Sunthetics Inc., a startup developing machine learning solutions to accelerate the development of sustainable chemical processes.

Read Miguel’s Emerging Investigator article, ‘Chemically-informed data-driven optimization (ChIDDO): leveraging physical models and Bayesian learning to accelerate chemical research‘, DOI: 10.1039/D2RE00005A

1. How do you feel about RCE as a place to publish research on this topic?

Over the past few years, RCE has became the home of the reaction engineering community, and we are proud to have contributed to its growth by publishing our work on electro-organic reactions and machine learning optimization applied to chemical systems. While our team publishes in many different venues, we see RCE as the central journal for our community and a perfect venue for our core reaction engineering work.

In recent years, RCE has emerged as one of the most important journals for the reaction engineering community, and we take great pride in our contributions to its growth. Our team’s research on electro-organic reactions and machine learning optimization applied to chemical systems has been published in the journal as we recognize RCE as the core publication of our field.

2. What aspect of your work are you most excited about at the moment and what do you find most challenging about your research?

I am very excited about our recent work at the interface of electrochemical reaction engineering, automation, and machine learning optimization. The mission of our group is to help decarbonize the chemical manufacturing industry via electrochemistry, and we recognize that it is a daunting challenge. To that end, we are rapidly building high-throughput electrochemical reactors and implementing machine learning optimization algorithms to accelerate the path from idea to discovery to scale-up, and hope to contribute solutions in the short timeframe that we have to decarbonize our industry.

3. In your opinion, what are the most important questions to be asked/answered in this field of research?

The central question that we aim to answer is how to develop cost-competitive electrochemical processes with high selectivity, efficiency, and throughput, which can operate stably at scale over long periods of time.

4. Can you share one piece of career-related advice or wisdom with other early career scientists?

Follow your passion, think critically, and inspire the next generation to pursue impactful careers that address society’s biggest problems.

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Reaction Chemistry & Engineering Emerging investigator – Nicholas Warren

02 Mar 2023

By Sean Browner.

Professor Nicholas Warren graduated with a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Sheffield in 2012 specialising in Polymer synthesis and self-assembly under the supervision Prof Steve Armes and Prof Beppe Battaglia. He continued as a post-doc in Sheffield where he worked with Prof Steve Armes to develop new block copolymer materials using polymerisation-induced self-assembly, with a particular focus on hydrogels for stem-cell storage. In 2016 he was appointed as a University Academic Fellow at the University of Leeds and was subsequently promoted to Associate Professor in 2021. His research group focusses on enhancing precision of controlled polymer synthesis through the application of new ‘enabling’ technologies, including flow-reactors, online monitoring and artificial intelligence. His contribution to this field resulted in him being awarded the Macro Group UK Young Researchers Medal in 2022.

Read Nick’s Emerging Investigator article, ‘Continuous synthesis of block copolymer nanoparticles via telescoped RAFT solution and dispersion polymerisation in a miniature CSTR cascade‘, DOI: 10.1039/D2RE00475E

How do you feel about RCE as a place to publish research on this topic?

Within our group we are striving to develop technologies which can accelerate R&D in polymer science, but many aspects are highly transferrable across the chemical sciences. In this context, publication of RCE enables us to disseminate our work to this broader audience in the hope that it will enhance impact across the discipline.

What aspect of your work are you most excited about at the moment and what do you find most challenging about your research?

Within science and engineering, advanced technologies such as automation and AI are having a huge impact. We are really excited to be able to apply these for developing the next generation of polymer materials and to encourage uptake across the discipline. As a chemist by trade, there is a steep learning curve in the context of automation, and from a physical aspect there are many challenges associated with dealing with polymer materials such as mixing, flowing and separation.

In your opinion, what are the most important questions to be asked/answered in this field of research?

The major question in the field is whether it is possible to generate new polymers which can be sustainable, affordable and provide the performance beyond that of current materials. Current R&D approaches are not sufficient to provide these materials on reasonable timescales, so it needs to be determined whether developing new technologies can do so.

Can you share one piece of career-related advice or wisdom with other early career scientists?

Until now, my strategy has consisted of leveraging my existing knowledge and combining it with novel and unfamiliar concepts that I believe can make a significant difference in areas I am passionate about. To do this effectively, my advice is to establish an interdisciplinary network comprising individuals from both industry and academia across all career stages, recognising that these relationships will continue to be valuable for the rest of your career.

Find out more about Nick’s research on his website

Follow Nick and his research group on these social media:

Twitter: @njwarren1, @CpegLeeds1

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Reaction Chemistry & Engineering Emerging Investigator – Dan Wang

02 Mar 2023

By Paul Scott, Assistant Editor.

Dr. Dan Wang is a Professor at the State Key Laboratory of Organic-Inorganic Composites, College of Chemical Engineering in Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, China. He received a B.E. degree in materials science and engineering and a Ph.D. degree in optical engineering from Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China, in 2008 and 2013, respectively. Dr. Wang was Visiting Scholar at Harvard University (2019) and Case Western Reserve University (2013-2015) in the United States. His current research interests focus on Nanomaterials and Process Intensification. Dr. Wang was honored as Distinguished Young Investigator of China Frontiers of Engineering from Chinese Academy of Engineering (2018) and won First Prize Award for Young Teachers in the Higher Education Institutions of China issued by Fok Ying Tong Education Foundation (2019), First Prize of Technological Invention Award issued by China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation (2022), etc. He has authored over 100 peer-reviewed articles and serves as the associate editor of Applied Nanoscience and Heliyon, member of international cooperation committee at The Chemical Industry and Engineering Society of China (CIESC) and senior member of American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE).

Read Dan’s Emerging Investigator Series article, Synthesis of poly(2,6-diaminopyridine) using a rotating packed bed toward efficient production of polypyrrole-derived electrocatalysts, DOI: 10.1039/D2RE00296E, and read our interview with him below.

How do you feel about RCE as a place to publish research on this topic?

Reaction Chemistry & Engineering has been a great place for researchers of chemical engineering and chemical sciences to come together in solving problems of importance to wider society. The research of our group focuses on the development of new materials at multiple scales, from the laboratory up to and including plant scale. International exposure of our work in RCE to chemical scientists and engineers from across academia and industry is a very rewarding experience.

What aspect of your work are you most excited about at the moment and what do you find most challenging about your research?

The sustainable development of social economy calls for green catalysts and green process for the industrial manufacture of useful products. Carbon-based nanomaterials are considered as efficient electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction and oxygen evolution reaction in proton-exchange membrane fuel cell and metal-air batteries. The properties of functional nanomaterials are extremely sensitive to structures and compositions at molecular to nanometer scale, which allow the control and tuning of characteristics in lab scale, but make them very difficult to reproduce for commercial applications. Therefore, we must be conscious not only on the performance of new materials in lab-scale, but also care about the issues related to scale-up, cost and compatibility in the future. The most challenging about the research is the ingenious fusion of scientific thinking and engineering thinking in accelerating the translation of new materials and technologies in industrial applications.

In your opinion, what are the most important questions to be asked/answered in this field of research?

Broad application of new materials will not be realized if there is no low-cost and large-scale fabrication capability for them with a well-defined size and shape. Key challenges, including batch stability and atom economy of synthesis process on functional nanomaterials, have to be taken into serious consideration to transform the in-lab synthesis technology into scale-up production for wider commercial needs.

Can you share one piece of career-related advice or wisdom with other early career scientists?

Keep learning and self-improvement, pursue common development through win-win cooperation, work together to benefit each other.

Find out more about Dan Wang’s research on his orcid profile.

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Reaction Chemistry & Engineering Emerging Investigator- Mustafa Kemal Bayazit

23 Feb 2023

By Natalie Cotterell, Development Editor.

Dr Bayazit received his BSc and MSc degrees with honours in Chemistry. He was then awarded a fellowship by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) in 2007 to pursue a PhD at Durham University. In 2010, he joined ICL Chemistry as a PostDoc to research nanostructured hierarchical assemblies and composites. Mustafa moved to UCL Chemical Engineering in 2014. He developed a microwave-fluidic reactor for high throughput fabrication of nanomaterials (e.g. metal/metal oxide NPs and graphene) and used them in solar-to-energy applications. In 2019, he moved to Sabanci University Nanotechnology Research and Application Center, where he is currently an Associate Professor in Materials Science and Nanoengineering (http://myweb.sabanciuniv.edu/mkbayazit/). His research focuses on high throughput sustainable manufacturing of advanced inorganic/organic and inorganic/inorganic hybrids for energy materials, sensors, and functional surfaces. He is the recipient of TUBITAK 2232-A International Fellowship for Outstanding Researchers (2019), the finalist of the IChemE Global Research Project Awards (2022), a recipient of the COMSTECH Award (2022), and contributing team member of the IChemE Global Business Start-up Award (2019). He is also a member of the Royal Society of Chemistry.

Read Dr Mustafa Kemal Bayazit’s Emerging Investigator Series article, ‘Microwave-promoted continuous flow synthesis of thermoplastic polyurethane-silver nanocomposites and their antimicrobial performance’, DOI: 10.1039/D2RE00049K

Check out this video interview in which Mustafa talks about his recent publication, his future work and gives advice for early-career researchers

You can keep up to date with Mustafa’s research by following him on Twitter @mkemalbay or Instagram (nano_chem_al_ist)

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RCE Emerging Investigator- David Simakov

22 Feb 2023

By Natalie Cotterell, Development Editor.

David Simakov received his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology working on the design of catalytic membrane reformers for integrated fuel cell systems. After spending two years in industry on research and developing of a new generation of fuel cells based on anion-exchange membranes, he moved back to academia. He first participated in a joint Technion-Princeton University project working on reaction-diffusion modelling of the biological pattern formation and then moved to Harvard University, where he studied the nonlinear phenomena in catalytic oscillatory chemical systems. Prior to joining the University of Waterloo as an Assistant Professor, Dr. Simakov conducted his postdoctoral training in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he worked on thermocatalysis and reactor design for solar thermal reforming. His main research expertise is synthesis of catalytic materials for heterogeneous catalysis applications, reactor design and system integration for thermocatalytic conversion applications. Currently, the main focus of Dr. Simakov’s research group is synthesis of thermocatalytic materials for transformation of CO₂ into Renewable Synthetic Fuels and development of related sustainable processes.

Read David’s Emerging Investigator article, ‘Autothermal CO2 Hydrogenation Reactor for Renewable Natural Gas Generation: Experimental Proof-of-Concept’, DOI: 10.1039/D2RE00236A and check out our interview

How do you feel about RCE as a place to publish research on this topic?

RCE was a perfect fit for publishing my work.

What aspect of your work are you most excited about at the moment and what do you find most challenging about your research?

The most exciting aspect of my work is the actual practical implementation of the CO2 utilization process via thermocatalytic conversion in a highly efficient way.

In your opinion, what are the most important questions to be asked/answered in this field of research?

The economic viability of the thermocatalytic CO2 conversion process must be investigated in detail.

Can you share one piece of career-related advice or wisdom with other early career scientists?

I would advise to be open-minded and to look for creative solutions.

You can follow David on LinkedIn to keep up to date with his research

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2022 RCE Outstanding Early-Career Award Winners: Kerry Gilmore and Karen Robertson

21 Feb 2023

By Natalie Cotterell, Development Editor.

It is with our great pleasure to announce Prof. Kerry Gilmore (University of Connecticut, USA) and Prof. Karen Robertson (University of Nottingham, UK) as joint winners of the 2022 Reaction Chemistry & Engineering Outstanding Early-Career Paper Award.

This is in recognition of their leadership of the paper, ‘Rapid optimisation of API crystallisation in a segmented flow reactor with a continuous, variable temperature gradient’, DOI: 10.1039/D2RE00183G

Check out this bespoke infographic summarising the paper

Please join us in congratulating Prof. Gilmore and Prof. Robertson!

About the winners

Kerry Gilmore is an Assistant Professor at the University of Connecticut, USA. He received his PhD from Florida State University in 2012 and did a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Max-Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces. He was a Research Group Leader at the same institution prior to his appointment at the University of Connecticut. Dr Gilmore’s research group use flow chemistry as a platform to provide reproducibility, efficiency and access to controlled reaction conditions. This approach is applied to a broad range of applications within organic chemistry, such as the development of new reactions, mechanistic studies and multistep synthesis. Find out more about the Gilmore Lab here

Karen Robertson is an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Nottingham, UK. She completed her PhD at Imperial College London in 2012 focusing on targeting interconnected MOF architectures through multi-podal ligand design. She then worked closely with industry in a Knowledge Transfer Partnership between Clariant Oil Services and the University of Leeds developing new corrosion inhibitors and improved in vivo test methodology for the oil and gas industry. In 2013 she joined the EPSRC Centre for Innovative Manufacturing for Continuous Manufacturing and Crystallisation (CMAC, now a Future Manufacturing Hub) at the University of Bath focussing on crystal engineering techniques for agrochemical optimisation and the development of lab-based flow crystallisers. Dr Robertson is interested in using flow technologies to understand and control how self-assembling systems come together using a range of different flow regimes such as liquid segmented, single phase turbulent and laminar flow. Find out more about Dr Robertson’s research here.

Check out the interview with Prof. Robertson and Prof. Gilmore below:

Can you briefly summarise your paper?

KG: Reproducible crystal formation often remains one of the last great art forms in science, as a myriad of factors need to be controlled time after time in order to get not just crystals to form, but also the size and shape of crystals targeted. One of the easiest ways to form crystals is by dissolving a material in a hot solvent and slowly cooling that solution down. To date, technology has only allowed us to do this in flasks/tanks (batch processes), meaning that a discrete amount of sample can be crystallized at any one time. Flow chemistry offers significant advantages with respect to reproducibility as compared to batch, and allows for continuous operation, increasing output in a greener way. However, there was no way to create the smooth temperature gradient required for controlled crystallization. In this work, we discuss the development of a flow chemistry reactor that allows for a solution to pass through a variable temperature gradient, taking a heated solution and cooling it at the chosen rate. We show that this allows for controlled, reproducible, continuous crystal formation. This reactor platform will allow for a more standardized and even automated screening of crystal formation, with the potential to aid in understanding and predicting solubility.

What aspect of your work are you most excited about at the moment?

KG: I am most excited about the possibility to expand this platform to incorporate the ability to screen different solvent solutions and structural variants of a given target. That would allow us to automate the optimization of crystallization conditions. It would also ideally allow us to build a model that could predict whether reagents, byproducts, or products of a given reaction will be soluble, which would be very important for flow chemistry.

KR: I’m really excited about the strides we’ve been making integrating in situ X-ray diffraction with flow crystallisation. Our advances in new flow crystallisation control (such as the KRAIC-G) and the way we can now integrate single crystal and powder diffraction are coming together in a way that means we can explore and understand so much more.

Where do you see the field of flow chemistry in five years time?

KG: A combination of more inexpensive Lego-type systems that users can plug in what they want, with software guiding their development and controlling the developed system so non-experts can easily use it, and fully automated, remotely accessible platforms where users can simply log in, generate experimental data, make samples, in a fully reproducible manner without any physical equipment or expertise required in their labs. With open hardware, the rate at which developments and discoveries are made in chemistry will skyrocket.

KR: I think the highly interdisciplinary backbone of flow chemistry is really being embraced with data scientists, mathematicians, physicists and many more. I believe this will be a strength that increases going forwards in the next five years. We’ve seen amazing automation and machine learning enhanced leaps that I think will spread through the multivariant approaches already being developed and non-steady-state exploration of reaction pathways.

How do you feel about Reaction Chemistry & Engineering as a place to publish research on this topic?

KG: Reaction Chemistry & Engineering is a great journal, where pretty much every article is focusing on a different facet of the fields I’m interested in. It allows you to step back and, looking through each issue, see how the field is growing, developing, and really attacking the challenges we face in making molecules and understanding how to do that better.

KR: I think RCE is a great journal which appeals to both chemists and engineers. It can often be difficult to target where you publish new engineering approaches that enable new chemistries/understanding and I think RCE fills that gap perfectly.

How do you like to spend your time when not doing research?

KG: I spend pretty much all of my time outside of lab with my family (wife and two young daughters). I also really like woodworking and being outdoors, whether in the yard, walking in the woods, or being at the beach.

KR: I like to keep active either doing yoga, walking or climbing, living near the Peak District is great for that. Equally I’m as happy sitting reading a good book. Finding a way to switch off is essential in our world.

Can you share one piece of career-related advice for those beginning their research career?

KG: Stop stressing about what other people are doing, or that they are probably working much harder than you or publishing more than you. It’s fine. This is a long road, and if you focus too much on what everyone else is doing, you’re not going to have the mental health required to be creative or supportive – the two biggest skills you need to succeed. Go after problems that you think are interesting, work on projects that maybe take a bit longer at first to get going, because those are the ones that will pay off the most, and the ones that you’ll continue to be motivated to work on. If in starting a project you know what’s going to happen, and you know exactly how to get there, then that project is too easy and not worth doing.

KR: Talk to people. Lots of people. I get so many ideas and so much energy from just chatting with other researchers. Don’t be afraid to just go up to talk to someone or email someone, you never know how it can turn out. I met Kerry at a conference and the chat we had there turned into a friendship and this great piece of work we’ve published here 😊

Read the Open Access paper

Rapid optimisation of API crystallisation in a segmented flow reactor with a continuous, variable temperature gradient

Karen Robertson, Peter H. Seeberger and Kerry Gilmore

React. Chem. Eng., 2023,8, 77-83, DOI: 10.1039/D2RE00183G

About the award

Eligibility

In order to be eligible for this award, the candidate must:

Be listed as a corresponding author on the paper
Currently be an independent research leader
Have either a) received their PhD on or after 1^st January of the year 12 years prior to the award year (2009 for prize year 2021) or b) spent no more than an equivalent amount of time in research when taking into account any career breaks.
Have a paper featured in the journal’s Emerging Investigator Series – further information about eligibility for the Emerging Investigator Series can be found here. The Editorial Office will consider applications to the Series on their own merit; please contact us if you are interested in being considered for the series or nominating an exceptional early-career colleague.
Not be a previous winner of this award

Selection Process

To choose the winner of the 2021 Reaction Chemistry & Engineering Outstanding Early-Career Paper Award, a shortlist of eligible articles that were published throughout the year were selected by the editorial office and then subsequently assessed by the journal’s Editorial Board. The winner was selected based upon the significance, impact and quality of the research.

Prize

To have your paper considered for the 2023 Reaction Chemistry & Engineering Outstanding Early-Career Paper Award, indicate when prompted upon submission of your revised manuscript if a corresponding author of the paper fulfils the criteria to feature in the Emerging Investigator Series. If accepted, your paper will be added to the ongoing collection and will be considered for the award. Multiple eligible authors of a winning paper will share the prize fund equally. You can contact the editors at reactionchemeng-rsc@rsc.org if you have any queries.

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