Cutting-edge research at the Department was showcased at the Postdoc Symposium on 18 April with Dame Julia Higgins delivering the keynote address.

The symposium is intended as a platform for postdoctoral researchers to present their work within the Department of Chemical Engineering and meet fellow scientists to discuss future possibilities. It also serves to highlight the level of research being carried out in the Department and as such, often features eminent guests from academia and industry.

The day kicked off with a lunch programme and poster session in the design rooms with postdoctoral researchers presenting their research and engaging in collaborative discussions.

Presentation schedule and lecture abstracts

Professor Dame Julia Higgins, Emeritus Professor and Senior Research Investigator at the College gave her keynote lecture titled, “How on Earth did I get here?” shining a light on her incredible research career both in and out of Imperial College London.

Professor Dame Julia Higgins, Emeritus Professor and Senior Research Investigator at Imperial College

Dame Julia Higgins was followed by a series of lectures from selected postdoctoral researchers. The closing talks were presented by the winners of this year’s Sir William Wakeham Award winners - Dr Agnieszka Brandt-Talbot and Dr Patrizia Marchetti. Dr Brandt-Talbot’s lecture was titled “Turning trees into chemicals using ionic liquids” and Dr Marchetti’s lecture was titled “Molecular separation with organic solvent nanofiltration: membrane characterisation and process prediction”.

The Sir William Wakeham Award is presented to early career researchers to recognise a significant contribution to their field. Dame Julia presented the award and a £2000 prize to this year’s winners.

The event was wrapped up with a wine reception in the SCR. We would like to thank all of the speakers and presenters for their contributions. Furthermore we would like to thank the organising committee of academics Cleo Kontoravdi and George Jackson, postdocs Yoli Sanchez-Vicente, Alex Brogan, Peter Yatsyshin, Mihaela Stevar, Ju Zhu and support staff Zoe Townsend and Michael Panagopulos. 

For more details, please visit the symposium website.