Members of the Department of Chemical Engineering were recognised with two key wins at the 2017 IChemE Global Awards last week.

The Carbon Capture Pilot Plant team were announced as the winners of the Training and Development Award, and Clementine Chambon was awarded the Young Researcher Award for her work with communities in rural India.

The IChemE Global Training and Development award was collected by Dr Daryl Williams, Dr Colin Hale and Clive Rodgers.

Commenting on the team’s success, Clive Rodgers said: “Our facility won this award in recognition of its role in demonstrating excellence in training, fostering worldwide awareness of chemical engineering through its outreach and summer school programmes, and as a centre of visits for individuals from all walks of life: from senior international members of state, captains of industry and domestic dignitaries, to groups of wide-eyed schoolchildren.”

The Carbon Capture Pilot Plant team collect their award. Image credit: IChemE.

“Our Pilot Plant is used for teaching undergraduates at all stages of their M.Eng Chemical Engineering, and for those in industry studying for their MSc in Process Automation, Instrumentation & Control. It is also used extensively for numerous post doc research projects and by industry-leading companies to train their staff in real-world situations using its cutting-edge technology.”

“Finally, we must give thanks to our facility’s sponsor, ABB, for their continuous support in providing all this superbly engineered equipment.”

Nurhazwani Juzaimi collected the IChemE Global Young Researcher Award on behalf of Clementine Chambon.

Nurhazwani Juzaimi receiving the IChemE Global Young Researcher Award on behalf of Clementine Chambon. Image credit: IChemE

Clementine recently completed a PhD under the supervision of Dr Jason Hallett and Professor Paul Fennell, and is currently working as a Research Assistant and EPSRC Postdoctoral Prize Fellow in the Department of Chemical Engineering.

Clementine Chambon

She is also Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Oorja, the social enterprise which she co-founded with Amit Saraogi in 2015. Oorja aims to use agricultural waste and sunlight to provide clean, affordable and reliable electricity to off-grid communities in rural India.

Commenting on her success, Clementine said: "It is very humbling to receive this award from IChemE in recognition of my research on the conversion of agricultural “wastes” to useful energy sources, with a focus on generating clean energy for communities in rural India."

"Our team is planning to install a biomass gasification-solar PV hybrid mini-grid in 2018. We plan to use the data and experience to improve the cost-effectiveness and climate impact of these renewable energy systems."

"I’d like to thank the Oorja team, the Chemical Engineering Department and my supervisors and mentors Jason, Paul and Omar [Matar] for their continuous support. I'd also like to thank the College, Climate-KIC and the Grantham Institute for funding."

Read the official IChemE press release