Department of Chemical Engineering Postdoc Symposium 2018

The latest annual symposium saw postdoctoral researchers showcase their latest work, with a keynote address from Sir William Wakeham.

The Postdoc Symposium offers an opportunity for postdoctoral researchers to present their work and network with other academics and scientists to discuss advancements in Chemical Engineering. This year’s event took place on April 25^th and featured a poster session, a keynote address from Sir William Wakeham and a series of talks from researchers in the Department.

The afternoon began with lunch in the Senior Common Room, followed by Sir William Wakeham’s discussion of “Employability of STEM graduates and a sample of one”, in which he addressed some of the challenges and opportunities facing students in the sciences.

Sir William Wakeham is a visiting professor at the Department of Chemical Engineering at Imperial College London.  He first joined the Department as a lecturer in 1971, and was Head of the Department from 1988 until 1996, when he became Deputy Rector of the College. From 2001 to 2009 he was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Southampton. He was knighted in 2009 for services to Chemical Engineering and to Higher Education. 

Sir William Wakeham Award

The Sir William Wakeham Award recognises early career researchers (no more than 5 years of postdoctoral research experience, excluding career breaks) who have made a significant contribution to their research field and have advanced their professional development. There is a £2000 prize associated with the award and the winner is also invited to give a presentation at the annual postdoctoral symposium.

The awards were presented at this year's symposium by Sir William Wakeham himself, to Lisa Joss for her work on “X-ray CT imaging of gas absorption to characterize nonporous materials” and Tao Li for his research into “Ceramic Hollow Fibre – Advanced Fabrication to Functionalization”.

On receiving his award Tao Li said: 

“It was a complete surprise when I first heard about this wonderful news and I do feel honoured that the work I carried out with Professor Kang Li and other group members has gained recognition from our departmental committee. This awards has provided further encouragement to my pursuit of an academic career, and with my team we will continue to deliver high-quality research, aiming to push ceramic membrane technology towards wider applications in the future.”

Lisa Joss said of her achievement: 

"Winning the Sir William Wakeham award is a true honour. It is so nice to know that my research has been received so positively by the department. It gives me confidence for my future career, as it is a sign that my work is not only fun for me, but is also of high quality and of significance. I believe that this award will be a great asset in finding a new position where I can continue the research work that I enjoy so much."

The afternoon saw a series of talks from researchers in the Department on their research, followed by a wine reception and poster session. 

More photos from the event can be viewed on our Flickr account.