Group Members

Staff:

Prof. Steven P. Armes

Post Doctoral Staff:

Dr. Panagiotis Georgiou

Panos obtained his B.Sc. in Chemistry (with a minor in biological Chemistry) at the University of Cyprus. Following his graduation in 2017, he moved to the UK to pursue an M.Sc. (by Research) degree in Chemistry at the University of Warwick/Birmingham under the supervision of Prof. Rachel K. O'Reilly. His thesis involved the design and preparation of novel nanomaterials by RAFT-mediated polymerization-induced self-assembly (PISA) for bio-related applications. In 2018, he started his PhD under Prof. Matthew Gibson's supervision at the University of Warwick as part of the European project NanoCarb as Marie-Curie Early-Stage Researcher. His PhD was focused on the development of polymer-based nanomaterial biomimetics applied in the fields of glycobiology and cryobiology. His work was recognised by receiving the Dept. of Chemistry’s Best PhD Thesis award for 2023. In October 2022, he moved to the USA to work as a postdoc under the supervision of Professor Heather Maynard at UCLA focusing on advanced nanomaterials for protein stabilisation. Upon completing 14 months in the US, Panos joined the Armes group to work on an EPSRC-funded project involving studies of the drying of complex multiphase aerosol droplets. This is a joint project in collaboration with a U. Bristol team led by Prof. Jonathan P. Reid.

Dr. Min Zeng

Min completed his BEng degree in Polymer Materials and Engineering at the Hefei University of Technology. He then went on to obtain his PhD at the Tsinghua University under the supervision of Prof. Jinying Yuan, his PhD was focused on polymerization-induced self-assembly (PISA), stimuli-responsive polymers and Pickering emulsions. Min then spent two years as a postdoc in the Prof. Sébastien Perrier group (University of Warwick) working with supramolecular cyclic peptide-polymer conjugates. Recently, Min joined the Armes group to work on a Leverhulme Trust-funded project, which focuses on new synthetic mimics for cosmic dust particles.

Dr. Jake Edmans

Jake graduated with a first-class MChem in Chemistry from the University of Sheffield in 2018. He then pursued a PhD at the CDT in Polymers, Soft Matter, and Colloids, where he investigated polymeric oral patches for the mucosal delivery of therapeutic proteins and peptides under the supervision of Prof. Helen Colley. After completing his PhD in 2023, Jake undertook a brief postdoctoral role in the Armes group, focusing on polymerisation-induced self-assembly to create pH-responsive copolymer vesicles. His work contributed to securing a £1.43 million BBSRC Mission Award, and he now serves as a Co-Investigator on this cross-faculty project. Collaborating with Dentistry and Chemical Engineering, the project aims to develop copolymer vesicle technology for the needle-free delivery of mRNA vaccines via the oral mucosa.

Dr. Evelin Csanyi

Evelin completed her MChem in Chemistry at the University of Sheffield in 2018, earning the Peter Maitlis award for her Masters’ thesis. She then pursued a PhD through the A*STAR Research Attachment Programme, a joint initiative between the University of Sheffield and Singapore’s Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE), under Prof. Graham Leggett and Dr. Zhaogang Dong. Her research focused on designing biomimetic polymeric materials for light-harvesting and controlling light-matter coupling interactions via surface design and nanofabrication. For her doctoral thesis completed in 2023, Evelin was awarded the Turner Prize, recognising outstanding research work. She recently joined the Molecular Photonics Breadboards project, an EPSRC-funded cross-disciplinary team spread across the Universities of Sheffield, Bristol and Exeter. As part of the Armes group, she focuses on the design and synthesis of pigment-polymer antenna complexes. 

Masters and Project Students:

PhD Students:

Oleta Norvilaite (4th year)

Oleta completed her MChem degree at the University of Sheffield in 2021. Her final-year research project was supervised by Dr J. A. Foster and involved the development of metal organic nanosheets for biological applications. She started her Syngenta-sponsored PhD project in the Armes group in Sept 2021 with the aim of developing inorganic microcapsules for the encapsulation of agrochemical actives.

Matthew Farmer (4th year)

Matthew graduated from the University of Nottingham in 2021 with a first-class honours MSci degree. During his undergraduate studies, Matthew undertook a summer vacation internship at Patheon (Swindon, UK) and completed a final-year research project under the supervision of Dr. G. Newton. His project focused on the synthesis of hybrid organic-inorganic polyoxometalates. In October 2021, Matthew joined the Armes group to commence his CASE PhD degree, which is part-sponsored by Ashland. The aim of his project is the design of next-generation degradable block copolymer nanoparticles.

Andi Xie (4th year)

Andi graduated from the University of Sheffield with a first-class honours BSc degree in Chemistry in 2020 and an MSc degree (with distinction) in Polymer Science in 2021. His MSc research project was conducted in the Slark group and involved the development of a novel thermal reversible crosslinking agent. He started his EDSRC DTP PhD project under the joint supervision of Prof. S. P. Armes and Prof. A. J. Ryan in Oct 2021. Andi plans to prepare a series of new amphiphilic statistical copolymers for foam stabilisation applications. Characterisation techniques will involve GPC, 1H NMR spectroscopy, DSC, surface tensiometry, dynamic light scattering and small-angle X-ray scattering.

Hubert Buksa (3rd year)

Sponsored by the ORLEN - DAR SERCA industry foundation and holding the title of the laureate of the National Chemical Competition in Poland, Hubert graduated from the Technical School of Chemistry in Cracow and moved to Sheffield in 2018 to enrol in the University’s MChem degree programme ‘Chemistry with Study in Industry’. His third year involved an industrial placement at Syngenta, where he worked on solid biocontrol formulations and capsule suspensions in liquid formulations. After returning to Sheffield, he also undertook a one-month summer project on reprocessable adhesives in Prof. A. T. Slark's group. Hubert then worked as an MChem student in the Armes group working on thermoresponsive acrylic latexes before starting his PhD in the group too.

Priyanka Chohan (3rd year)

Priyanka is in her first year of a PhD after completing her MChem degree at The University of Sheffield. During her undergraduate degree, she received an RSC summer studentship to work on the ATRP synthesis of polymers that could be grafted onto MONs in Dr. J. A. Foster’s research group. Her final-year MChem project in the Armes group involved the synthesis of bespoke diblock copolymer nanoparticles via PISA for the stabilisation of alkane-in-water Pickering nanoemulsions. Ostwald ripening of such systems was studied by confocal microscopy and analytical centrifugation.

Mark Newell (2nd year)

Mark completed his MChem degree in Chemistry at The University of Sheffield in 2023. During his MChem studies, he completed a summer research project within the Armes group working on epoxy-functionalised nanoparticles and their adsorption onto stainless steel under the supervision of Dr. Csilla György. In his final-year MChem project, he prepared fluorescently-labelled thermoresponsive diblock copolymer nanoparticles for confocal microscopy studies. Mark is now undertaking a closely-related Diamond-STFC funded PhD studentship focused on the synthesis of thermoresponsive shape-shifting diblock copolymer nano-objects and characterisation of their aqueous solution behaviour using imaging and scattering techniques.

Joshua Tyler (2nd year)

Josh obtained his MSci degree from the University of Bristol in 2023, after a 12-month industrial placement at Schlumberger Cambridge Research. His final-year research project focused on the formation of Pickering foams for firefighting applications under the supervision of Prof. Julian Eastoe. Josh started his Ashland- sponsored CASE PhD project in the Armes group in October 2023. The aim of his project is to formulate new biocompatible Pickering (nano)emulsions for potential cosmetics applications. 

Arben Berisha (2nd year)

Arben graduated from The University of Manchester in 2020 with a first-class honours BSc in chemistry. In his final-year project, he conducted course-grained simulations of self-assembling polypeptide systems. He then moved to Imperial College London to undertake a MRes in Nanomaterials where he graduated with distinction. For his MRes research project, Arben worked on polymer hole transport layers and perovskite thin films for potential solar cell applications. In October 2023, Arben joined the Armes group to commence his ICASE PhD degree, which is sponsored by Johnson-Matthey. The aim of his project is to gain a deeper understanding of surface-polymer interactions and morphology to inform the design of next-generation fuel cells and electrolysers.

Zak Pinkney (1st year)

Zak graduated from the University of Sheffield in 2024 with a first-class honours MChem degree, including a year in industry. During his industrial placement at Farapack Polymers Ltd, he worked on the synthesis of sulfur dioxide-absorbing phenol-formaldehyde resins. His final-year research project in the Armes group focused on the development of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon-based microparticles designed to mimic cosmic dust. In October 2024, Zak began a PhD in Chemical Engineering at the University of Sheffield, supervised by Prof. Nicholas Warren and Prof. Steven Armes. Part-funded by Paleus Acrylics, his CDT research project combines closed-loop optimisation with flow chemistry to optimise next-generation paint and adhesive formulations. 

Pratiksha Kantale (1st year)

Pratiksha Kantale is a first-year PhD student in the Armes Group. Her PhD project is focused on the design, synthesis and characterisation of novel degradable block copolymer nanoparticles via reverse sequence polymerisation-induced self-assembly (PISA) in aqueous media. Originally from India, Pratiksha relocated to Sheffield, UK, in January 2025. Pratiksha holds a Master's degree in Chemistry, awarded in 2021 from the Government Vidarbha Institute of Science and Humanities, Amravati, India, where she graduated with First Class Honours. Her PhD is generously supported by the prestigious Indian Government Rajarshi Shahu Maharaj Foreign Scholarship.