Principal Investigator
Dr. James A. Dawson
Reader in Energy Materials
Like Slash, Lemmy, Wedgwood and Mitchell before him, James grew up in Stoke-on-Trent, famous for oatcakes, pottery and darts players. He obtained his BSc Chemistry degree from Keele University in 2009 and then moved to Sheffield to undertake his PhD under the supervision of Professors John Harding and Derek Sinclair. After completing his studies, James was awarded a prestigious JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowship at Kyoto University, which allowed him to achieve his ambition of living in Japan. Upon conclusion of the fellowship, James returned to the UK to take up a postdoctoral position at the University of Cambridge and then the University of Bath, before joining Newcastle University as a NUAcT Fellow in January 2020. Outside of research, James enjoys spending time with his wife and daughter, travel, live music and sport.
Postdoctoral Researchers
Dr. James Quirk
PDRA, Nano- and Microstructural Modelling of Solid Electrolytes for Solid-State Batteries
(May 2021–)
Dr. Ying Zhou
PDRA, Design and Understanding of Solid Electrolytes for Energy Applications (May 2023–)
Dr. Juliane Fiates
PDRA, Atomistic Simulations of Liquid Electrolytes and SEI Formation in Anode-Free Batteries (July 2023–)
Dr. Jack Hemingway
PDRA, Mechanochemical Modelling of Battery Materials (September 2023–)
Dr. Tianmu Yuan
PDRA, Exploring Ion Transport and Interfaces in Solid- and Semi-Solid-State Batteries
(December 2024–)
Dr. Ana Carolina Dutra
PDRA, Lithium and Sodium Anti-Perovskite Solid Electrolytes for Energy Storage Applications
(December 2024–)
Dr. Indrajit Maity
PDRA, Understanding Microstructure and Interfaces in Battery Cathodes
(January 2025–)
Dr. Zhimin Chen
PDRA, Modelling Microstructure and Interfaces in Solid-State Batteries
(March 2025–)
Students
Frazer Forrester
PhD, Li-Ion Transport, Defects and Interfaces in Li3PS4 for Solid-State Batteries
( October 2020–)
Alex Bell
PhD, Understanding Electrode-Electrolyte Interfaces in Solid-State Batteries and Supercapacitors
(September 2021–)
George Rudman
PhD, Fluorine Doping of Anti-Perovskite Solid Electrolytes for Solid-State Batteries (co-supervised with Dr. Karen Johnston at Durham University)
(September 2021–)
Jing Xuan (Michelle) Lim
PhD, Efficacy of artificial imprinted antibodies in driving unwarranted immune responses (co-supervised with Dr. Shoba Amarnath and Dr. Marloes Peeters)
(February 2022–)
Jemma Cox
PhD, Development of Mixed Anion Argyrodite Solid Electrolytes
(September 2022–)
Alwah Alqarni
PhD, Understanding and Optimising the Formation and Electronic Properties of Metallo-DNA (co-supervised with Dr. Ben Horrocks and Prof. Andy Houlton)
(September 2022–)
Joseph Thomas
PhD, Novel Modular and Eco-Designed PEM Electrolysers Integrated for Green Hydrogen Production (co-supervised with Dr. Lu Xing and Dr. Vincent Barrioz at Northumbria University)
(September 2022–)
Victoria Watson
PhD, Synthesis and Characterisation of Palmierites for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (co-supervised with Prof. Abbie McLaughlin at the University of Aberdeen)
(January 2023–)
Xudong Mao
PhD, Exploring Ion Transport in Halide-Based Solid Electrolytes
(January 2023–)
Oscar Ballantyne
PhD, Computational Design of New Fuel Cell Materials
(September 2023–)
Rebecca Wignall
PhD, Development of Solid Electrolytes by a Combined In-Operando XPS-Theoretical Approach (co-supervised with Dr. Elisabetta Arca)
(September 2023–)
Alanoud Aloufi
PhD, Ion Transport and Interfaces in Hybrid Perovskites for Optoelectronics
(September 2024–)
Abeer Abdu Hdadai
PhD, Modelling and Experimental Studies of Next-Generation Supercapacitor Materials
(September 2024–)
Lauren Gardiner
PhD, Computational Design of Argyrodite Solid Electrolyte-Electrode Interfaces
(September 2024–)
Felix Scott
PhD, Elucidating Ion Transport at the Interfaces of Hybrid Solid-State Batteries
(September 2024–)
Visiting Researchers
Dr. Andrey Poletayev
PDRA, Stanford University with Aaron Lindenberg
(February–March 2020)
Dr. Claire Meara
Head of Strategy for Government Science & Engineering Profession, Government Office for Science
(November 2021–April 2022)
Dr. Alexandros Vasileiadis
Veni Laureate and PDRA, TU Delft with Marnix Wagemaker
(January 2022–February 2022)
Dr. Kingsley Obodo
PDRF, North-West University with Dmitri Bessarabov
(February 2022–March 2022)
Dr. Zeyu (Jerry) Deng
PDRF, National University of Singapore with Piero Canepa
(March 2022–April 2022)
Mohammed Gamal
BSc, Alexandria University
(November 2024–)
Siham Bourdine
PhD, University of Bouira
(December 2024)
Alumni
Abigail Puckey
MChem, Defects and Ion Migration at the Grain Boundaries of Hybrid Perovskites
(October 2020–June 2021)
Joe Skilbeck-Dunn
MChem, Understanding Ion Transport at the Nanoscale in Anti-Perovskite Solid Electrolytes
(October 2020–June 2021)
Tia Mlinaric
MChem, Microstructural Modelling of Li2RuO3 as a Next-Generation Cathode for Li-Ion Batteries
(October 2021–June 2022)
Jemma Cox
MChem, Pressure and Strain Effects in Li7La3Zr2O12 for Solid-State Microbatteries in Medical Devices
(October 2021–June 2022)
Dylan Spraggon
MChem, Impact of Doping on Ionic Transport and Electronic Properties of Li3PS4 Solid Electrolytes
(October 2022–June 2023)
Alex Watkins
MChem, Understanding Superionic Transport in LaX3 (X = Cl or Br) Solid Electrolytes
(October 2023–June 2024)
Dr. Ana Carolina Dutra
PhD, Lithium and Sodium Anti-Perovskite Solid Electrolytes for Energy Storage Applications
(May 2021–December 2024)