Ran Eitan Abutbul initiated his academic journey at Ben Gurion University, earning a bachelor's degree in Materials Engineering. He furthered his education, successfully completing both MSc and PhD studies under the guidance of Prof. Yuval Golan. Throughout his academic pursuits, Ran's research focus honed in on the synthesis of nanoparticles and the exploration of beneficial impurities in the Tin Chalcogenide system.

Transitioning to a postdoctoral role at the Weizmann Institute of Science, Ran explored Metal-ion DNP from semiconducting nanoparticles under the expert guidance of Prof. Michal Leskes.

Currently, Ran is part of Dr. Daniel Lee's ssNMR research group at the University of Manchester. His ongoing research interest lies in the comprehensive investigation of various nanoparticle types and the examination of inorganic ligands for film formation. This involves a multidisciplinary approach, including the study of transport properties, TEM analysis, and solid-state NMR characterizations.

Likes: Traveling, photography, cooking and baking, amateur gardener who likes to grow and brew his own coffee.

Joseph Hurd studied his undergraduate degree in Natural Sciences specialising in Chemistry (MSci) at the University of York, UK. Dr Seishi Shimizu supervised his final year research project in a statistical thermodynamic treatment of cosolvents for the solvation of drug molecules. He then became the first PhD student in Dr Daniel Lee's ssNMR research group at the University of Manchester, UK. His PhD is in the development of ssNMR methods for the analysis of advanced functional materials (such as MOFs and zeolites) with a focus on the use of probe molecules combined with the implementation of new pulse sequences and DFT calculations to aid spectral assignment. Use of MAS-DNP NMR will be brought into his research project when the national facility opens in Manchester. 

Teaching assistant: Second year Chemical Engineering labs – use of Siemens control software for a DCS three-tank control setup, Fundamentals of Thermodynamics (1st year UGs). 

Likes: Live music, record collecting (mildly obsessively), football, gaming and game design - both retro and modern

David Bonham studied Natural Sciences specialising in Physics (MSci) at the University of York, with his Master’s project in Atomistic & Single-spin Simulations of Spin-Torque Nano-Oscillators as potential 5G microwave transmitters supervised by Dr Richard Evans in collaboration with Amelia Lees (BT Advanced Research). His PhD is in the development of new techniques and polarising agents for DNP-NMR, looking to use the expertise in 2D materials at the University of Manchester.

Teaching Assistant: Mathematics for Chemical Engineers (First- and Second-year courses); First-year fundamental & chemical thermodynamics.

Likes: Live theatre & (rock) music, cooking & baking, objectively bad puns and red pandas.

Yuhang Yang studied for his undergraduate degree in Material Science and Engineering in Engineering (BEng) at Northwestern Polytechnical University, China, and then obtained his Master’s degree (MSc in Material Science and Engineering) at the National University of Singapore. Prof. Feng Gao supervised his two programs during his undergraduate study in ceramic and catalysis respectively. His PhD program focuses on the analysis of host-guest interactions in MOFs by solid-state NMR under the co-direction of Prof. Sihai Yang. Based on the analysis, the mechanism of proton conductivity in MOFs will be explored. Such work may provide views for the next generation of proton conductors.

Likes: Badminton, cooking and food, games, hiking and basketball.

Co-supervised with Mathias Nilsson (Chemistry, primary supervisor) and Carmine D'Agostino (Chemical Engineering)

Co-supervised with Steve Liddle (Chemistry, primary supervisor) and Ralph Adams (Chemistry)

Co-supervised with Martin Attfield (Chemistry, primary supervisor)