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Post-doctoral Researchers
Ania completed her PhD at Jagiellonian University in Kraków (Poland) under the supervision of Prof. Szczepan Zapotoczny in 2022. From her BSc onwards, she studied conjugated polymer brushes as a promising material in optoelectronics and photovoltaics field. During her PhD, she carried out a 6 month internship at EPFL in the Grätzel team at EPFL during her PhD, where she got familiar with dye-sensitized solar cells. She joined the Buchard group as a core programme PDRA and technology translator in iCAST in January 2023, refocusing her research interests towards another environmentally important issue, namely sustainable polymers. Outside of science, Ania usually spends her free time in kitchen (both cooking and eating). She enjoys reading and hiking through via Ferrata trials, too.
Fannie completed her MSc at CPE Lyon and Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 in 2017. She did her master project under the supervision of Dr Muriel Lansalot and Dr Franck D'Agosto, investigating RAFT polymerization of vinyl acetate and application to polymerisation-induced self-assembly. She then completed a PhD at the University of Warwick under the supervision of Sébastien Perrier on the synthesis of cationic polymer of complex architectures for the complexation of RNA. She joined the group in April 2021 as a PDRA to look at the environmental fate of bio-derived polymers. In her spare time, Fannie enjoys practising yoga, reading, cooking and going on hikes.
PhD Students
Niamh graduated from the University of Warwick in 2019 with an MChem degree. During her final year project, Niamh worked under the supervision of Professor David Haddleton to produce cobalt(II)-based catalysts for the use as chain transfer agents to control the molecular weights of polymers produced via radical polymerisations. Niamh has always been interested in sustainability and protecting the environment, and joined the CSCT to focus on these principles. During her spare time, Niamh enjoys running, cooking and trying new gins.
Ella graduated from the University of Bath with a Master’s in Chemistry in 2020. As part of her degree, she completed a year-long industrial placement at Merck researching polymerizable liquid crystals. For her Master’s research project, supervised by Prof. Matthew Davidson, she focussed on using DOSY NMR to gain a deeper understanding of the ring opening polymerisation of lactide. Ella is in her second year of her PhD as part of the CSCT, her research will focus on novel polymers from anhydrosugars. She is co-supervised by Prof. Davidson. In her spare time, Ella enjoys going on hikes with friends, practising yoga and reading.
James is currently in his first year of his PhD within the CSCT. He graduated from the University of Bath with a Master’s degree in Chemistry in 2020. As part of his degree, James completed a year-long industrial placement at Dutch water treatment technology provider PWNT, working as part of their research and development team. For his final year Master’s research project, under the supervision of Dr Buchard, he investigated the use of sugar-derived polymers for renewable and degradable battery electrolytes, a project he is continuing to explore for this PhD studies, co-supervised by Prof. Frank Marken. Outside of work, James enjoys a variety of sports including football, lacrosse and long-distance running as well as reading and cooking.
Sophie graduated from Northumbria University in 2017 with a BSc degree, before moving on to Imperial College London to complete her MRes in 2018. For her Master’s research project, supervised by Professor Jason Hallett, she studied the IonoSolv pretreatment of biomass for biofuel production, focusing on the recyclability of the ionic liquid. Sophie then went to work for Econic Technologies as part of their polymerisation team where she studied the copolymerization of epoxides and CO2. Sophie is now in her second year of her PhD as part of the Bath-Monash global PhD programme in the CSCT (in Australia now!). Her research will focus on the application of supported catalysts for ring-opening polymerisations in automated flow reactor systems. Sophie is supervised by Professor Tanja Junkers (Monash University) and Dr Antoine Buchard (University of Bath). In her spare time Sophie enjoys cooking, reading, and going to art exhibitions.
Anita completed her MSci at Imperial College London in 2022, where her Master’s research project focused on finding bio-based plasticisers for regenerated cellulose films under the supervision of Prof Tom Welton. In her first year, she completed a summer internship with Notpla, investigating possible filler components for agar films. Anita is co-supervised by Prof Matthew Davidson and is in her first year of her PhD at the CSCT. Her research focuses on the development of novel polylactic acid (PLA) materials. In her spare time, Anita enjoys sailing (but only if it’s sunny!), hiking and baking.
Eleanor graduated from the University of York in 2022 with a Master’s in Chemistry. During her time at York, she completed a computational project under the supervision of Dr Jon Agirre which examined the torsion angles between glycans in glycosidic proteins. Her master’s project, under the supervision of Dr Thomas Farmer, focussed on synthesising novel bio-based and biodegradable ionomers using secondary diols and exploring their properties. Eleanor’s PhD research in the Buchard group will continue to investigate sustainable polymers. Working in partnership with the Plymouth Marine Laboratory (with Prof. P. Lindeque and Dr M. Cole) and funded by the NERC GW4+ DTP, she will investigate the effects of previously synthesised and novel sustainable polymers on the marine environment. In her spare time Eleanor enjoys long walks, reading and drinking tea, sometimes all at the same time.
Andrew graduated from Strathclyde University in 2022, with a Master’s Degree in Chemistry. During his studies, he undertook an industrial placement year abroad, working for Allnex in the Netherlands were he investigated several different thiol click reactions for crosslinking and film formation. For his final year project, Andrew researched new methodology to analyse the interactions between polyamides and double-stranded DNA. His project, co-supervised by Prof. Matthew Davidson and Dr Antoine Buchard, investigate the development of new polymers from sustainable furanic feedstocks. Outside of research, Andrew enjoys watching films, going for walks and gaming.
Visiting Students
Get in touch by email if you would like to come and visit our group.
Undergraduate Project Students
Get in touch for projects starting in October 2023
Estelle is currently in the first year of her Master’s degree at the Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté in Dijon in France. Her studies focus on organometallic and coordination chemistry and the applications of transition metals to sustainability challenges. She joined the Buchard group in April 2023 for a three-months internship to deepen her knowledge of polymerisation catalysis. Her project consists of developing new catalysts the ring-opening copolymerisation of sugar-based heterocycles. In her spare time, Estelle enjoys watching movies, reading and travelling to see new places.
Past members
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Dr Georgina Gregory (PhD 2013-2017) (CDT in SCT)
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Dr Andrew Hall (PhD 2015-2018) (CDT in SCT)
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Dr Keiko Yakabi-Diosdado (PhD 2015-2018) (CDT in Catalysis)
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Dr James Beament (PhD 2015-2018)
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Dr Strachan McCormick (PhD 2016-2019) (CDT in SCT)
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Dr Thomas McGuire (PhD 2016-2020) (EPSRC DTP)
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Dr Ioli Howard (PhD 2017-2021) (CDT in Catalysis)
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Dr Jasmine Lightfoot (PhD 2018-2022) (CDT in SCT)
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Dr Jamie Boden (PhD 2018-2022) (CDT in SCT)
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Dr Marco Piccini (PhD 2018-2022) (CDT in SCT)
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Dr Eva María López Vidal (2016-2018)
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Dr Frances Singer (2019-2021)
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Dr Jack Stewart (2022)
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Matthew Shaw (spring 2019) (CDT in Catalysis)
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Theo Gazis (winter 2018) (CDT in Catalysis)
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Owen Rogers (winter 2017) (CDT in Catalysis)
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Bethan Charles (summer 2016) (CDT in SCT)
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Rose King (summer 2016) (CDT in Catalysis)
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Lewis Bowman (summer 2015) (CDT in Catalysis)
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Sebastian Morales Feliu (2022/2023)
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Bethan Davies (2022/2023)
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Donatella Abba (2021/2022)
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Emily Parkinson (2021/2022)
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Lauren Singer (2021/2022)
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Auryn Merridue (2020/2021)
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Isobel Munro (2020/2021)
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James Runge (2019/2020)
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Richie Drew (2019/2020)
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James Chapell (2019/2020)
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Edward Deane (2018/2019)
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William Brown (2018/2019)
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Nimai Jivai-Frier (2018/2019)
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Teresa Faber (2018/2019)
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Liza (Zhi Rong) Lee (2017/2018)
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Ross Arthur (2017/2018)
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Alice Preston (2016/2017) (PGCE)
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Tanguy Tomes (2016/2017) (Eunomia Ltd)
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Liz Hierons (2015/2016) (PhD student University of Bath)
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Charlie Kendall (2015/2016)
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Lucy Cotton (2014/2015) (PhD student University of Leeds)
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Felicity Clarke (2014/2015)
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James Ewen (2013/2014) (PhD student Imperial College)
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Curtis Bell (2013/2014)
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Giacomo Trapasso (Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Italy, winter 2023)
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Khadija Nasser Sanchez (Institut Supérieur de Plasturgie d'Alençon, France, summer 2022)
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Maude Ximenes (Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Lille (ENSCL), France, summer 2022)
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Alina Hermann (RWTH Aachen University, Germany, summer 2021)
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Jessica Bowles (Université de Bordeaux, France, Winter/Spring 2019)
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Johanna Henkel (RWTH Aachen University, Germany, Winter 2019)
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Marine Guittot (Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Lille (ENSCL), France, summer 2018)
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Cécile Pérale (Institut Supérieur de Plasturgie d'Alençon, France, summer 2018)
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Nadjali Chung (University of North Carolina Greensbor, NSF REU program, summer 2016)
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Liliana Jenisch (University of Technology, Vienna, Austria, ERASMUS program, winter-spring 2016)
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Evan Rees (University of North Carolina Greensboro, NSF REU program, summer 2015)
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Morgan Fleming (Elon University, North Carolina, NSF REU program, summer 2015)
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Craig Lawley (University of Bath, RSC Undergraduate Bursary, summer 2015)
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Marion Ullman (Chimie Paris Tech, April-August 2014)
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Michael Maxwell (University of North Carolina Greensboro, NSF REU program, July-August 2014)
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Dominic Macias (Nuffield Bursary, July 2013)
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Philippe Wilson (University of Bath, Alumni Fund Bursary, August 2013)