Esther Mgbemeje, a doctoral researcher at Loughborough University, was a key member of the victorious team in the Henry Royce Institute PhD Student Research Sandpit 2023.
The Competition offers PhD students a chance to engage in the research sandpit format, a method frequently employed by research councils and funders to “stimulate new lines of thinking for tackling complex research challenges.”
Collaborating with five other PhD students from various UK universities, including Sumedh Kampli (University of Cambridge), Enrico Manfredi-Haylock (Imperial College London), Rasoul Karami (Strathclyde University), Yuchen Liu (Queen Mary University), and Ateeq Ur Rahman (University of Edinburgh), Esther’s team, SLICE Q Technologies UK, took on two challenges presented by Johnson Matthey, a leader in sustainable technologies. They focused on scaling up the advanced manufacturing process of fuel cells and recycling the catalyst membrane structure.
Reflecting on the event, Esther commented: “It was a privilege to be selected to participate in the Competition – and I’m proud to be part of the winning team. I’d encourage everyone to take part in this kind of event. They’re a great way to meet and work with likeminded researchers from across the UK and provide excellent experience of working in a cross-disciplinary research team to tackle a real and pressing challenge.”
As a Green Hydrogen doctoral researcher in Chemical Engineering, Esther is deeply involved in public engagement. She is leading the coordination of the Pint of Science event at Loughborough (13-15 May 2024), an international science festival where researchers from various disciplines step out of their labs to public venues to share their research stories.
