Formulating colloids – innovation and disruption (Graham Award Symposium 2021)

Alex Routh is Professor of Colloid Science at the Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Cambridge. He holds a joint appointment at the BP Institute for Multiphase Flow, a multidisciplinary research center spanning five physical science departments within the University. Alex holds undergraduate and masters’ degrees from Cambridge and a PhD from Princeton University. After postdoctoral work in Bristol he returned to Cambridge in 2006 as lecturer, becoming professor in 2017. Alex’s research covers encapsulation, lubrication, neutron scattering and reflectivity as well as drying of dispersions.

Andrew Howe, a chemist by training, is a Technology Leader at Aqdot Ltd, a company developing and exploiting novel supramolecular chemistry via cucurbit[n]urils (CBs), initially for odour management (cross-sector) and pharmaceutical applications. Andrew works across business, formulation and manufacturing activities within Aqdot and is involved in academic partnerships using CBs to inactivate viruses and allergens as well as using CB[8] in novel hydrogels and for RNA-based delivery systems.

Previously, Andrew was a researcher at Kodak European Research and at Schlumberger Cambridge Research Centre, applying soft matter science in formulation for performance and manufacturability. Andrew has been a visiting researcher in the University of Cambridge and is a member of the International Advisory Board of the Polish Academy of Sciences Jerzy Haber Institute of Catalysis and Surface Chemistry, Krakow.

Jun Dong received her Ph.D. in Soft Matter Physics focusing on colloid-polymer mixtures and droplet microfluidics from the University of Bristol in 2019. She then moved to Germany, working on agrichemical formulation research and development, especially on small volume applications as a postdoctoral researcher at Bayer AG. She then transitioned to a new position within Bayer AG as Formulation Technology Expert, supporting topics related to colloids chemistry during formulation development processes for both agricultural and health care applications.

Malcolm Faers is a formulation scientist and Senior Science Fellow at Bayer AG. He studied chemistry at the University of Sheffield and then colloid science at Imperial College for his PhD. His research interests include the application of colloid science to flowable formulation design and innovation, enhanced biodelivery of active ingredients, rheology, stability of suspensions and ageing in arrested particle gels. He is currently chair of the SCI Formulation Forum and a past chair of the SCI Colloid Group, has co-organised many scientific events and is a Fellow of the RSC.

Paul joined the faculty of Manchester Business School as a lecturer in 2012. Since then, he has taught on a variety of programmes within the business school at undergraduate and masters level in areas such as leadership, financial and digital innovations, international business strategy and human resource management. He has taught leadership development with a number of organisational clients including BP, the NHS, ICBC, Beijing, The Co-operative Group and The Manchester Airport Group.

Paul’s primary area of research focus is on a practice-based understanding of complex organisational processes, particularly leadership. He is specifically interested in developing a critical view of how leadership is shaped by other dynamics, specifically technology, organisational politics and followers.

Paul’s most recent book ‘Reflexive Leadership in Context’ was published by Routledge in 2021

Prior to joining the Business School, Paul’s was employment as Master and Chief Executive of the Royal Armouries, Director of Human Resources for Blue Sky Resorts, and Regional Operations Director for Rank PLC Holidays Division.

Paul Luckham has been in the Chemical Engineering Department of Imperial College London since 1983, becoming a Professor in Particle Technology and the Kodak Professor of Interface Science since 1997. He has worked in many areas of Colloid and Interface science but perhaps majoring in the rheology of suspensions and direct measurement of interparticle force using both the mica surface forces apparatus and atomic force microscopy. He has graduated approaching 100 PhD students and even more masters students and is pleased to say that Dr Malcolm Faers is one of his former students.

Professor Nguyễn Thị Kim Thanh, FRSC, FInstP, FIMMM FRSB held a prestigious Royal Society University Research Fellowship (2005-2014). She was appointed a Full Professor in Nanomaterials in 2013 at University College London. She leads a very dynamic group conducting cutting edge interdisciplinary and innovative research on the design, and synthesis of magnetic and plasmonic nanomaterials for biomedical applications.

In 2019, she has been honoured for her achievements in the field of nanomaterials, and her impactful project proposal and was awarded highly prestigious Royal Society Rosalind Franklin Medal. Currently, she is Vice Dean for Innovation and Enterprise at Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences.
She has edited 2 books and filed 3 patents, published ~150 research papers, book chapters, theme issues and proceedings.