Postdoctoral Research Associates (PDRAs)

Hyun Suk received his B.Eng and M.Eng in Chemical Engineering from Korea University and moved to ETH Zurich for his PhD under the supervision of Prof. Athina Anastasaki as a Swiss Government Excellence Scholar. During his PhD, Hyun Suk’s investigated the chemical recycling of polymers with all-carbon backbones. In 2026, Hyun Suk joined the Williams Group as a postdoctoral associate and is currently researching high-performance sustainable polymeric materials derived from CO₂. He is the recipient of numerous awards including the Prix Schläfli, ACS Global Outstanding Student Award, ETH Medal, Swiss Chemical Society MatChem PhD Student Award, and the ETH MaP Award.

Thomas holds a Master's degree in Chemistry from the University of Liège, Belgium, where he completed his thesis at the CERM Polymer Chemistry lab under the supervision of Christophe Detrembleur. He continued in the same lab for his PhD, focusing on the synthesis of alkylidene cyclic carbonates from carbon dioxide. His research explored the use of these carbonates to create novel heteroatom-rich building blocks and polymers via step-growth polymerization. Additionally, he investigated their potential for recycling and for producing dynamic polymer networks. In October 2024, Thomas joined the Williams group at the University of Oxford as a Postdoctoral Research Associate. His work now centers on developing eco-friendly polymers for liquid formulation applications as part of the Cleaner Futures project.

James completed his PhD in 2024 in the Institute for Sustainability (IfS) at the University of Bath under the supervision of Prof. Antoine Buchard and Prof. Frank Marken. James’ research during his PhD studies focussed on the synthesis of sugar-derived polymers and their application as degradable solid polymer electrolytes for lithium-ion batteries. In May 2024, James joined the Williams Group at the University of Oxford to develop polymer electrolyte binders for solid-state composite cathodes as part of the Faraday Institution SOLBAT project.

Victor studied Chemistry at the University of Zaragoza (B.Sc. 2017) in Spain completing his final year in Heidelberg, Germany, as an Erasmus student. After that, he obtained an M.Res. degree in Molecular Science and Engineering from Imperial College London, UK (2018). He then moved to the University of Cambridge, UK where he completed his PhD (2023) in the groups of Prof. Dominic S. Wright and Prof. Clare P. Grey. His research there focused on the synthesis of heterobimetallic alkoxide precursors for the solution deposition of metal oxide coatings onto electrode materials for Li-ion batteries and photoelectrocatalysis. He also studied the effect of those coatings on the performance of the materials and their electrochemical lifetime. Victor joined the Williams group at the University of Oxford in May 2023 as a postdoctoral researcher to develop polymer electrolyte binders for solid-state batteries as part of the Faraday Institution SOLBAT project.

Thom studied for his MChem at the University of Edinburgh. He then moved to the University of Bath to complete his PhD under the supervision of Antoine Buchard. During his PhD, he studied the impact of stereochemistry on the properties of sugar-derived polymers. Alongside his PhD, Thom completed a short JSPS research fellowship at Nagoya University in Japan, working for Professor Masami Kamigaito. Thom is now researching the depolymerization of polycarbonates and polyesters.