Postdoctoral Research Associates (PDRAs)

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.

Kam is from London and in 2024 completed his DPhil in the Williams group and the OxICFM CDT at the University of Oxford. His DPhil research focused on the development of plastics and elastomers from CO2 and bio-derived feedstocks, where networks are employed to improve and tune thermomechanical properties. In the summer of 2023 he completed a 3-month secondment at Duke University with Prof. Matthew Becker. In June 2020 he completed his MSci at UCL, under the supervision of Dr Clare Bakewell, where his final year work was aimed at the development of photoswitchable catalysts to control ring-opening polymerization reactions. Kam is currently researching high performance polyesters and polycarbonates for a range of applications.

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.

Nora graduated from the University of Hamburg (Germany) in 2019. In 2023 she completed her PhD in the field of homogeneous catalysis at the Leibniz Institute for Catalysis in Rostock (Germany) under the supervision of Prof. Detlef Heller. Her thesis focused on the mechanistic investigation of various rhodium complex-catalysed reactions. Nora joined the Williams group in May 2023 and is working on the synthesis and characterisation of heterodinuclear complexes for the ring-opening copolymerisation of epoxides and anhydrides.

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.

Greg completed his PhD in the Williams group in 2021. His research into CO₂ utilization in oxygenated block polymers focussed on aspects of catalyst development as well as the synthesis of functional polymer materials, targeting high-performance plastics, elastomers, and adhesives. He is now investigating sustainable polymer-biopolymer hybrid materials in a collaborative project as part of iCAST (Innovation Centre for Applied Sustainable Technologies).