Meet the team
PhDs

University of Sheffield
Sebastian Altus
Originally from a small town in Gloucestershire I completed my BEng at Swansea University in Materials Science and Engineering in 2018. I have now started my PhD studentship working for Dr. Eddie Cussen and Dr. Denis Cumming at Sheffield University. My research will focus on studying the synthesis, preparation, and materials processing of new metal oxides films to deliver all Solid State Batteries. In my spare time I enjoy mountain walking and playing football.

University of Oxford
Jack Aspinall
Jack completed a masters degree in materials science at the university of Oxford in 2019, and is now completing a DPhil researching the mechanical properties of deposited lithium in anode-free cells. When not researching, he spends most of his time training for the 2020 UK Ironman.

University of St. Andrews
Cameron Bathgate
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University of Sheffield
Jasmine Clough
I am from Newcastle and I completed my master’s degree in Applied Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at the University of Strathclyde in 2018. I have now started my PhD at Sheffield University as a part of Dr Cussen’s research group. My research will involve the synthesis and characterisation of new electrolyte materials for use in all-solid-state batteries.

University of Liverpool
Ben Duff
I am from Liverpool and I recently graduated with my masters from the University of Leeds. I have recently started my PhD studentship with Dr Frederic Blanc in solid-state NMR spectroscopy to probe the Li ion dynamics in solid-state electrolytes

University of Oxford
Axel Forssberg
I am a former Oxford undergrad who spent 2 years working as an engineer in the renewable energy industry before returning to Oxford for a DPhil. Sweden is my native country and I have previous work experience from the military, volunteering and finance sectors.

University of Liverpool
Cameron Hargreaves
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University of Oxford
JJ Marie
I Recently graduated from the University of Southampton with a Masters of Chemistry. I spent six months at the École Polytechnique Fédéral de Lausanne doing research for my Masters Thesis on the topic of Nickel based hydrogen oxidation catalysts

Universtiy of Sheffield
Innes McClelland
I recently graduated from The University of Glasgow with a BsC degree in chemical physics. I have now begun a PhD between the University of Sheffield and the Science and Technology Facilities Council with Prof. Serena Corr and Dr. Peter Baker. My research will focus on using muon spin relaxation spectroscopy to investigate the lithium-ion diffusion mechanisms within various battery materials.

Universtiy of Oxford
Dominic Melvin
Dominic began his DPhil in October 2019 at the University of Oxford. Co-Supervised by Prof. Peter Bruce, Prof. Mauro Pasta and Prof. Patrick Grant, his research is aimed at improving the performance and manufacture of solid electrolytes for solid-state batteries. Originally from Oldham, Dominic completed his MEng degree in Materials Science and Engineering at Imperial College London. In his spare time, he enjoys both watching and playing football.

Universtiy of Oxford
Stephen Turrell
Stephen is a DPhil student in Prof. Chris Grovenor’s group at the University of Oxford, co-supervised by Prof. Susie Speller. His research focuses on the synthesis and characterisation of thin film all-solid-state batteries. He graduated with a MEng in Materials Science from the University of Oxford in 2017, before spending a year working as a technical consultant in Cambridge.

University of Cambridge
Sundeep Vema
Sundeep is currently a PhD student in the Prof. Clare Grey group (Co-supervised by Prof. Norman Fleck) at University of Cambridge. Prior to joining the Grey group, he worked on SEI layer characterization in Mn-based batteries at IIT Delhi. He also worked on modelling of batteries for 2 months each at NUS Singapore and University of Heidelberg. He completed his Dual degree (B.Tech and M.Tech) in Chemical Engineering from IIT Delhi in 2018. Sundeep is interested in understanding various degradation phenomena in solid state and other batteries in order to increase their lifetime and thus unlocking their full potential.