Ryan joined the group as a PhD student in April 2021, studying light-responsive heterogeneous metal-semiconductor materials for organic transformations. He received his MSci in Chemistry in 2019 from the University of Nottingham, after completing his final year research supervised by Prof. Woodward. When outside of the Lab, Ryan enjoys his free time woodworking to make various pieces of furniture, practising historical sabre fencing, or occasionally hiking in various National Parks.

Sam is a student in the Sustainable Hydrogen CDT and joined the Lanterna group in 2023, studying supported nanoalloys for sustainable hydrogen production, and is co-supervised by Dr Jesum Alves Fernandes. Sam received his MEng in Chemical Engineering from Queen’s University Belfast, completing his final year research project under the supervision of Prof. Peter Robertson and Dr Nathan Skillen. In his spare time, Sam enjoys spending time in nature or staying in with a book and listening to music.

Pekka was a student in the CDT in Sustainable Chemistry and joined the Lanterna group in July 2021. Pekka’s PhD project concentrated on metal-organic framework-supported metal clusters for photocatalytic CO2 reutilisation and it was co-supervised by Andrea Laybourn, James O’Shea, and Elena Besley. Pekka was originally from Finland and received his Master’s degree in Chemistry at the University of Eastern Finland in 2019 under the supervision of Prof. Mika Suvanto and Dr. Niko Kinnunen. On his free time, he used to like to go for long walks, play guitar, travel and sometimes go to the pub for a pint. Pekka left this world in October 2023, but will live forever in the heart of his family and friends.

Robert joined the group as a PhD student in October 2023, studying heterogeneous photocatalysis for isomerisation and hydrogenation of olefins and polyolefins. He received his MChem from the University of York in 2021, following his final year research project under the supervision of Prof Ian Fairlamb. Away from the lab Robert enjoys playing Ultimate Frisbee and swimming.

Hamza is a PhD student in the CDT in Sustainable Chemistry and joined the Lanterna group in October 2021. Hamza’s PhD project concentrates on preparing heterogeneous photocatalysts for continuous flow and developing self-optimisation processes. His project is co-supervised by Dr Karen Robertson (Fac. of Engineering).