Projects
Investigating the need for locally-produced, biodegradable wound dressings in the
Contact: Dr. Ljiljana Fruk, Chemical Engineering & Biotechnology Mentor: Dr. Dora Pereira Cellulose is a biodegradable material which has many potential uses. It typically occurs in plants, but can be difficult to extract and purify. Therefore Dr. Fruk’s team focuses on developing bacterial cellulose, which can be grown in existing biotechnology facilities such as fermentation…
Using ApRES to enhance groundwater management in arid and semi-arid
Contact: Dr. Keith Nicholls, Dr Beatrix Schlarb-Ridley, British Antarctic Survey, Dr. Mark Muller, geophysicist Mentor : Gino Henry Worldwide, groundwater is the most heavily extracted of all raw materials: with an estimated withdrawal rate of 1000 km3 per year it makes up 26% of all freshwater abstraction globally. Groundwater provides 50% of the world's drinking…
Exploring the potential of a new technique to better control
Contacts: Dr. Stoyan Smoukov, Active & Intelligent Materials Lab, Materials Science & Metallurgy, University of Cambridge and University of Sofia Mentor: Dr. Bob Pettigrew Reference: The Emulsion Arrow of Time Emulsions are everywhere, in cosmetic creams and shampoos, in foods such as ice cream and mayonnaise, and in pharmaceutical products. These are intrinsically unstable formulations,…
Finding the market potential for a new safer and more
Contacts: Martin Chan & Dr. John Dennis, Chemical Engineering & Biotechnology, Dr. Ewa Marek & Dr. Stuart Scott, Engineering Mentor: Dr. Mark Priest, Harrogate Partners The research team have developed a new technique for manufacturing ethylene oxide from ethylene. Ethylene oxide is widely used in many industrial processes, with over 26 million tonnes a year…
Identifying the best markets for a new molecular stapling technique
Contacts: Dr. Gonçalo Bernardes, Shuang Sun, Chemistry, Emma Barker, Cambridge Enterprise Mentor: Dr. Simon Pulman-Jones Dr. Gonçalo Bernardes and his team from the Department of Chemistry have developed a novel disulfide-stapling method using two different reagents for peptides & proteins. These methods have been shown to: • Enhance binding affinity of peptides/proteins (& hence have…
Exploring the potential of self-healing circuits to address e-waste in
Researcher: Dr. Sanjiv Sambandan, Lecturer, Department of Engineering Mentor: Dr. Jessica Ocampos Electronic printed circuit boards are ubiquitous in a world populated with digital and information technology. With few local recycling options, the aging or failure of these electronic boards contributes significantly to the generation of electronic waste (e-waste). With global population growth and an…
Investigating the adoption of a new way of dyeing fabric
Researchers: Dr James Ajioka & Dr. Orr Yarkoni, Colorifix Mentors: Natsai Audrey Chieza & Daisy Ginsberg Dyeing is a surprisingly dirty business. Whether they are chemically synthesized or naturally sourced, dyes have a profound impact on the environment. Dye production involves either refining of petrochemicals for chemical synthesis precursors or the extraction of natural pigments…
Identifying the market challenges of using solar photocatalysis to purify
Researchers: Mike Coto and Dr. Vasant Kumar, Materials Science and Metallurgy Mentor: Dr Ian Willis Ten percent of the world’s population lacks access to clean drinking water. Although governments, development agencies, and non-profit organizations have made significant investments in water infrastructure, water scarcity and contamination remains widespread in developing countries. This causes both socioeconomic and…
Investigating the areas of greatest need by developing a new
Contact: Dr. Hannah Sore, Chemistry Mentor: Dr. Julian White The need for new medicines is enormous; one area where the demand is critical is develop novel drugs to combat multidrug resistant bacteria as this is predicted to lead to an extra 10m deaths by 2050. However, the pharmaceutical industry is facing a downturn in drug…