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Then why not join us?
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PostDoc
Robert Nixon
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Robert graduated from the University of Manchester in 2016 (MChem). Robert joined us for a PhD in September 2016 to work on the development of mechanocatalysts. After successfully defending his thesis in June 2020, Dr Nixon decided to stay with us for a postdoc.
Publications Nat. Chem. 2020, 12, 826-831. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2021, 143, 3033-3036. Nature 2024, 628, 320-325. Nat. Chem. 2024, 16, 1366–1372. Awards Talk Prize at CheM62 meeting 2018 in Liverpool Department of Chemistry Outstanding Achievement Award 2020 Faculty of Science and Engineering Best Outstanding Output 2024 Supramolecular Chemistry Poster Prize at MASC 2024 |
Xuan Yang
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Xuan graduated from Nankai University (Nankai, China) in 2016. He then moved to Germany and obtained his PhD in 2020 under the supervision of Prof. Michael Mastalerz at the Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg. Xuan joined us in May 2022 as a Newton International Fellow.
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Mengjiao Wu
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Mengjiao graduated from the Jiangxi Normal University (BSc) and Tianjin University (MSc). She obtained her PhD in 2021 under the direction of Prof. Yulan Chen at Tianjin University, where she developed new mechanochromic polymers. She joined us in March 2023 as a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellow (UKRI guarantee).
Publication Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2025. DOI: 10.1002/anie.202501499. |
Tomás Nicolas Garcia
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Tomás graduated from the University of Murcia in 2017 (MSc). He obtained his PhD in 2023 under the direction of Prof. Emilio Pérez at the Autonomous University of Madrid, where he worked on the single-molecule manipulation of molecular machines. He joined us in July 2023.
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Lei Chen
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Lei graduated from the East China University of Science and Technology in 2010 (B.S.) and Fudan University in 2013 (M.S.). After working in industry for a few years, Lei joined us in September 2019, on a UoM-CSC scholarship, to work on the mechanochemistry of mechanical bonds. After completing his PhD, Lei decided to stay with us for a postdoc.
Publications Nature 2024, 628, 320-325. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2024, 146, 16381–16384. Chem. Sci. 2025, 16, 7104-7105. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2025, e202511039. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2025, e202512698. Award RSC Manchester and District Section Travel Bursary 2024 Polymer Chemistry & RSC Applied Polymers poster prize, RAPS 2024 Department of Chemistry Outstanding Achievement Award 2024 Highly Commended for the MASC PhD Thesis Award 2024 |
Danny Treacher
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Danny graduated from Lancaster University in 2020 (MChem) and joined us in September 2020 for a PhD to work on mechanocatalysis. After completing his PhD, Danny decided to stay with us for a postdoc.
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PhD students
James Ormson
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James graduated from Queen’s University Belfast in 2021 (MSci) and joined us in September of the same year. James works on the mechanochemistry of catenanes.
Publication Chapter 1 in Mechanically Interlocked Materials; Wiley 2024, 1–28. Award Best Organic Talk, UoM Chemistry Postgraduate Conference 2024 |
Alice Weng Ieong
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Alice graduated from the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2019 (BSc) and from the University of Manchester in 2021 (MPhil). She then enrolled in the third cohort of iCAT CDT and initially joined the group for her lab rotation and decided to stay with us for her PhD (April 2022). Alice works on the development of mechanocatalysts.
Publication J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2023, 145, 20782-29785. |
Qianqian Cheng
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Qianqian graduated from the University of Manchester in 2022 (MChem) and after a successful final year project in the group, she decided to stay with us for a PhD. Qianqian works on new retrocycloaddition mechanophores.
Publication Chem. Sci. 2024, 15, 13181–13184 Award Best Organic Talk, UoM Chemistry Postgraduate Conference 2025 |
Oswald Philipsen
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Oswald graduated from the University of Amsterdam in 2021 (MChem). He then worked in the pharmaceutical industry before joining us in September 2024 on a Dean’s Doctoral Scholarship. Oswald works on force-controlled release systems.
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Ronak Singha
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Ronak graduated from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research in Bhopal in 2024 (BSc and MSc). He joined us in September 2024 to work on force-controlled release systems.
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PGT Student/Summer Students
Dominic Sullivan
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Dominic joined us for his PGT project in June 2024.
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Haina Wang
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Haina (UoM) is back in the group as a SEI Summer Intern.
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Siyu Du
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Siyu is joining us from Imperial College for a summer internship.
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