We have a interdiscplinary team of researchers, experimental officers and fellows pushing the boundaries in plastics sustainability.
Director | Sustainable Materials Innovation Hub
As Director of the Sustainable Materials innovation Hub, Mike has oversight of the organisation’s leadership and strategy and provides a wealth of materials science knowledge to help identify truly sustainable solutions for plastics. Michael is passionate about giving accurate, trustworthy advise to those seeking to make sustainable change and has been impartial advisor to both local and national government on research and innovation strategy for plastics. His background is in Polymer Chemistry having graduated from Mt. Allison University in Canada and going on to peruse a PhD from the University of British Columbia. In 2018 Michael moved to the Manchester having previously relocated to Edinburgh from Canada. He took up a role as Professor of Polymer Chemistry at The University of Manchester and become the Henry Royce Institute’s sustainable materials champion. This new position is a departure from the chemical traditions of his training, but recognises the increasingly important real-world applications of this science. Mike’s initial career aspirations were to become an artist and this creative expression can be seen within his scientist research when developing novel polymers for real world applications.
Chief Sleeping Officer
Callie is an honorary member of the team. She’s a former racing greyhound and we rescued her from Greyhound Rescue Fife. She was born in Durham and, while she’s super-duper fast, she wasn’t up to the high standards of evil greyhound racers. So now she is part of our family! She loves sleeping and meeting new people. In fact, she’s a registered TheraPet, working at care homes to brighten up people’s lives. She’s a pretty mellow girl unless there are bread rolls or squirrels involved!
Chief Eating Officer
Sammie is an honorary member of the team, who made the long journey across the Atlantic with Mike. He is a Cardigan Welsh Corgi, but is Canadian born. He loves Manchester because he gets to drink in pubs (his favourite is Reasons to be Cheerful!). But he still misses the deep snow and enticing skunks of PEI – although it does mean fewer baths!
Sustainable Materials Research Fellow
As a Research Fellow within the SMI Hub, Guilhem works predominantly under the ‘Innovate’ strand on next generation sustainable materials. He is responsible for developing core innovations and translating them into practice through engaging in a portfolio of projects co-developed with SMEs across Greater Manchester and beyond. Guilhem has a strong background in organic chemistry but developed an interest in materials early on in his scientific career, which eventually guided him to a doctoral program focused on sustainable plastics at the University of Minnesota in the United States. During this time, Guilhem refined his synthetic polymer skills and gained new expertise in the biodegradation and recycling of plastics. After completing his Ph.D. in 2019, he branched out from his chemistry roots and took on a post doc position in the Center for Molecular Engineering at Argonne National Lab in Chicago, where he designed systems to understand the physical origins of anti-biofouling behaviour for polymer-coated surfaces. Though research was going well in Chicago, Guilhem could not pass up the opportunity to work in the SMI Hub and apply his knowledge to real-world ‘sustainable plastic’ scenarios. He therefore decided, in the middle of a global pandemic, to embark on a journey to the UK and contribute all he can to this valiant effort. Through these exciting collaborations with SMEs, Guilhem is keen to design cutting-edge translational research and hone his ability to view (and solve) problems from a systems-level perspective.
Sustainable Materials Research Fellow
As a Research Fellow within the SMI Hub, Tom works predominantly under the ‘Innovate’ strand on next generation sustainable materials. He is responsible for developing core innovations and translating them into practice through engaging in a portfolio of projects co-developed with SMEs across Greater Manchester and beyond. Tom is passionate about all aspects of polymer science and has spent more than 10 years studying and working in this area, all the way from outside-of-the-box fundamental research projects through to late-stage industry collaborations. Along this journey he has become increasingly aware of the complex challenges standing in the way of our transition to a circular economy, and has a strong desire to use his experience to further this cause. Tom’s research career began in Australia, where he completed a PhD in polymer chemistry from the University of Queensland, before moving to the UK in 2016 to take up a postdoc position at the University of Nottingham. During this time, he collaborated on projects with applications ranging from greener routes to energy storage materials, to sustainable cosmetics, and low energy electronic displays. Before transitioning to his current role, Tom joined the Shaver group at The University of Manchester as a KTP Associate in 2019, where he worked on developing more sustainable resins for use in the construction industry. Tom loves the outdoors, and tries to spend as much of his spare time as possible hiking, playing tennis, running, and bouldering.
Senior Experimental Officer
As our Senior Experimental Officer, Chloe is responsible for experimental techniques associated with the synthesis, processing, characterisation, and testing of polymer-based materials. Since completing her PhD, Chloe has been facilitating materials research at The University of Manchester. Chloe started her career working in the cleanrooms of the National Graphene Institute before moving to work in the thermal analysis and polymer chemistry laboratories in the Department of Materials. Chloe is excited to use her experience and knowledge to deliver projects that help industrial partners make more sustainable processes and products.
Experimental Officer
Technician
Postdoctoral Researcher
Meng obtained his BSc degree from the University of Sheffield and completed his master’s degree in polymer science at the same institute in 2015. After that, he moved to the University of Edinburgh and joined our group. He completed his PhD with the GML working on polymeric frustrated Lewis pairs for application in novel stimuli responsive materials and catalysis. He re-joined the group as a postdoc, working on the synthesis of biodegradable polyesters and has now returned to his roots, as a postdoc on the poly(FLP) project .
Postdoctoral Researcher
Christina began her career in the realm of pharmaceutical polymers; after finishing her MChem at the University of Reading, she completed her PhD in pharmaceutical chemistry at UCL with the Brocchini/Clapp labs and later became a polymer chemist for a biotechnology start-up, Somaserve. Throughout her roles, she has been an active advocate for environmental awareness in research, effective public engagement, and is passionate about creating a sustainable future. The middle of a pandemic seemed the perfect time to move to a city in lockdown to follow her dreams to help save the world, thus she joined the Shaver lab in Autumn 2020.
Postdoctoral Researcher
Peng obtained his PhD in polymer/inorganic composites at the University of Leeds. He has previously worked as a KTP associate at Heriot-Watt University and Recircle Ltd on the closed-loop recycling of waste rubber tyres using microorganisms to create materials that are potentially useful for society. Through his roles, he has gained valuable experience working at the interface between academia and industry. He joined the Green Materials Laboratory in April 2021 to work on the chemical recycling of multi-materials, with a focus on depolymerising credit cards.
Postdoctoral Researcher
Torik achieved his BA in Journalism, Media and Sociology at Cardiff University. He then completed his MA in Sociology at the University of Manchester. During his MA, Torik developed a keen interest in the sociology of consumption. He went on to complete his PhD at Lancaster University, based within the Dynamics of Energy, Mobility and Demand Research Centre. His research focused on the spatial constitution of electricity consumption and supply over time in reference to contemporary patterns of urban development in Central Manchester. This research provided fresh insight concerning attempts to create more sustainable urban futures. As an ESRC Postdoctoral Fellow, Torik continued focusing on the dynamics of energy and resource consumption and supply, with a strong interest in attempts to meet net zero. He is currently working on the ‘One Bin’ Social Realities work package.
Postdoctoral Researcher
Jair Esquivel was born in Mexico City. He obtained his BSc in Chemistry and MSc in Chemical Sciences at National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). Then, Jair moved to the UK to pursue his PhD at the University of Manchester under supervision of Prof. Michael Turner, working on conjugated polymer nanoparticles. After obtaining his PhD, Jair worked for nearly a year for a nanotechnology spin-out based in Manchester. Looking for new experiences, Jair went to Canada to work as a postdoc at Université de Montréal, focusing on porphyrin-based polymers. Missing the Mancunian spirit, Jair came back to Manchester in August 2021 to join Shaver group as KTP Associate, aiming to improve the sustainability of glass fibre composites for insulation products.
Postdoctoral Researcher
Postdoctoral Researcher
Tom studied at the University of Sheffield, graduating with an MChem with Industrial Experience. His industrial placement focussed on epoxy-carbon fibre composites for Cytec Aerospace Materials, integrating molecular dynamics simulations into existing laboratory testing and validation methodology. He completed his PhD with Prof Tony Ryan and Dr Oleksandr Mykhaylyk at the University of Sheffield, focussing on flow-induced crystallsiation of HDPE with characterisation by SAXS, rheology and other thermal methods. After a brief stint in the private sector working as a data scientist and front-end web developer, he returned to academia joining the group in June 2022 to work on improving the recyclability of HDPE post-consumer resin (PCR).
Postdoctoral Researcher
Originally from Denmark, Kristoffer completed a Master’s in chemistry at KULeuven in Belgium, graduating magna cum laude in July 2018. for his Master's placement, he worked on the production of impact modifier additives at Kaneka Belgium. With a good relationship established with research team at Kaneka, he was promptly sent away to join the Howdle group in Nottingham for a PhD project, looking into the industrial potential of scCO2 dispersion polymerisations for additive production. Kris joined the Shaver group in October 2022 to help with the 'One Bin To Rule Them All' project, developing a holistic approach to plastics recycling across the many stakeholders in the field.
Postgraduate Researcher
Tom joined the group in January 2019 after completing his undergraduate degree at the University of Bristol, including a year at the University of British Columbia working with Professor Laurel Schafer. He completed his Master’s project with Professor Ian Manners working on polyborosiloxane synthesis, before making the move north to join our group. Tom’s research focuses on polymeric frustrated Lewis pairs for catalytic applications.
Postgraduate Researcher
Theona was born in Ploiești, a small town in Romania. She pursued her studies af The University of Edinburgh and graduated with a Masters in Chemistry with Industrial Experience. Theona undertook a year-long industrial placement at Solvay in Stamford, CT, where she provided analytical support to the Polymer Additives department. This role sparked her interest in polymer science and upon her return to Edinburgh, she worked on her Masters project under the supervision of Prof. Michael Shaver and Dr Jennifer Garden, focusing on the synthesis of polystyrene mimics from biorenewable feedstocks. She re-joined the group in Manchester for her PhD and she is working on the synthesis and characterisation of novel monomers and polymers.
Postgraduate Researcher
Zoé studied at The University of Edinburgh and graduated with a Masters in Chemical Physics with Industrial Experience. During her placement year, Zoé focused on improving the interactions between photosensitive coatings and aluminium substrates for lithographic purposes. She completed her Masters project with Professor Cait MacPhee, investigating interfacial self-assembly of Bacillus subtilis-secreted proteins for which she won the Chemical Physics research project prize. She started her PhD in September 2019 and will focus on improving the recyclability of various polymeric materials.
Postgraduate Researcher
Jordan completed his Master’s degree in Chemistry at Keele University. Under the supervision of Dr. Peter Matthews, he completed his Master’s project where he investigated boron-doped polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon based frustrated Lewis pairs as a method of hydrogen activation. Jordan joined the Green Materials Laboratory in January 2021 where he is focused on poly(frustrated Lewis pairs).
Postgraduate Researcher
Orla Studied at the University of Birmingham and graduated with a Masters in Chemistry in 2020. She completed her Masters project under the supervision of Professor Andrew Dove investigating stereochemical control of material properties in novel polyketones. In January 2021, she joined the group and is working on ring-opening polymerisation of degradable polyesters.
Postgraduate Researcher
Arpan graduated from the University of Manchester with a Master’s in Chemistry with Industrial Experience. In his year in industry he focused on low VOC, environmentally friendly alternatives to antioxidants in polyurethane systems. Following his graduation Arpan left Chemistry and stumbled into a variety of data focused roles within marketing; as manager, director, analyst and consultant. Looking for a way to produce more impactful work, in 2021 he returned to Manchester and Chemistry joining the Green Materials Lab. He is currently pursuing a PhD in Sustainable Materials, focusing on responsive extrusion and plastic recycling.
Postgraduate Researcher
Ziwei obtained her B.S. in Engineering at Guangdong University of Technology and completed her Master’s degree in Materials Science and Engineering at the same institution, focusing on processing-morphology-properties relationship of polymer-based composites filled with graphene nanoplatelets. In September 2021, she joined our group and is working on the catalytic activity of lewis acids for the synthesis of sustainable polymers.
Postgraduate Researcher
Postgraduate Researcher
Postgraduate Researcher
Hear about the latest news, opinions and activities from the SMI Hub
Back to people