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<\/a>Congratulations to Matt Robb<\/span><\/b>\u00a0(PhD completed in Brookers Bunch, titled \u2018Towards Dual Functional Spin Crossover Complexes\u2019) on recently accepting a Postdoctoral Fellowship with Assoc. Prof. Hanna Bostr\u00f6m at Stockholm University, Sweden, starting in early April 2024. Matt will be studying spin crossover in Hoffman-type frameworks in a project funded by the Wallenberg Initiative – Materials Science for Sustainability (WISE). The focus will be on synthesizing new materials and investigating their use as guest sensors.<\/span><\/p>\n\n
The New Zealand Hydrogen Aviation Consortium<\/strong><\/a> has released a report (available from their website<\/a>) ‘Launching Green Hydrogen Powered Aviation in Aotearoa New Zealand’ which includes a foreword from Sally. Kieran DeMonte<\/a>\u00a0recently returned from five weeks working with Prof\u00a0Garry Hanan<\/a>\u2019s group at the\u00a0Universit\u00e9 de Montr\u00e9al<\/a>, Canada, carrying out a series of homogenous hydrogen and CO2\u00a0reduction photocatalysis studies, as part of a multi-year\u00a0MBIE<\/a>\u00a0catalyst seed grant that will end mid-2023. Kieran learnt and developed valuable homogeneous photocatalysis skills under the expert guidance of the Hanan group (thanks particularly to Dr\u00a0Folaranmi Akogun<\/a> and Olivier Schott), and collected data on a family of our complexes. We are grateful to them for hosting this research visit and our continuing collaboration!<\/p>\n A massive thank you to Hyundai<\/strong> and Hyundai’s Grant Doull<\/strong> and Gavin Young<\/strong> for hosting S<\/strong>ally<\/strong> and Michael<\/strong> at Mystery Creek Fieldays! Sally and Michael were doing hydrogen outreach with the demonstration electrolyser and fuel cell kit on Hyundai’s site. Pictured above are Grant Doull, Sally Brooker, Gavin Young, and Michael Bennington next to Hyundai’s XCIENT hydrogen fuel cell truck, December 2022.<\/p>\n One of the visitors to our hydrogen outreach demonstration electrolyser and fuel cell at Hyundai\u2019s site at the Mystery Creek Fieldays<\/strong> (thanks Hyundai for sponsoring Michael Bennington and Sally Brooker doing this!), Adrian Maidment, made a quick video of Sally explaining how H2<\/sub> is made and used, and later sent us the link to it on youtube<\/a> (thanks Adrian! https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=O04LcMAB1pQ) . Pictured above is Sally during the interview with Adrian, December 2022.<\/p>\n Congratulations Luca Bond\u00ed<\/strong>\u00a0on his formal PhD graduation at the University of Florence. We’re very proud of you completing your co-tutelle PhD at Otago and Florence Universities – and that you have also completed publications based on all 4 of the chapters of your thesis, as well as additional papers in collaboration with others in our team!<\/p>\n ________________<\/span>________________________________________________<\/span><\/p>\n Congratulations to Abdullah<\/strong> (right) on starting at the University of Paris Descartes<\/strong> as a 2 year postdoc in Prof Olivia Reinaud<\/strong>‘s (left) research team in June 2022 (photo). He will be looking at the development of supramolecular catalysts for redox processes (O2 and CO2). Prior to this, Abdullah completed his PhD on ‘Catalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction’ in Brookers Bunch. Selfie by Abdullah June 2022.<\/p>\n ________________<\/span>________________________________________________<\/span><\/p>\n Its a small world, Rosa<\/strong> has now joined Prof Eva Rentschler<\/strong>‘s research group, at the University of Mainz<\/strong>, as a postdoc too! Selfie by\u00a0Sriram<\/strong>, April 2022.<\/p>\n ________________<\/span>________________________________________________<\/span><\/p>\n A warm welcome to\u00a0Kieran DeMonte<\/strong>, pictured in front of the Registry building, University of Otago. Last year Kieran completed an MChem with first class honours in Chemistry at Warwick University (UK). He subsequently accepted a MacDiarmid Institute funded PhD scholarship with Sally, to work on the design, synthesis and testing of coordination complexes for electrocatalytic carbon dioxide reduction. He arrived in Dunedin in mid-March and started his PhD on 1 April 2022.<\/p>\n ________________<\/span>________________________________________________<\/span><\/p>\n Congratulations to Varinder<\/strong>, on the publication of his first paper<\/a>, in Dalton Transactions<\/em>, concerning comparison of a new dimetallic with a previous monometallic electrocatalyst for H2 production. 15 Feb 2022.<\/p>\n ________________<\/span>________________________________________________<\/span><\/p>\n Congratulations to Dr Rosa Diego Creixenti<\/strong>, on completing her PhD defense at the University of Barcelona. It was a pleasure to host you in my research team at the University of Otago from January to July 2020, albeit this was a more ‘interesting’ experience for you than expected, due to the sudden appearance of COVID19. Wishing you all the very best for the future!<\/p>\n ________________<\/span>________________________________________________<\/span><\/p>\n Varinder Singh\u00a0<\/strong>has been offered an Otago PhD scholarship and plans to work in Sally’s team on developing and testing CO2 reduction catalysts. Congratulations Varinder!\u00a0 Photo (L to R): Michael, Hajie, Varinder, Matt by the Leith river in front of the Registry (Sally, 28 Jan 2022).<\/p>\n ________________<\/span>________________________________________________<\/span><\/p>\n Sriram<\/strong> (soon to graduate PhD) has now taken up his research position in Prof Rentschlers group at Mainz University, Germany. Research group photo taken Jan 2022; Sriram extreme left.<\/p>\n ________________<\/span>________________________________________________<\/span><\/p>\n Sandhya<\/strong> has started her Postdoc in Prof Beeren’s group at DTU in Copenhagen, Denmark \ud83d\ude42\u00a0 Selfie taken in Jan 2022.<\/p>\n ________________<\/span>________________________________________________<\/span><\/p>\n Sally was thrilled to be present at the 1 Dec 2021 launch – by Ministers Megan Woods and James Shaw, along with Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel – of Christchurch International Airport Limited’s K\u014dwhai Park<\/strong> renewable energy precinct. Phase 1 of this initiative will generate up to 150MW, enabling a range of future decarbonisation initiatives to be developed at the airport and in the region. Sincere congratulations to Claire Waghorn, Nick Flack, and your visionary CEO Malcolm Johns. Photo by Sally 1 Dec 2021.<\/p>\n ________________<\/span>________________________________________________<\/span><\/p>\n Dr Sandhya Singh<\/strong> departs NZ in late December, to start a 2 year postdoc position at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) from Jan 2022, in the group of Associate Professor Sophie Beeren,<\/strong> working on enzyme-mediated dynamic combinatorial chemistry. Congratulations Sandhya!<\/p>\n ________________<\/span>________________________________________________<\/span><\/p>\n Sally<\/strong> enjoyed a drive of the Hyundai NEXO<\/strong> hydrogen powered car<\/strong>, during our outreach visits to 7 schools and SIT, in Invercargill, 23 and 26 November 2021.<\/p>\n ________________<\/span>________________________________________________<\/span><\/p>\n Guess who? in all her safety gear before she was given a fascinating tour of Tiwai Aluminium Smelter, 25 November 2021.<\/p>\n ________________<\/span>________________________________________________<\/span><\/p>\n Sally<\/strong> caught up with Sir Tipene O’Regan<\/strong> at the Murihiku Regeneration Research and Innovation wananga, Transport World, Invercargill, 24-25 November 2021<\/p>\n ________________<\/span>________________________________________________<\/span><\/p>\n Sally<\/strong> caught up with Aimee Kaio<\/strong> at the Murihiku Regeneration Research and Innovation wananga, Transport World, Invercargill, 24-25 November 2021<\/p>\n ________________<\/span>________________________________________________<\/span><\/p>\n Schools green hydrogen outreach team<\/strong>, at Southland Girls High School, Invercargill, 23 November 2021. Our Invercargill ‘green hydrogen’ outreach, visited 7 schools and SIT, brilliantly MC’ed by Ra Dallas (nkmp) for Murihiku Regeneration, with activities led by Dr Dave Warren (Otago University) and his outreach team, accompanied by Hamish Tonkin (GWD Motor Group) with the Hyundai Nexo hydrogen fuel cell car, resulted in two busy, informative and fun days for all concerned. This photo of us with the Nexo was kindly taken by Brenda Goodwill (HOD Science) at Southland Girls High School. Thanks heaps team!<\/p>\n ________________<\/span>________________________________________________<\/span><\/p>\n Sally<\/strong> talked with Hon Dr Megan Woods<\/strong> about green hydrogen (photo: Wigram electorate office staff, 25 October 2021)<\/p>\n ________________<\/span>________________________________________________<\/span><\/p>\n Congratulations to Sriram<\/strong> Sundaresan (MacDiarmid Institute funded PhD student), on successfully defending his PhD thesis \u201cDesigner complexes for spin crossover, CO2<\/sub> reduction and surface immobilisation\u201d earlier today (1 October 2021). Sriram (right) is pictured here with his examiners (L to R): Professors Lyall Hanton (University of Otago), Annie Powell (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology) and James Wright (University of Auckland) and convenor A\/Professor Carla Meledandri (seated, centre).<\/p>\n After leaving NZ for a short, well earnt holiday at home in India, he will take up a postdoctoral position with Professor Eva Rentschler (Mainz, Germany), to work on single molecule magnets (SMMs).<\/p>\n _________________<\/span>_______________________________________________<\/span><\/p>\n Congratulations to Luca<\/strong> Bond\u00ed<\/strong>, pictured here on his first day of MBA study at the MIB Trieste School of Management (Italy) in the last week of September 2021. \u00a0Earlier this year, Luca successfully completed his co-tutelle PhD \u201cTowards predictable tuning of spin crossover” at the Universities of Otago and Florence, supervised by Prof Sally Brooker, Prof Federico Totti and Dr Anna Garden. From his time with us he has published 5 papers to date, with a 6th<\/sup> paper close to submission. We wish him all the very best for his MBA study!<\/p>\n _________________<\/span>_______________________________________________<\/span><\/p>\n Double congratulations to Fola <\/strong>Akogun: graduating with his PhD “Carbazole complexes as catalysts for hydrogen evolution and CO2<\/sub> reduction”, and being reunited with his family, wife Goodness and 1 year old daughter Nora, after being separated for one and a half years due to COVID19 border closures. Really great to see you happily reunited after all this time!\u00a0 Photo: Accra (Ghana) August 2021.<\/p>\n ________________________________________________________________<\/span><\/p>\n Congratulations to Dr Sandhya Singh<\/strong> on being awarded a two year<\/strong> JSPS (<\/strong>Japan Society for the Promotion of Science) postdoctoral fellowship<\/strong> to work on “Supramolecular Radical Organic Frameworks for Sensing and Spintronics Applications” with Dr Jonathan Hill at the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), Japan.<\/p>\n ________________________________________________________________<\/span><\/p>\n Congratulations to Sriram Sundaresan<\/strong> (centre, pictured with Brookers Bunch) on submitting his PhD thesis “Designer complexes for spin crossover, CO2<\/sub> reduction and surface immobilisation”. 30 June 2021.<\/span><\/p>\n ________________________________________________________________<\/span><\/p>\n Congratulations to Dr S<\/strong>andhya Singh <\/b>(front left) on taking up a MacDiarmid Institute funded internship at MBIE, Wellington, NZ. Photo of BB mid June 2021<\/span>.<\/p>\n ________________________________________________________________<\/span><\/p>\n Congratulations to Fola Akogun<\/strong> on successfully defending his PhD thesis, \u201cCarbazole complexes as catalysts for hydrogen evolution and CO2<\/sub> reduction” via zoom on 20 May 2021. Photo: Fola after the oral examination, with the examiners, Prof Annie Powell (KIT, bottom left), Prof Geoff Waterhouse (Auckland, top right) and Dr Jonathan Kitchen (Massey Auckland, bottom right). Convenor Prof Claudine Stirling and supervisor Prof Sally Brooker were also present.<\/p>\n ________________________________________________________________<\/span><\/p>\n Congratulations to Abdullah Abudayyeh<\/strong> on having his PhD thesis, \u201cCatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction”, placed on the list of Exceptional PhD Theses in the Division of Sciences<\/a>, which means that “all three examiners of a candidate’s thesis agree that the thesis is of an exceptional standard in every respect \u2013 research content, originality, quality of expression and accuracy of presentation \u2013 and is amongst the top 10% of theses examined.”<\/p>\n ________________________________________________________________<\/span><\/p>\n Congratulations to Dr Sandhya Singh<\/strong> on graduating with her PhD in person on a lovely autumn day in Dunedin (8 May 2021).<\/p>\n ________________________________________________________________<\/span><\/p>\n Congratulations to Luca Bond\u00ed <\/strong>(bottom right) on successfully defending his co-tutelle PhD (Universities of Otago and Florence), \u2018Towards predictable tuning of spin crossover\u2019, at the oral examination held by zoom with participants from 4 countries, specifically from the cities of Florence (Luca; Prof Federico Totti, co-supervisor, bottom), Rennes (Prof Boris Le Guennic, examiner, top left), Dublin (A\/Prof Grace Morgan, examiner, top right) and Dunedin (Prof Lyall Hanton, examiner; A\/Prof Nigel Lucas, convenor; Dr Anna Garden and Prof Sally Brooker, supervisors, top middle).<\/p>\n ________________________________________________________________<\/span><\/p>\n Congratulations to Abdullah Abudayyeh<\/strong> on successfully completing the oral examination of his thesis \u201cCatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction”, on 14 April 2021. Pictured after the oral from L to R: Prof Sally Brooker (supervisor), A\/Prof Nigel Lucas (internal examiner), A\/Prof Vladimir Golovko (NZ examiner present via zoom; Canterbury), Abdullah, and Prof Lyall Hanton (convenor).<\/p>\n ________________________________________________________________<\/span><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
\nPictured above at the NZ H2 2 Zero Summit where this report was launched are, L to R: Prof Sally Brooker (He Honoka Hauwai<\/strong><\/a>, Otago University), Christopher Boyle (Fabrum), Jean-Christophe Hoguet (Airbus), Claire Waghorn (CIAL), Cathy Clennett (Hiringa), Nick Flack (CIAL), Amy Barrett (FFI), Andrew Clennett (Hiringa). Missing: Jacob Snelgrove (Air New Zealand).<\/p>\n
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\n<\/a>We’re very grateful to\u00a0HWR Hydrogen<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>for inviting Sally and Michael down to the George Begg Festival in Invercargill to talk to the public about green hydrogen. At the festival HW Richardson launched their dual-fuel truck, the first of its kind in Australasia, which can combust hydrogen along with the diesel for up to a 40% reduction in emissions, a groundbreaking and exciting step to a greener future! Pictured above are Gareth Wishart<\/strong> (HWR group general manager of innovation), Michael and Sally in front of the new truck, and below is Sally with the green hydrogen demo kit. Please check out the news about the dual-fuel truck on the ODT\u00a0<\/a>and Stuff<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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