PINZ CDT staff and students visited the University of York’s Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence and the Biorenewables Development Centre (BDC) on 5 December.
The visit to the BDC included insightful presentations from Mark Gronnow and Debs Rathbone, who shared updates on recent projects, followed by a guided tour of the centre’s impressive facilities.
We are very grateful to Mark and Debs for hosting us at the BDC, and to Linda for organising such a valuable and enjoyable visit.
PINZ CDT staff and students attended the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) Tyneside Members Group Annual Awards Dinner on 23 October.
We were delighted to sponsor a table at this year’s event, which provided an excellent opportunity for networking and celebrating achievements in the chemical engineering community in the region.
We were especially proud to see our PINZ CDT Summer 2025 Placement Student, Anesh Tahir, receive the Engineering Student Outstanding Merit Award. Congratulations also to PINZ CDT Summer 2025 Placement Student, Charlotte Mellor, who was runner-up in this award.
Wednesday 21 January 2026, 12:30 – 15:30 and
Thursday 22 January 2026, 09:00 – 15:30
Newcastle University, Stephenson Building, NE1 7RU
Event summary
Join us at the second EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training Process Industries: Net Zero (PINZ) 2026 Conference for an engaging day and a half of connection, discovery, and innovation. This event brings together researchers, industry leaders, and stakeholders to explore the latest progress in student-led research within the EPSRC PINZ Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT).
Expect insightful presentations, valuable networking opportunities, and fresh perspectives from across the process industries as we work towards a net zero future.
Day 1 will include a collaborative session uniting academics and industry to explore future industry challenges and co-develop project opportunities.
Day 2 will highlight the real-world research of Cohorts 1 and 2 as they address the net-zero challenges of their industrial partners, alongside direct insights from industry leaders on their current hurdles, offering valuable opportunities for networking and collaboration.
Day 1 Agenda
12:30 – 13:15 Registration and Lunch
13:15 – 13:30 Introduction: EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training Process Industries: Net Zero
13:30 – 14:00 Technical overview: Newcastle University Process Intensification Group (PIG) and University of York Green Chemistry Centre for Excellence (GCCE)
14:00 – 15:30 Interactive session
This interactive session brings together industry professionals and academic experts to spark collaboration around shared challenges and innovation opportunities. In the session, academics will deliver concise elevator pitches showcasing their expertise, while facilitators help each group uncover barriers, explore potential solutions, and identify areas ripe for partnership. It’s a dynamic way for industry to tap into the specialist knowledge at Newcastle and York, and for academics to gain insight into real-world priorities.
16:00-17:30 Industrial Advisory Board Meeting
Day 2 Agenda
09:00 – 09:30 Registration and Refreshments
09:30 – 09:45 Welcome and Opening Remarks
09:45 – 10:15 Keynote Speaker
Further details to follow
10:15-10:30 Funder perspective
Karen Davies, EPSRC Portfolio Manager
10:30 – 10:45 Morning Break
10:45 – 12:15 PINZ CDT Cohort 2 Students: Flash presentations
12:15 – 13:15 Networking lunch and poster display
13:15 – 14:00 Industry perspective
Further details to follow
14:00 – 15:00 PINZ CDT Cohort 1 Students: Industry research project updates
15:00 – 15:15 Summer placements overview
15:15 – 15:30 Closing remarks
15:30 Close
If you have issues accessing the Registration form, please contact us at pinz.cdt@newcastle.ac.uk.
PINZ CDT students attend this year’s event at Newcastle University
On Friday 10 October, we were delighted to host the students from both Cohort 1 and Cohort 2 for our 2025 PINZ CDT Welcome Event at the School of Engineering, Newcastle University.
Over lunchtime, students joined a meeting of the Process Intensification Research Group (PIG), to hear presentations by Salome Usakuhyel Raymond and Ben Chapman, two Cohort 1 students from the University of York. Salome and Ben shared updates on their ongoing research projects in collaboration with industry partners, highlighting the real-world impact of their work.
Following the research session, students took part in the Welcome Event itself, offering an introduction to the CDT programme and an opportunity to connect with their peers and staff.
The day concluded with a relaxed early evening social – the perfect way to foster new connections and celebrate the collaborative spirit that defines our CDT community.
PINZ CDT Cohort 1 – Left to right: Louise Amor-Seabrooke, Salome Usakuhyel Raymond, Abubakar Kuburi, Vaishnavi Jambhorkar, Ben Chapman, Zuhair Ali, Abdul Samad
PINZ CDT Cohort 2 – Left to right: Aditya Tiwari, Kyle McLean, Max Atkinson, Alex Bradley, Kudzaishe Chiwara, Annabel Bowkett, Kypros Iakovou, Aarcha Kudzaishe Chiwara, Sam Bury, Robyn Haley, Amy Lumsdon, Dominic Gardiner
Cohort 1 students present to the Process Intensification Research Group
On Friday 10 October, had the pleasure of seeing two of our students, Salome Usakuhyel Raymond and Ben Chapman, present their ongoing research to the Process Intensification Group (PIG) at Newcastle University. Their work, developed with industry sponsors Thomas Swan & Co. Ltd. and Johnson Matthey, sparked insightful discussions.
Students share results of their placement projects
We were pleased to host presentations from our 2025 EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Process Industries Net Zero (PINZ CDT) Vacation Placement Students at the Newcastle University Process Intensification Group meeting on Friday, 26 September.
Eight current Level 4 MEng students — Faizah Ashraf, Izzy Coles, Jessica Ensor, Basmalah Etri, Nyah Greenwood, Charlotte Mellor, Anahita Shahbakhsh, and Anesh Tahir — shared the results of their summer placements, undertaken in collaboration with industrial partners. Their projects addressed a diverse range of challenges, all contributing to the overarching goal of supporting the process industries in their transition to net zero.
Congratulations to the students for their excellent work!
Our thanks go to the industry sponsors who made these placements possible: Northumbrian Water Group Limited, Clean Carbon Solutions, METzero Technologies, Syngenta, Procter & Gamble, Merck Group, Johnson Matthey, AM Technology, and SSE Thermal.
Poster prize success for PINZ CDT student at chemical physics conference
We’re proud to announce that Salome Raymond, a PINZ CDT student at the University of York, has won a poster prize at this year’s Annual Northern Universities Meeting on Chemical Physics.
Salome’s research focuses on Ethyl Lactate as a Green Solvent – Processes, Performance and Air Quality Impacts, contributing to the development of more sustainable chemical processes.
Her work was recognised for its scientific quality and potential impact. Congratulations to Salome on this well-deserved achievement!
The PINZ CDT Team recently held a Team Day at Beamish Museum
A group of EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Process Industries: Net Zero (PINZ CDT) Cohort 1 students, incoming Cohort 2 students, Summer Placement Sutdents and members of the Management Team from Newcastle University School of Engineering and the University of York Department of Chemistry came together for a team-building day at Beamish Museum on 24 July.
Highlights included a ride on the upper deck of the open-top tram and an insightful trip down the Beamish drift mine. The day provided a valuable opportunity for everyone to strengthen relationships, exchange experiences, and enjoy some relaxed time outside the usual work and study setting.
PIN31 took place at Newcastle University on 10 July 2025
The EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Process Industries: Net Zero (PINZ CDT) was delighted to welcome the 31st Meeting of the Process Intensification Network (PIN31) to Stephenson Building at Newcastle University on 10 July.
This free event brought together our academic and industry partners, current PINZ CDT students, PINZ placement students, and staff from Newcastle University and the University of York.
The programme featured engaging presentations from academic and industry experts, including our PINZ CDT students, giving an opportunity for knowledge exchange, networking and celebrating cutting-edge research in process intensification in addition to hearing updates on the PINZ CDT.
PINZ CDT Management Team and students hosted a panel session at ChemUK 2025 at the NEC, Birmingham on 21st and 22nd May.
PINZ CDT PhD student, Louise Amor-Seabrooke and PINZ CDT Management Team, Professor Adam Harvey, Dr Jonathan McDonough, Dr Richard Law and Ryan Sidall, joined the panel. In this session, the panel introduced the centre, set out how industry can get involved and highlighted three ongoing projects:
– Filter optimisation for flue gas treatment
– Biofuels from food waste
– Saving energy and heat recovery across a waste-water treatment site.
Listen to the recording of the panel session
