Welcoming a New Cohort of PINZ CDT Researchers
PINZ CDT PhD Researchers
Front row, l to r: Louise Amore-Seabrooke, Vaishnavi Jambhorkar, Anahita Shahbaksh, Jessica Ensor, Kudzaishe Chiwara, Aarcha Krishna Kalluparambil
Second row, l to r: Ben Chapman, Ellie Unwin, Lorna Younger, Max Atkinson, Evelyn Tosh, Robyn Garside, Annabel Bowkett, Mir Zuhair Ali, Amy Lumsdon
Back row, l to r: Lawrie Shrimpton, Hugh Twelves, Sam Barber, Kyle McLean, Alex Bradley, Sam Bury, Salome Usakuhyel Raymond, Ryan Masocha, Finn Jaworski, Mohammad Hosseinpour, Abdul Samad, Abubakar Kuburi, Dominic Gardiner
We were delighted to welcome our PINZ CDT Cohort 3 students from Newcastle University and the University of York to Newcastle on 2 October 2026 for our Annual Networking Day.
This event was designed to help Cohort 3 to connect with fellow researchers and the wider PINZ community. As part of the programme, students attended a Process Intensification Group (PIG) lunchtime meeting, where they heard presentations by PINZ CDT researchers Sam Bury and Dominic Gardiner. Sam delivered on a talk on the work he is carrying out with industry partner, Reckitt, while Dominic shared information on his work undertaken in partnership with Northumbrian Water.
The day concluded with a team building session for PINZ CDT researchers. This gave our newest cohort the opportunity to get to know one another better, develop new connections and begin building the collaborative relationsihps that at the heard of the PINZ CDT experience.
Join us at our online open day at 10:00-11:00 on 13 May 2026 to find out more about PINZ CDT and the PhD studentships (Home UK students only) currently available to start in October 2026.
Studentships are available to Home UK students only. Each studentship includes:
- • 100% fees
- • Tax-free annual allowance of £21,805
- • £20,000 support grant
All projects are delivered in collaboration with industry partners, ensuring your research has real-world applications.
Currently available projects
• Net Zero Marine Fuels by Hydrothermal Processing of Waste – Industry partner: Purifire Ltd
• Lifecycle & Systems Modelling of Future Marine Fuels and Engine Systems – Industry partners: MaRI-UK and Babcock International
• Pathways to Net Zero: Decarbonising Cellulosic Film Manufacturing in the UK Chemicals Sector – Industry partner: Futamura
• Advanced Process Intensification Strategies for Chemical and Catalytic Reactions Using Taylor–Couette Reactor Technology – Industry partner: Laminar
• Designing the Net‑Zero Polymer Factory: Energy Efficiency, Recovery and Novel Process Technologies – Industry partner: Victrex
More projects to follow…
The open day has now passed. See information about our current opportunities here.
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.
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
Yesterday we hosted 65 people from over 30 businesses for the first PINZ Conference at Newcastle University!
The PINZ team, including our colleagues from University of York, delivered a series of talks and discussions about the Process Industries and how we are training our PhD students to be able to work towards making Net Zero a reality. We also heard directly from our students about their projects and what they hope to achieve over the next four years.
Our PINZ CDT Co-directors Professor Adam Harvey and Professor Helen Sneddon opened the day with a welcome talk, giving an insight in to the formation of the PINZ CDT and how the Process Intensification Group at Newcastle and the Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence came together. This was followed by our special guest speaker, Jon Hetherington from NEPIC, who delivering an excellent session on the North East Process Sector and set the scene for an amazing day.
We also had sessions on the range of training opportunities that are provided for our students, and our approach and commitment to ensuring EDI best practice is followed throughout the student journey. Delegates heard directly from our first cohort of students, discussing their aims and hopes for the wide range of projects they are working on, and also took part in an interactive cocreation session, looking at the challenges facing the industry and how we can work together to make improvements for the future.
Thank you to everyone who attended this conference – we will be holding more events in the future so if you’d like to attend please follow our LinkedIn page for updates here.
Thanks to Biofuel Evolution, Huber Uk Temperature Control Ltd, Asynt and HORIBA UK LIMITED for joining us as exhibitors and making sure our Stephenson building foyer was buzzing throughout the day.
Join us on the 22nd January 2025 9.30am – 4pm for the first annual PINZ Conference.
The EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Process Industries: Net Zero (PINZ CDT) is a collaboration between the Process Intensification Group at Newcastle University and the Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence at the University of York.
Focusing on three key research themes of Energy, Feedstocks and Data, we bring together diverse expertise from academia, industry, and beyond, to foster an environment of interdisciplinary synergy – where ideas flourish, and solutions are born.
This free event will bring together our current PINZ students, Newcastle University and University of York staff, our industry partners and esteemed guests. This will be an opportunity to learn more about the past, present and future of Process Industries and how we are supporting our students to become future leaders in this area.
This conference will take place in the Stephenson Building at Newcastle University – our recently refurbished, state of the art engineering facility. The event will run from 9.30am – 4pm with opportunities to network after the event closes. There is also an option to take a tour of our engineering facilities – if you would like to take the tour, please select this option on the registration form.
The deadline for registration is Wednesday 11th December 2024.
PINZ CDT Staff members and students attended the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) Awards Dinner on the 24th October. This event celebrated Chemical Engineering in the North East region, and we were thrilled to be able to sponsor a table and speak to a lot of people about the PINZ CDT.
