DPhil (PhD) students

Shiyang (Ann) Lu
Shiyang graduated with an MSci in Chemistry from University College London in 2024. Her fourth year research project at UCL was conducted under the supervision of Anna and with the collaboration of Dr. Laura Ratcliff at the University of Bristol, to investigate the electronic structure of organic light emitting diode (OLED) materials using density functional theory (DFT) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Ann is interested in studies that combine theoretical and experimental aspects and she joined the group as a DPhil student in 2024 to continue exploring the structure – electronic structure relationship of prototypical material families using a combination of X-ray diffraction, XPS and DFT. Her DPhil project is co-supervised by Dr. Laura Ratcliff at the University of Bristol. Ann is based at St Edmund Hall. Apart from chemistry, she loves dancing and playing ping pong.

Katherine Milton
Katherine graduated with an integrated master’s degree in Chemistry with Research abroad from Imperial College London in 2020. Her master’s project which was conducted at Leiden University was primarily focussed on high through put screening for artificial metallo proteins for use in photocatalytic water oxidation. During her time as an undergraduate she has worked at the University of British Columbia studying the electrolytic reduction of carbon dioxide into useful fuel. In addition she has also worked at Durham University investigating the synthesis and characterisation of solid electrolytes for solid oxide fuel cells. During her research she developed an interest in combining theoretical and experimental studies to further understanding of materials. For her PhD she is focussing on the using a combination of theoretical modelling and experimental HAXPES to understand the structure and composition of interfaces between 2D materials and dielectric substrates. Her supervisors are Prof. Alexander Shluger and Dr. Anna Regoutz.

Nick Parak
Nick graduated with an M.Sc. in Technical Chemistry (specialising in analytical and physical chemistry) and complemented this with master-level studies in Materials Science at TU Wien. His master’s thesis focused on co-catalyst-free BiVO₄ as a photoanode for selective oxidation of C1 molecules under the supervision of Prof. Dominik Eder, while his bachelor’s thesis explored ALD-synthesised metal-organic framework nanolaminates. He is currently pursuing a DPhil in Chemistry, focusing on the synthesis and characterisation of Ga₂O₃ thin films for power electronics using sol-gel methods, with a particular emphasis on X-ray-based techniques, including XPS and XRD. Alongside his academic training in chemistry and materials science, Nick also has a background in aerospace engineering, gained through workshops at ESA, programs at the International Space University, and participation in TU Wien’s rocketry team. Nick is a member of St John’s College. Apart from chemistry, he enjoys tinkering, especially FDM 3D printing, as well as climbing, road cycling, and travelling.

Aysha Riaz
Aysha graduated with an Integrated Master’s degree in Chemistry from the University of Southampton in 2021. Her Master’s project focused on synthesising titanium oxynitride thin films through aerosol assisted chemical vapour deposition for applications as visible light photocatalysts. This project solidified her interest in materials for sustainable and electronic uses and encouraged her to pursue this area of research. She will be joining the group to focus on the synthesis of new high quality metal oxide thin films through the sol-gel process. The films will be analysed by a combination of characterisation techniques including X-ray diffraction to determine their properties and enable them to be applied in the new generation of electronic devices.

Lezhi (Lucy) Zhan
Lezhi graduated with an MSci in Chemistry from University College London in 2025. Her fourth-year research project at UCL was conducted under the supervision of Prof. Daren Caruana, investigating electrochemical acoustic transducers. This work explored the relationship between electrochemical processes and acoustic signal generation, which solidified her interest in conductive materials and their applications in sensing. She joined the group as a DPhil student in 2025, where her research focuses on investigating the nanostructure of copper oxide and its doping and compositional formation. The aim of her project is to gain a deeper understanding of how conductivity and catalytic activity can be tailored. The nanostructures will be analysed by a combination of characterisation techniques to enable their application in bio- and environmental sensors. Lezhi is a member of St Hilda’s College.

Masters Students

Mahathee Anand Padma
Mahathee graduated with a BSc in Chemistry from Stella Maris College, Chennai, India. As part of her undergraduate research, she conducted a comprehensive literature review on the synthesis, structure, and applications of cuprous iodide. She subsequently undertook internships at JNCASR, Bengaluru, where she worked on the synthesis of cathode materials for sodium-ion batteries and also on the synthesis and characterisation of imine linked covalent organic frameworks (COFs) for photocatalytic and electrocatalytic applications. Mahathee will work on the synthesis of GeO2 thin films from sol-gel routes and characterisation of their structure and electronic structure as part of her Master of Science (by Research) in Chemistry. Outside the lab, she enjoys theatre, music and traveling.

Part II Students

Elisabeth Edwards
Elisabeth is currently a Part II student at Corpus Christi College. She is undertaking her project to investigate the use of gallium oxide in power electronics, examining the properties and behaviours of crystal polymorphs. Outside of chemistry, she enjoys all things rowing and knitting.

Joshua Wise
Having completed his undergraduate at Wadham, Josh is joining the Regoutz group for his Part II. His focus will be on synthesising ZnSb₂O₆ thin films based on sol-gel routes and to explore potential dopeing with gallium.  The films will be characterised using X-ray based techniques, especially XRD and XPS. The potential for use in electronics with also be probed with conductivity measurements. Josh is rarely spotted without some boat club stash and also enjoys going to the pub.

Emma Wroe
Emma is a Part II student at St Edmund Hall. For her fourth-year project, she is focusing on the synthesis of copper oxide nanostructures for their application as non-enzymatic glucose sensors, specifically relating to their synthesis at varying temperatures and pHs. Outside the lab, Emma enjoys paddle boarding, travelling and hanging out with her friends.

Group photographs over the years

Former Group Members

PhD students

Dr Nathalie Fernando
Nathalie was awarded her PhD at UCL in July 2023 after a successful viva with examiners Dr Elisabetta Arca (University of Newcastle) and Andy Beale (UCL Chemistry). Since finishing her PhD, Nathalie has joined IBM in London as a Technology Consultant. Outside her main responsibilities, she spends some time supporting the Women’s Community in her practice, which aims to create an open and safe space to learn, share experiences, and network!

Dr Curran Kalha
Curran was awarded his PhD at UCL in January 2024 after a triumphant defence of his work during his viva with examiners Dr Louis Piper (University of Warwick) and Dr Martijn Zwijnenburg (UCL). Since finishing his PhD, Curran joined Science Angel Syndicate (now Empirical Ventures) as an Investment Associate, where he helps make investments in Deep Science early-stage startups. Curran is always around London and is up for a cup of coffee if you need to talk XPS or pitch him your next billion dollar startup idea.

Dr Prajna Bhatt
Prajna was awarded her PhD at UCL in February 2025 after defending the work from her doctoral studies jointly supervised with Prof Robert Plagrave. Prajna explored the growth of halide perovskite single crystals in silica gel systems. Her viva was examined by Dr Elisabetta Arca (University of Newcastle) and Dr Mojtaba Abdi-Jalebi (UCL). After finishing her PhD, Prajna worked for a while with the group as a Research Associate at Oxford, and has now joined the Istituto Officina dei Materiali in the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR-IOM) as Post Doctoral Research Associate with Dr Giancarlo Panaccione, where she will work on the development of HAXPES techniques with various functional materials. Prajna will still pop by for some beamtimes and conferences, likely with an Italian snack!

Dr Yujiang Zhu
Yujiang was awarded his PhD at UCL in April 2025 after defending his PhD work on copper oxide nanostructure-based non-enzymatic glucose sensor with examiners Prof. Gopinathan Sankar (UCL) and John G. Hardy (Lancaster University). After completing his PhD, Yujiang worked with Anna at the University of Oxford for a few months to continue his research on metal oxide nanostructure-based biosensors, and he has now joined a state-owned energy enterprise as an R&D engineer in China.

Masters students

Charlotte André Emila (Magistère de physico-chimie moléculaire, Université Paris-Saclay)
Obina Uba (MSci, UCL, 2023/24)
Shiyang (Ann) Lu (MSci, UCL, 2023/34)
Lai Siyuan (MSc in Chemical Research, UCL, 2022/23)
Yaxuan Li (MSc Scientific Computing, UCL, 2020/21)
Lu Liu (MSc Scientific Computing, UCL, 2020/21)
Andrey Ten (MSc Chemical Research, UCL, 2020/21)
Nayera Ahmed (MSci, UCL, 2020/21)
Prajna Bhatt (MSci, UCL, 2020/21)
Hally Yick (MSci, UCL, 2020/21)
Ebru Kurtulus (MSci, UCL, 2019/20)
Carolina Vigil Hernandes (MSci, UCL, 2019/20)
Jiebin Li (MSc Applied Analytical Chemistry, UCL, 2019/20)
Yun Zhu (MSc Materials for Energy and Environment, UCL, 2019/20)
Ruby Freeman (MEng, Imperial, 2018/19)
Mevin Wan (MEng, Imperial, 2018/19)
Ayse Ay (MSc, Imperial, 2017/18)
Shijia Liu (MSc, Imperial, 2017/18)

UROP students

Theo Parra Moutinho Stucky de Quay (2022/23)
Shidi Xi (2020/21)
Sharukaa Uthayasekaran (2020/21)
Zuzanna Kosobudzka (2020/21)
Prajna Bhatt (2018/19)
Aaron Lam (2018/19)
Jo Pi (2018/19)
Weishan (Helen) Tan (2018/19)
Xiangqi Hu (2017/18)
Qiaochu Luo (2017/18)
Amy Tall (2017/18)
Zhuocheng Xu (2017/18)