About me

After being especially prone to disassemble things and blow them up as a teenager, I left my native Romania to study Chemical Engineering at Manchester. Working for a year placement in AkzoNobel - ICI Paints during my degree, I realised I enjoy research, in order to better understand and predict complex systems.

I applied for a EU Marie Curie PhD studentship to study adsorption in novel materials, such as metal-organic frameworks (MOF). Under the mantle of project DEFNET, I moved to Marseille, France to dedicate three years to understand the influence of structural defects in MOFs on their adsorption performance and surface energetics in the MADIREL research lab. I also developed a greater interest in adsorbent materials, with some of my work pertaining to their applications, characterisation and unique properties such as compliance. I continued my work in this field in ICGM, including projects for incorporating porous sensing layers in quartz microbalance (QCM) and capacitive sensors for outer space and environmental applications.

Training-wise, I have a comprehensive background in the adsorption of gases and vapours, with a focus on gas storage and separation, and intimate knowledge of porous coordination polymers, their characterisation, synthesis and avenues of application. Some experience in statistical analysis, rheology and colorimetry. Familiar with many characterisation techniques, such as thermal analysis (microcalorimetry, TGA, DSC), spectroscopy (XRD, IR, UV) and other qualitative and quantitative methods (NMR, GC, MS).

In addition to my experimental work, I am interested in programming, particularly in regards to high throughput data processing, extraction of key performance indicators from large datasets and automation. I am self taught in Python and C++ and currently develop several software packages to help me in my goals. I am a big proponent of open research and strive to make all my software open source and as robust as possible.

When not working, I spend my time geeking out with video games, upcycling and connecting my coffee machine to the internet.