Celebrating 10 years of SIRE!

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Wednesday 15th November saw the Stephenson Institute for Renewable Energy celebrate their 10 Year Anniversary opening! To celebrate the event, current members of the Institute were joined by former PhD students and colleagues (such as Professor Tzu-Ho Wu, National Yunlin University of Science and Technology (NYUST), Taiwan, pictured), to hear about their time in SIRE and also where their various career paths and research had taken them.

The name ‘Stephenson’ connects the institute to Liverpool’s long history of innovation. Stephenson’s nearby rail terminus scored several world firsts: the first intercity line, first double track, first with a timetable, first with signals, and of course the first to be steam-only (no horses allowed). Continuing that tradition, much innovation was on show as colleagues around the globe joined us, starting in Taiwan, then Japan and finishing in Oregon, US. The institute were fortunate enough to host online and virtual talks on a range of topics, such as numerous world records in solar cell efficiencies, advanced spectroscopy to study the orientation of complex proteins on surfaces, development of aqueous rechargeable Zn-ion cells and the underpinning theory for controlling photochemistry in space and much more besides. In attendance was also Vice-Chancellor Professor Tim Jones, whom the institute would like to extend their thanks to for officially opening their new Sustainable Fuels Laboratory, touring their solar and electrochemistry research laboratories, and delivering the welcome address.

Vice Chancellor Tim Jones opens new lab alongside SIRE director Laurence Hardwick

Throughout the day, guests had the opportunity to walk through the building and view the 30+ posters covering the walls which showcased the fantastic work of our present generation of PhDs and PDRAs and partake in lively discussions in the coffee and lunch breaks. Sincere congratulations to the best poster prize winners: Baltazar Correa Mendes Pereira Guedes (Probing the Structure of the Electrochemical Interface) and Dr Alex Neale (Operando Kerr Gated Raman Spectroscopy to Probe the High States of Charge in Graphite Electrodes for Li-ion Batteries).

Thank you again to team SIRE: Hannah, Vince, Jayne and Glenda for all the preparation work for the event, and also to iconic Physics band Long After Midnight, who once again closed the day in style.