معرفی
Professor Sandie Dann serves as Professor of Materials Chemistry at Loughborough University, where she has held academic positions since 1997, progressing from Lecturer to Senior Lecturer and ultimately to Chair in 2019. She leads the Powder X-ray Diffraction Consultancy and co-directs the SlowCat mini-CDT (Securing a Sustainable Future using Low Dimensional Catalysts), focusing on sustainable production of biofuels and platform chemicals from waste streams.
Her educational foundation includes a BSc and PhD in Chemistry from the University of Southampton, where her doctoral research utilized high-pressure oxygen (up to 700 bar) to investigate unusual oxidation states of transition metals. This early work established her expertise in powder X-ray diffraction and advanced characterization techniques.
Professor Dann's research centers on determining structure-property relationships in solid materials to enhance their physical and chemical performance. She specializes in high-temperature/pressure synthesis of oxides, sulfides, and zeolites, with applications spanning environmentally friendly pigments (including a patented tin niobium oxysulfide red-yellow pigment), waste-to-energy catalysis, and hydrogen production technologies. Her work directly supports global sustainability goals through the development of catalysts that convert waste streams into valuable fuels and chemicals.
She actively promotes gender diversity in STEM as part of the Sustainable Hydrogen Centre for Doctoral Training (SusHy CDT) through the Women in Science and Engineering campaign. Her industrial collaborations include Kindeva (formerly 3M Healthcare), the National Nuclear Laboratory, and Intelligent Energy, translating academic research into practical solutions for pharmaceutical, manufacturing, and energy sectors.
Her laboratory features two powder X-ray diffractometers with sample changers and high-temperature stages, a Braun glovebox, and high-pressure hydrothermal equipment, enabling comprehensive materials characterization including air-sensitive and in-situ experiments. She currently supervises PhD students within the SlowCat mini-CDT framework while maintaining an active public engagement profile through science festivals and previous initiatives like the 'Creating a Colourful Life' project.
