Question 1

New porous materials show record-breaking gas storage capacity

Accepted Answer

New porous materials show record-breaking gas storage capacity
A collaboration, led by researchers from the Department, has designed and made two new metal organic frameworks that show excellent capacity for storing hydrogen and record-breaking methane storage.
Both hydrogen and methane are promising alternatives to traditional fuels in the transition to clean and renewable energy, with hydrogen expected to play a crucial role in hard-to-electrify sectors such as heavy-duty trucking and shipping.
However, their use is curtailed by the challenge in storing these gases, which traditionally leads to the need for expensive compression or cooling systems, which are also energy intensive. An alternative could be the storage in porous materials, such as metal organic frameworks (MOFs). These offer a safer and more cost-effective way to store gases at lower pressures, but so far, they often require low temperatures, and none have been found that can store the capacities needed for widespread application.
In this study, published in Nature Synthesis, the Adsorption and advanced materials research group led by Professor David Fairen-Jimenez of the Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology (CEB) at Cambridge designed and built two new MOFs that realise a rare highly interconnected ‘red’ topology that had, until recently, remained purely theoretical. These new MOFs, CU-6-Fe and CU-6-Cr, where CU stands for Cambridge University, show exceptional hydrogen and methane capacity.
CU-6-Fe and CU-6-Cr can adsorb up to 17.5 and 15.9 percent of their weight in hydrogen, respectively, at 100 bar and 77 K. Compared to the US Department of Energy’s target for hydrogen storage systems of 5.5 weight percent, this is a huge step forward in potential capacity. They also show record methane storage at ambient temperature and show exceptional stability in air, another key requirement for hydrogen storage applications.
Joint first author Dr Xu Chen, postdoctoral research associate at CEB, said: “One of the most exciting aspects of this work was showing that we could build in lab conditions a structure that had been theorised but never physically created. Researchers had predicted this type of topology for years so to see it come together as a stable material for the first time ever was a special moment.”
																										
To design these new MOFs, the team used a semi-rigid organic linker that was flexible enough to accommodate different coordination geometries and framework curvatures while still rigid enough to ensure stability. They combined this with a six-connected metal oxide cluster to form their novel ‘red’ framework, which contains highly interconnected pores.
They characterised these new materials using a range of techniques and then came to ISIS Neutron and Muon Source to use in situ neutron powder diffraction on the WISH beamline to understand details of the hydrogen adsorption, alongside computational methods.
Using neutrons, thanks to their high sensitivity to lighter elements in the presence of heavier ones, enabled the group to study the sites where the hydrogen adsorbs within the framework. They found that hydrogen adsorption in CU-6-Cr is dominated at low hydrogen levels by weak but preferential interactions around the Cr3O clusters, followed by weaker adsorption around the organic linkers. This creates a favourable balance between the high total uptake and deliverable capacity.
Corresponding author Professor David Fairen-Jimenez said: “This project is a great example of what can be achieved through collaboration. By bringing together expertise in materials design, computation and advanced experimental techniques, we were able to do something that has never been done before and take a big step towards practical uses of MOFs in the clean energy industry.”
Their results establish linker flexibility as a key design parameter for the development of complex, highly porous materials for the high-capacity storage of clean-energy fuel gases.
The full publication can be found at: https://www.nature.com/articles/s44160-026-01163-9

Question 2

Professor Clemens Kaminski elected Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering

Accepted Answer

Professor Clemens Kaminski elected Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering
																												
Head of Department Professor Clemens Kaminski has been elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, one of the highest honours in engineering.
The Professor of Chemical Physics joined the University in 2001 and became Head of Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology in 2020. He has been recognised for his significant contributions to advanced optical imaging and sensor technologies, as well as his leadership in engineering research and education. The fellowship recognises exceptional contributions to the profession.
Professor Kaminski&#8217;s research has pioneered the use of light to study chemical processes across a wide range of scales and systems. Methods developed by his research group, Laser Analytics, are used in applications ranging from clean energy technologies to pharmaceutical research, supported by close collaborations with scientists and clinicians across disciplines.
Professor Clemens Kaminski FREng said: “I am delighted to have been elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering. It is wonderful to receive this recognition and, whilst I am extremely proud on a personal level, it is really a reflection of the hard work of the many outstanding students, researchers and collaborators I have had the privilege and joy of working with over the years.
“I have been very fortunate to work in a highly collaborative environment where engineers alongside physical and biological scientists have come together to tackle important challenges, and it motivates me to continue exploring new ways of using light to understand the world around us.”
Professor Dame Lynn Gladden, former Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research, said: “Clemens&#8217; election to the Fellowship is richly deserved. His work in optical imaging and sensing has advanced their application to clean energy technologies and biomedical research, and enabled important new approaches to tackling disease.
“Alongside his research achievements, he has made an outstanding contribution to the University through his leadership of the Department and his commitment to developing the next generation of researchers in sensor technology.&#8221;
Professor Kaminski is among the cohort of Fellows elected during the Royal Academy of Engineering&#8217;s 50th anniversary year.
After completing his PhD at the University of Oxford in 1995, Professor Kaminski held a Marie Curie postdoctoral fellowship and an Associate Professorship at Lund University in Sweden before joining Cambridge. Alongside leading the Department, he recently completed a 12-year tenure as Director of the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Sensor Technologies, hosted in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology.
Professor Kaminski&#8217;s achievements have previously been recognised through numerous awards, including the Cyril Hinshelwood Prize, the Philip Leverhulme Prize, and the Institute of Physics&#8217; Rosalind Franklin Medal and Prize. He is also a Fellow of Optica, the Royal Society of Chemistry, and the Institute of Physics.
More on this from the University: Cambridge researchers named Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering | University of Cambridge

Question 3

Danckwerts Pergamon 2026 award announced

Accepted Answer

Danckwerts Pergamon 2026 award announced

Dr Anna Scheeder has been awarded the 2026 Danckwerts Pergamon Prize for the best PhD thesis in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology (CEB).
The Danckwerts Pergamon Prize is awarded annually for the best PhD thesis submitted within CEB. Named in honour of Professor Peter Danckwerts, one of the department&#8217;s most influential figures, the prize recognises doctoral research that demonstrates exceptional scientific quality, originality and impact.
Anna completed her PhD in Professor Clemens Kaminski&#8217;s Laser Analytics research group and worked in close collaboration with Dr Ioanna Mela in the Department of Pharmacology. She received the prize for her research developing tiny drug-carrying particles (called nanocarriers) designed to make antibiotics more effective. She studied how they interact at the molecular level with bacterial targets using super resolution microscopy.
Anna has since moved to a postdoctoral position at University College London, where she is studying the nanoscale organisation of the bacterial envelope using atomic force microscopy.
She said: &#8220;I got the email from Clemens and I was so shocked with what it said – I&#8217;m very proud.”
Professor Clemens Kaminski, Head of Department, said: &#8220;Anna&#8217;s thesis is an outstanding piece of work that reflects both scientific excellence and the collaborative spirit of research at CEB. She brought together expertise from different disciplines and built strong partnerships to address a challenging problem.
“I am delighted to see her achievements recognised through the Danckwerts Pergamon Prize. It is a thoroughly deserved honour and a fitting acknowledgement of the quality and impact of her work.&#8221;
Anna added: “I knew I&#8217;d been nominated, but I did not expect to win.
“To know that other people think it&#8217;s good work is very validating for me. When you&#8217;re doing your PhD, you don&#8217;t often get feedback from outside your field and so this award is the biggest sign that other people can understand my work and that it translates well to a scientific audience, which is very important to me.&#8221;
Anna worked closely with Dr Ioanna Mela in the Department of Pharmacology, and the final paper resulting from her PhD was co-authored with Jon Ostolaza-Paraiso, then a PhD student in Professor David Fairen-Jimenez&#8217;s Adsorption and Advanced Materials group, with Professor Ljiljana Fruk also contributing to the project.
&#8220;It’s very multidisciplinary work, working with nanotechnology, DNA and MOFs. And I don&#8217;t know if I could have done it anywhere else, the facilities are fantastic at CEB. I had the flexibility and the equipment to do what I needed to do,&#8221; she said.
&#8220;I am the co-author on the paper and it was really exciting to have the mutual support of a partner to work alongside.&#8221;
Anna highlighted the department&#8217;s collaborative environment as she said: &#8220;I got lots of opportunities to work with academics and experts from different scientific backgrounds and it was invaluable to me, I&#8217;m really grateful for this.”
Looking back on her PhD, she added: &#8220;I enjoyed my PhD and I will remember it with great pride and hard work and the joy of working with very kind and very smart people.&#8221;
Anna also thanked those who supported her throughout the project, including Dr Edward Ward, Dr Jon Ostolaza-Paraiso, Professor Kaminski and Dr Mela as well as Dr Andrew Baker.
&#8220;Jon, without whom the collaboration wouldn&#8217;t have existed and the joy we shared together. I’m also grateful to Clemens and Ioanna for always being encouraging.&#8221;

Question 4

2026 CEB Robot Club tournament boots up on 12 May

Accepted Answer

2026 Robot Club Tournament date announced
CEB Robot Club has officially confirmed the date for its 2026 tournament. Bots built by staff and students from all levels and sections of the department will pit their bots against each other on Tuesday 12 May.
Founded in 2024, CEB Robot Club sees teams of department members design and build robots, introducing engineering concepts through practical problem-solving and friendly competition rather than formal teaching. Members of the club get hands on with Computer-Aided Design (CAD) tools, electrical engineering, materials science and much more. Their efforts culminate in the annual CEB Robot Club tournament, which sees each team’s bot attempt to crash, smash and otherwise destroy their rivals in friendly competition.
This year’s tournament will again take place within an arena of steel, aluminium and polycarbonate built from the ground up by the CEB Makerspace team. This year’s arena will see a number of upgrades aimed at making the battle space safer, easier to assemble and crucially, smaller. The decrease in size will hopefully see an increase in the amount of bot-based mayhem and minimise lulls in the action.
The exact number of bots entering this year’s tournament has yet to be confirmed, but competition is expected to be fierce once again. Eyes turn to defending champion Muriel de Paula to see if he can make it back-to-back titles. At the time of writing, he hadn’t confirmed his plans for the tournament, so watch this space.
Heading into its third edition, the CEB Robot Club tournament has become a firm department favourite and has attracted attention from further afield. Earlier this year, it was announced that Robot Club has secured funding to expand to other departments across the University of Cambridge through the Enhancing Research Culture Fund. The future of CEB Robot Club looks bright.
Join us for the third annual CEB Robot Club tournament on Tuesday, 12 May 2026.

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