News & Events
PrISMa Platform: Revolutionary Research Published in Nature!
PrISMa platform (Process-Informed design of tailor-made Sorbent Materials) uses advanced simulations and machine learning to find the most cost-effective and sustainable material-capture process combinations prior to implementation. Starting with a DFT calculation on a MOF, and years of work with an incredible team, we can now predict how much CO2 this MOF can capture over a plant’s lifetime and at what net cost. Our paper “A holistic platform for accelerating sorbent-based carbon capture” is now published in Nature! Read more here!
USorb-DAC team is the winner of 2024 Carbon Capture Prize!
The Carbon Capture Innovation Prize was launched to accelerate and reward research in the field of carbon capture materials, and includes a state-of-the-art DVS Carbon instrument lab package. In a remarkable display of innovation, our team has once again showcased its leadership in carbon capture technology. A groundbreaking research proposal from our team has received high praise from a distinguished panel of experts. The project aims to expedite the transition to a Net-Zero carbon economy by creating an open-access experimental protocol. Among the other finalists were esteemed institutions such as Arizona State University (USA), Avnos (USA), CICECO (Portugal), Georgia Institute of Technology (USA), and Tsinghua University (China), underscoring the global competition in this critical field.
USorb-DAC meeting ENS-PSL December 2023
The 2023 winter USorb-DAC meeting was hosted by our fantastic partner ENS-PSL in Paris on 4th – 6th December. The fruitful meeting and discussions sparked new ideas and facilitated the planning for future work!
Prof. Jeffrey Reimer receives AIChE’s 2023 Warren K. Lewis Award for ChE education
Prof. Jeffrey Reimer received the prestigious Warren K. Lewis Award at the 2023 AIChE annual meeting, November 5th –10th in Orland, Florida. He is being recognised for outstanding contributions to chemical engineering education based on accomplishments in classroom teaching, course development, authorship of teaching texts, and departmental chairmanship, as well as excellence in research. More details can be found here.
Invited Lecture at the Sports Sustainability Summit
Prof. Susana Garcia gave Invited Lecture at the Sports Sustainability Summit organised by the Spanish Olympic Committee on 18th October, showcasing exciting research activities within USorb-DAC.
Special Seminar: Big Data in Chemical Engineering: Science Beyond Understanding
Prof. Berend Smit and Prof. Susana Garcia gave a talk at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory on September 13, 2023. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are the ideal playground for data science in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering. MOFs are crystalline materials consisting of a metal node and an organic linker. By combining different metal nodes and organic linkers, chemists can synthesize infinite materials for applications ranging from gas separation, gas storage, sensing, catalysis, etc. The holy grain of MOF synthesis is to design an optimal MOF for a given application. There are some fundamental reasons why we are still far from this goal. Chemical design space is infinite, and all possible MOFs are impossible to screen, experimentally or computationally. In addition, we need […]
RCCS Postgraduates Shine at PGR Event, Securing Three Prestigious Awards
The Research Centre for Carbon Solutions (RCCS) is delighted to announce a triumphant showing by its postgraduate students at yesterday’s Postgraduate Research (PGR) event. Three prestigious awards were secured, attesting to the dedication and brilliance of these emerging scholars. Fergus’s Double TriumphFergus, a third-year postgraduate researcher, clinched not one but two accolades. His outstanding contributions to research earned him the Postgraduate Research Prize, highlighting his exceptional performance during his second year. Furthermore, Fergus’s presentation skills secured him the Postgraduate Prize for Best Presentation in the School of Engineering. Fergus’s engaging delivery made a lasting impression on the audience. Katia’s Poster PerfectionKatia, another rising star within RCCS, showcased her exceptional talent in the poster presentation. Her prowess in research communication garnered […]
Raquel Maray | SRUK Intern | A Summer in Scotland
I am a 1st year undergraduate Chemistry student at the University of Oviedo. I am passionate about Chemistry since the first time I was in contact with the subject. Since then, I have always dreamed of spending my summer in a laboratory and thanks to Prof. Susana García my dream came true. She gave me the opportunity to join the Research Centre for Carbon Solutions (RCCS) group for a month as an intern. My internship was part of Susana’s SRUK Award where she aims to promote girls in Science and Engineering.As a part of the team, I was able to participate in their research as they investigate materials for Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS). Specifically, I learned how to characterise […]
International Adsorption Society (IAS) Webinar Series
Prof Susana García, presenting her talk “Sorbent Materials for Carbon Capture: From System Analysis down to Density Functional Theory and Back,” on June 14th, 2023.
USorb-DAC at the COP27 Conference
Prof Susana García and Prof Berend Smit showcased PrISMa and USorb-DAC projects at COP27. The event, entitled “Carboncrowd: PRISMA, accelerating DAC sorbent disovery with supercomputing and citizen science” is now available to watch online here.
Listen to our Researchers on “The Journey to Net Zero” Podcast
“A Future Made podcast” is a new podcast series by Heriot-Watt University, aiming to showcase researchers’ innovative work in science, business, technology, design and engineering. Click here to discover “A Future Made” podcast!
USorb-DAC: ground-breaking research in fight against climate change
Heriot-Watt University has received $2M funding from the “Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment” to find materials that can remove carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the air and can drastically reduce the energy intensity and cost of the Direct Air Capture (DAC) process, so that it can scale rapidly and contribute to fighting climate change.
