Join us on Wednesday, November 20th at 3pm in Maryland Hall room 110 to hear Mary Ryan’s talk!
Abstract: Function and Stability in Nanostructured Materials
Our work centres around understanding nanoscale electrochemical interfaces in a range of materials systems across biological and energy sectors. This includes designing manufacturable nanomaterials for controlled properties – optical, catalytic, solubility, mechanical – and developing new tools to study these materials and properties in operando. In this talk I will focus on 2 systems: the development of plasmonic biosensors – where shape control allows tuning of both optical properties and cellular interactions (including at the blood brain barrier); and the use of nanoporous gold to enhance catalytic properties and as a tool for studying electrolyte confinement effects. The talk will include a brief overview of our recent developments in the application of cryomicroscopy tools (TEM and APT) that allow pseudo-operando approaches towards atomic resolution for light and sensitive elements.
Bio: Mary Ryan, Imperial College London
Mary is the Vice-Provost for Research and Enterprise and the Armourers and Brasiers’ Chair in Materials Science at Imperial College London. Mary leads an interdisciplinary group focused on understanding nanoscale materials, and nanoscale interfaces in and between materials and their environments. She has a particular interest in the development of operando approaches and has pioneered nanoscale methods in synchrotron science. Her research on nanoscale materials and interfaces spans diverse application areas including: energy materials; nanomaterials for bio-sensors and therapies; the mechanisms that lead to human and environmental toxicity associated with nanostructures, and the potential of nanomaterials for environmental remediation. A key aspect of this work is understanding the reactivity and stability of nanostructures in operando in order to maximize efficiency and lifetime of devices and systems. She has published over 200 papers and graduated over 50 PhD students in the area of electrochemical materials science. She was elected Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2015 and is a Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals & Mining and of the Institute of Corrosion. She was awarded CBE for contributions to Materials Science in the 2022 Queen’s Birthday Honours.