Sustainable Energy Award 2009 winner

Awarded for his contribution to the development of novel energy storage technologies and the application of new materials in the field of sustainable energy.

About the winner

Duncan Gregory is the WestCHEM Chair of Inorganic Materials (since 2006) and the Head of Inorganic Chemistry (since 2008) at the Dept of Chemistry, Glasgow University.

Following a BSc(Hons) in Chemistry with Physics at Southampton, he remained for a PhD in solid state chemistry (High Tc Superconductivity) under Prof MT Weller having been excited and fascinated by functional materials chemistry at the boundary with condensed matter physics.

DHG moved to the University of Nottingham in 1994 as a PDRA working with Dr MG Barker and Prof PP Edwards (Birmingham). Research synthesising and characterising new ternary nitrides inspired him to begin a career in "Materials Discovery Chemistry" and address the challenge of preparing new functional materials to design.

Following a brief postdoctoral foray under Prof M Poliakoff (where he was first directly exposed to Green Chemistry concepts), Duncan Gregory took up an EPSRC Advanced Fellowship (1997) and was appointed as Lecturer (2002) then Reader (2005) in Materials Chemistry at Nottingham before his move to Glasgow and WestCHEM in 2006. 

Developing work on new non-oxide materials (Nitrides, chalcogenides, carbides, oxynitrides.) over this period, his research emphasis moved to form, functionality and materials science and engineering at the interfaces. The interface between materials chemistry and energy became particularly pertinent with significant research effort focused on hydrogen storage and lithium secondary batteries. 

Gregory has published papers book chapters and patents in these areas and also in superconductivity, catalysis and sustainable processing of structural ceramics among others.