#FaradayPathways Andrew Abbott, University of Leicester
Andy Abbott has had an inspiring career that has led him from a PhD at the University of Southampton to his current position as Professor of Physical Chemistry at the University of Leicester. He shares with us how his year in industry changed his life, his thoughts on how to be a good mentor to students, and the importance of making people from all backgrounds feel welcome in academia.
Andy overcame many challenges on his path into academia.
“My father was in the armed forces, so we moved around a lot growing up, with numerous schools. I would think in pictures rather than words, which meant I found school challenging. I was also an exceedingly shy and quiet person.”
From a young age, Andy had an interest in batteries. He used to pull apart the AA batteries from his small transistor radio and draw pictures with the carbon electrode. The life story of Michael Faraday was also a huge inspiration to him.
“I had a very dynamic chemistry teacher called Mr Peacock who would take us to the Royal Institution evening lectures in London. One was about the life of Michael Faraday, and he became my absolute hero. I even had a poster of him on my bedroom wall! Faraday never had any formal education; he attended and wrote notes on Humphrey Davy’s lectures. I think I saw a bit of myself in him.”
Andy went on to study Applied Chemistry at Portsmouth Polytechnic.
“I come from 10 generations of mill workers and miners and am the first person in my family to attend university.”
In his third year of his degree, Andy did a placement year in Germany, working for British American Tobacco. His mother was German, but Andy spoke very little of the language before going. This made it very challenging, and when writing reports, he had to translate every single word using a dictionary.
“That year in industry absolutely changed my life. I learnt a lot and received so much kindness from the people I worked with. Everyone needs a moment when people believe in them, and this year was definitely that for me.
“My supervisor was incredible and let me try out many different careers while I was there, including translation, and working in the patent department. He was so supportive and kept me going, and ever since, I have tried to be that person for other people.”
Andy then moved to the University of Southampton for his PhD focusing on electroplating.
“I used to hate electrochemistry as an undergraduate. I went to Southampton wanting to do my PhD in corrosion, but the position had already been filled. I met David Schiffrin about the electroplating PhD, and I immediately knew it was the right fit for me. He was an amazing supervisor and I wish I had written down everything he told me. The role of a PhD supervisor is to inspire, and David was certainly inspirational.
“My PhD focused on electroplating from moth balls, and I worked with a fantastic group of people from all over the world. I had a lot of imposter syndrome at the start and didn’t feel like I was worthy, but they all made me feel like I belonged. The hardest part of being an academic is to create your own group that engenders that feeling of self-belief.”
After his PhD, Andy moved to America where he began a post-doctoral position in Connecticut.
“While I was in the USA, I managed to see 36 states in 2 years! I loved working there and had another great supervisor who believed in me. I was on a team of 12 PhD students, and I was the only post-doc, so I was given total freedom in what I wanted to research. Without the freedom, belief and kindness of Jim Rusling I would never have become an academic.”
After 2 years in the States, Andy returned to the UK and took a post doc position in Liverpool, working for his PhD supervisor while he waited for an academic post to be advertised. He then got a job at the University of Leicester, where he has stayed for the last 31 years. His current role is Professor of Physical Chemistry.
“Leicester always had such a friendly ethos and it felt like a family. At interview they said it was the city that nobody wanted to come to, and nobody wanted to leave. It should be our motto”
Andy’s research is in the area of green chemistry, with a particular focus on material processing. He has achieved 11 patents, and in 2000 he started his first spinout company called Scionix Limited. This allowed him to follow his passion for commercialising academic discoveries.
“I have collaborated and published with many different departments, including geology, biochemistry and engineering. My research has always been quite applied, and I have been pushing the green agenda for a long time. Several projects are looking into battery recycling, as well as recycling photovoltaics and fuel cells, part of which was in collaboration with Johnson Matthey.”
Andy is a co-investigator on the Faraday Institution’s ReLiB project.
“By being part of ReLiB, we are connected to many groups working on battery recycling in the UK and around the world.
“We have also done a lot of work on design for recycling, which has been driven by the Faraday Institution. This focuses on responsible innovation, and how to design products with their end of life in mind. I am fascinated by quantifying circularity, and we are working on lifecycle analysis.
“I think that the Faraday Institution is wonderful. It engenders community, which is so important in the world of academia. I have never known a topic that has changed as rapidly as batteries, and we can make these changes by talking to each other.”
With a passion for inspiring and mentoring the next generation of scientists, Andy has supervised over 50 PhD students during his time at Leicester.
“My favourite part of the job is being a personal tutor. I love meeting students’ parents at graduation ceremonies and sharing their development over the course of their degrees. When I was Head of School at Leicester, I had an open door and knew all 350 students by name.
“I have realised that a lot of students won’t admit to themselves what they are good at. I always sit students down and ask them about their skills and how they would sell themselves. You often find out that people secretly think they are good at something but don’t admit it to themselves.”
Andy is an active advocate for EDI initiatives and supports Jenny Hartley in her role as member of the Faraday Institution’s EDI working group.
“It’s so important to listen to early career researchers. It isn’t about how I want to help them it is about how they need help. We run lots of training sessions where the ECRs define the course content, the most popular one is time management.
Why does Andy think is EDI important?
“Perceived academic background is a common form of (unconscious) bias. I am proud of my Portsmouth Poly background as it gave me a good grounding is how chemistry is used and the confidence to believe in myself. Everyone has something to contribute, irrespective of where you come from. That is why I am so passionate about EDI, to make sure that people from different backgrounds feel like they belong.
“I always say, it doesn’t matter where you came from. What is important is where you are going.”
Andrew was recognised with a Highly Commended in the Researcher Development Champion category of the 2023 Faraday Institution Community Awards. The panel recognised he goes the extra mile by organising and leading a wide range of development opportunities, capitalising on the lessons he has learnt across his career to better inform the next generation of researchers. His dedication to creating a supportive working environment and championing early career researchers to take on additional responsibilities to further their development provides a model that other research groups can follow.
Does Andy have any advice for early career researchers?
“Think carefully about what help would make a big difference to you. I didn’t go to mentors early enough because I was scared of the people in prestigious positions. I realise now that most people at the top are keen to lift others up.
“It is also so important to maintain curiosity and keep your mind as open as possible. The world has changed from being information deficient to there being too much information and noise. You should aim to filter all this information, and with some understanding, create a balanced and rational story so that others can see more clearly.”
Faraday Pathway written by Nancy Stitt, Science Communications Intern, September 2023.
Click here to find out more about the Faraday Institution ReLiB project.