#FaradayPathways Callum Chisnall
Callum Chisnall’s #FaradayPathway demonstrates that scientists are not confined to a predefined pathway but can dynamically shape and alter their career trajectory. His career to date highlights his adaptability, varied research experiences, and readiness to embrace a diversity of roles in both industrial and academic settings. He underscores the importance of networking, engaging with new opportunities, and working on the edge of your comfort zone.
Early career and education
At school, Callum didn’t have a clear ‘dream job’: football and sports were his main passions, with chemistry and biology being his favourite academic subjects. His decision to pursue a Master’s degree in Chemistry at the University of Bristol wasn’t part of a long-term career plan.
“It was a big toss-up between chemistry and biology. In the end, I felt that chemistry was more application-based, which resonated with me.”
Research and internships
Having regretted not undertaking a year in industry or abroad during his degree, Callum ensured he made the most of his summer holidays, completing two research-based summer internships. In 2018, he spent a summer with the IOCB in Prague (a chemical and biological sciences research institution within the Czech Academy of Sciences) working with a synthetic nanochemistry research group.
“I got to shadow Goutam Pramanik, who was a post-doc working on fluorescent gold nanoparticles. The lab work was fascinating, and I also got to travel around Europe, which was a huge bonus.”
The following summer, between the third and final year of his Master’s degree, he interned at NSG Pilkington, a major player in glass and glazing products. It was here that his interest in materials science was sparked.
“Being from St Helens, where Pilkington was founded, growing to be the biggest employer in the area, I was keen to intern there. They have a range of high-tech glass products, but my work focused on coatings for solar panels and materials in automotive applications. I really enjoyed my time there, which prompted me to pick a Master’s project for my fourth year focusing on functional materials.”
Seizing opportunities in industry
After graduating, Callum navigated a series of roles providing him with diverse experiences. In 2020 and 2021, he worked as a Data Reviewer at CiteAb (a life science data company), while also working part-time at a COVID test centre, and, in 2021, he joined NuNano (an AFM microscopy design and manufacturing company) as an Atomic Force Microscopy Probe Consultant: a sales-oriented role.
“It was a really nice atmosphere, not the conventional high-intensity, bullpen image of sales. It was a two-person sales team for a long time but we had the flexibility to help in other business areas when needed. Although I started to sense I wouldn’t do this job forever, I was very grateful for the skills I gained along the way.”
Whilst at NuNano, Callum was based in the Science Creates incubator in Bristol, a hub housing a variety of startups with shared office and lab spaces. A chance encounter with members of Anaphite, a battery research startup based on the same campus as NuNano, triggered Callum’s move back towards research.
“Although I enjoyed the NuNano role, it was in sales, and it felt like everyone else in the building was doing scientific research. I found myself a bit jealous of them. My good friend from university, James Davies, started working at Anaphite and mentioned I would be a good fit for a role they had coming up. He invited me to speak to a few of his colleagues, Sam Burrow and Alex Hewitt, who were the co-owners of Anaphite. I remember being in the kitchen, and Sam being like ‘Do you fancy it, then?’, and one interview later that was it!”
Callum thrived at Anaphite, where he worked on a variety of projects with a focus on enabling dry-coating of electrodes to reduce the financial and environmental costs of battery production.
“I had much more fulfilment and enjoyment at Anaphite than at my previous jobs. Each day was different, especially in that startup environment where every result meant that you’d pivot to a new angle and experiment. It was exciting although a bit stressful, I suppose I got slightly addicted to the stress!”
“There were a lot of great people at Anaphite. Sam Burrow was the textbook mad scientist, he has a lot of crazy and cool ideas – 10 every day! It was a fantastic place to be.”
Return to academia
Despite enjoying his time at Anaphite, Callum decided to return to academia in 2023, and is currently a PhD researcher in the chemistry department at UCL, where he is working on the Faraday Institution’s CATMAT project on next generation lithium-ion cathode materials.
“A lot of people coming into Anaphite had a PhD and were great self-starters. I felt that they had skills I wanted to gain, and I was looking forward to having my own research project. I spoke to lots of supervisors, and eventually settled on my current position at UCL. The project is industrially sponsored by QinetiQ and the technology has a lot of industrial applications, which appealed to me.
“As part of CATMAT, I’m working on making high-energy high-power cathode materials. Once I have a material I’m happy with, I hope to scale it from prototype coin cell to pouch cell level, which would be really valuable.”
Professional growth with The Faraday Institution
Callum is participating in the Faraday Institution’s PhD Enrichment Scheme, as well as being part of the Student Committee.
“The Faraday Institution training has been fantastic. There’s a good industrial focus to showcase what’s happening in the UK battery space, and it’s great to network and make connections. I learned a lot about the great battery science that’s coming out of the UK.
“The WMG Battery School gave a great balance of lectures and lab time. It touched on all of the main areas of battery science and was an engaging experience that I’d highly recommend.”
“It’s great being part of the Student Committee, you get to hear what everyone is working on and stay in the loop with upcoming events, which is nice, especially being able to learn about the diversity of projects students are involved with.”
Advice and aspirations
Callum had a wide range of mentors he credits with his success so far, but one that stood out was Francesco Cuda, who he met during his time at Anaphite.
“Francesco was an exceptional scientist, who sort of took me under his wing. He’s been in academia for years doing all sorts of science, and he gave some really great advice. He always said, ‘You’re not just a chemist, you’re a scientist’. He reminded me that scientists can pull back from one area and retrain in different areas -that we’re always learning.
“Right now, I’m working on lithium-ion batteries but down the line I could always pivot towards sodium or something else. I want to keep adding more strings to my bow, to do as much as possible.”
Callum’s closing advice for early career researchers was a reminder to seize opportunities and leverage networking skills.
“Always use the resources available to you. Try new things, take that extra step, put yourself slightly out of your comfort zone. Reach out to people, too – you never know what that email could lead to.”
Read more:
- Find out about training opportunities with the Faraday Institution
- Read the following papers related to Callum’s research:
#FaradayPathway written by Rebecca Dawes, Science Communications Intern, and published August 2024.