Powering Britain's
Battery Revolution
Powering Britain's
Battery Revolution
Faraday Institution Community Award Winner 2024
Dr James Robinson
Huge congratulations to Dr James Robinson of the Electrochemical Innovation Lab, at UCL for winning the 2024 Faraday Institution Community Award for Researcher Development Champion.
Photo: Awards ceremony Faraday Institution Conference 2024. Left to right: Gyen Angel of Prosemino (award sponsor), James Robinson of UCL, Martin Freer CEO of the Faraday Institution.
James has been instrumental in the development of Early Career Researchers (ECRs) throughout our community in his role as chair of the ECR Committee. He proactively mentors and champions ECRs and creates a positive and supportive research network.
He goes above and beyond what would be expected of any researcher and exemplifies the difference one individual can make on the success and career aspirations of large numbers of early career researchers – in a formal capacity and everyday informal interactions.
The initiatives he leads provide valuable professional development opportunities for ECRs and he inspires others to follow his example.
The breadth of influence and personal touch
James was nominated independently by two different groups of ECRs, and his nominations were supported by a wealth of evidence and first had accounts from 24 researchers from 11 universities. Support for the nominations came from at least seven Faraday Institution projects as well as the LiSTAR project (for which he is Project Leader), demonstrating the reach of his influence.
On behalf of the PhD students and PDRAs [of the LiSTAR project] it’s a real privilege to work with someone who not only has an authoritative knowledge and deep interest in the science, but also places huge value on our interests as individuals and makes the welfare and development of the team such a priority. We know that James will insist that ‘I’m literally just doing my job!, but we wanted to take the opportunity to give our genuine and heartfelt thanks.”
In collating survey responses from ECRs based in the LiSTAR consortium one nominator summarised:
A common theme is the personal support that we’ve received from James. The extra effort and dedication that he puts into reaching out to researchers to offer new opportunities, check in with progress, and offer support, makes us feel strongly valued as individual researchers.”
This sentiment is expressed by individual members of the LiSTAR consortium:
I feel like he genuinely cares about my development as a researcher even though I am not in his group. He has offered support and suggestions not just on my PhD research but also on next steps with my career. He has had a hugely positive impact on my PhD experience and I can only say that I wish there were more professors like him.”
My PhD would not have been half as enjoyable or fulfilling without James’ input, so thank you very much!”
Leading the efforts of the ECR Committee
James has led the Faraday Institution ECR Committee since its inception in 2021. It’s aim is to develop initiatives for ECRs working on Faraday Institution projects and beyond. Committee members commented:
Thanks to James’s enthusiasm and encouragement, we have enjoyed being part of the committee, gained valuable experience, extended our professional networks, and feel empowered to make a difference within the FI community and beyond. For many of us, this experience has helped us take the next step in our careers.”
Nicola Courtier, member of the Multi-scale Modelling Project (University of Oxford)
James provided huge support and guidance as chair of the committee and made it one of the best committees I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with. He truly inspired the committee to work well together with the clear vision that the conference was by ECRs for ECRs.”
Laura Wheatcroft, Nyobolt, previously a Research Fellow on FutureCat (University of Sheffield)
Seven years on, James is still just as supportive as when I first met him. He’s been instrumental in my development as a scientist, supportive of my career and has always been a friendly face to speak to. Watching him take the leadership of the FI ECR conference I’ve seen him extend that same supportive nature to the wider Faraday community.”
James Le Houx, Faraday ISIS Emerging Leader Battery Fellow
James Robinson and the ECR committee at the ECR Conference and Training event
ECR Conference and Training Event
Under his guidance, the ECR Committee delivered two dedicated ECR Conference and Training Events, in 2022 and 2024, welcoming a total of over 400 ECRs working on batteries in the UK. James advocated for an ECR-focused event that provides researcher development opportunities beyond those offered by a standard scientific conference. The four objectives (Network, Learn, Contribute and Action) were designed to engage and support ECRs in their career development. James led the conception and delivery of both conferences, enabling Faraday Institution members and their peers to undertake bespoke training sessions, build professional identity and networks, meet role models and present their scientific research to a wide audience.
His thorough engagement from the outset to the conclusion of each project exemplifies remarkable leadership and dedication, making a substantial impact on the battery community, including hundreds of up-and-coming battery researchers. The significant influence of his contributions is anticipated to grow exponentially in the future.”
Yige Sun, University of Oxford (and member of the ECR Committee)
Being able to interact with other battery researchers in an informal setting during breaks and dinner, including other PhD researchers as well as more experienced professors [was the highlight of the conference]. I significantly expanded my network and feel more comfortable identifying as part of the UK’s battery researcher community.”
ECR Conference attendee
Impact of the 2024 ECR Conference
ECR Collaboration Awards
In 2023, James and the ECR Committee played a key role in proposing, developing and scoring nominations for a new funding initiative – the ECR Collaboration Awards that:
Recipients commented:
James has taken leadership and initiative to make our professional lives better… The ECR Collaboration Awards provide an avenue for members of the Faraday Institution community to express their creativity with fewer bureaucratic hoops to clear.”
Andrey Poletayev, Faraday Institution Research Fellow, Imperial College London
Through the award we were able to buy specialised lab equipment to carry out the last part of my experiments. This award has allowed us to work together seamlessly and achieve our goals of modelling something novel. Without this award this work would have not been possible.”
Halima Khanom, PhD Researcher, University of Birmingham
The ECR Collaboration Award was instrumental in advancing both my research and professional development. It facilitated approximately 30 hours of in-depth discussions with overseas partners, particularly at US national labs, allowing us to identify common areas of interest and potential collaborative projects.”
Dr Evangelos Kallitsis, Faraday Institution Research Fellow, Imperial College London
Please reach out and congratulate James and let him know the difference he makes to you, personally and professionally.
Posted on September 11, 2024