Carbon capture · 2026
Sorting carbon with sieves
Screening twelve thousand framework structures by simulation to find the few that hold on to CO₂ in humid air, then making and testing the best six.
Principal investigator
Materials researcherEdinburgh, UK
Small structures. Useful questions. Open collaboration.
Open to collaborations and PhD supervision
peer-reviewed papers
researchers in the group
structures screened by simulation
open datasets released
I study how the structure of porous materials at the scale of a few atoms decides what they can do: store hydrogen, capture carbon, or filter water cheaply.
My group combines synthesis in the lab with simulation and machine learning, so we can test thousands of candidate structures on a computer before we make the dozen worth making.
We publish openly, share our code and data, and like working with people outside chemistry: engineers, designers and the communities who will live with the results.
Every project, made into an object. Drag to turn the scene.
Carbon capture · 2026
Screening twelve thousand framework structures by simulation to find the few that hold on to CO₂ in humid air, then making and testing the best six.
Principal investigator
05 projects
Carbon capture · 2026
Screening twelve thousand framework structures by simulation to find the few that hold on to CO₂ in humid air, then making and testing the best six.
Energy storage · 2025
How flexible frameworks breathe as they fill with hydrogen, measured with in-situ diffraction and reproduced in molecular dynamics.
Data & machine learning · 2025
An open, searchable map of porous materials built from their geometry, so similar structures sit near each other and gaps suggest what to make next.
Applied research · 2024
Testing low-cost clay-based membranes against commercial filters for removing fluoride from groundwater.
Methods · 2023
Watching crystals nucleate and grow in real time, frame by frame, to understand why some batches fail.
Joint projects with labs and companies, from a pilot study to a full grant.
Let’s talk
Talks for conferences, schools and the public on materials and open science.
On request
I supervise students in synthesis, simulation and data-driven materials research.
See open positions
2021 – Present
A Scottish university · Edinburgh
Leading a group of six; teaching physical chemistry and data science.
2018 – 2021
A national laboratory · Oxfordshire
In-situ diffraction of gas uptake in flexible frameworks.
2014 – 2018
A research university
2010 – 2014
A research university
Released with code and documentation
A national chemistry society
International conference on porous materials
Science festival, ‘Sponges for the climate’