Paper published!

Posted on October 5, 2026 by Faul Research Group - Functional Polymers

In this paper from Xue’s PhD work, SolvPred, an open-source Python framework for inverse design of solvent mixtures based on Hansen solubility parameters (HSPs) is presented. SolvPred allows users to control the composition of solvent mixtures while setting essential experimental constraints. As a case study, SolvPred was applied to optimize a polyimide condensation as a model reaction (performed by Shaohua), where the hydrogen-bonding HSP term was selectively tuned.

Check the paper for more details!

Prize-winning speaker Jerry!

Posted on September 25, 2026 by Faul Research Group - Functional Polymers

Jerry attended and gave an oral presentation at the recent ePoMM (Engineering at Porous Materials at Multiple Scales) conference, held in Bath on the 16th and 17th of September 2026.

Jerry was awarded an oral presentation prize (cash!) and a Royal Society of Chemistry-sponsored certificate and mug.

Well done Jerry!

Charl at the opening of the new Mumbai Enterprise Campus!

Posted on September 24, 2026 by Faul Research Group - Functional Polymers

Charl was privileged to join the opening of the new Mumbai Enterprise Campus recently! In his role as APVC, Charl was involved in the launch of the new campus – from the start of the project!

Good luck to the first cohort of MEC students!

Charl in Birmingham – for the Bham!2026 postdoc conference

Posted on September 8, 2026 by Faul Research Group - Functional Polymers

Charl was very kindly invited by former group member, Dr Neha Yadav and the PDRA committee at the School of Chemistry at the University of Birmingham to give the opening plenary lecture of this ECR-led conference.

Quoting Charl: “It was a pleasure to engage with many PDRAs and PhD students on the day, and share the story of my career journey – and listening to some great talks as well! Thank you for the invite!” And, great to see Neha again!

Conference in Xi’an, China!

Posted on September 4, 2026 by Faul Research Group - Functional Polymers

Aya attended the 13th Global Conference on Polymer and Composite Materials (PCM 2026) in Xi’an, China from 24th to 27th of August, where she presented a poster on MOF Composites for Hydrogen Storage. A great opportunity to connect with international researchers in the fields of MOF–polymer composites and applications!

Congratulations to Master Jun!

Posted on July 30, 2026 by Faul Research Group - Functional Polymers

Congratulations to Jun Yao on successfully passing his MRes viva on July 28th! With special thanks to Dr. Mengnan Wang (University of Exeter) and Prof. Wuge Briscoe (University of Bristol) for their time and contributions as examiners! A well-earned achievement, well done, Jun!

Graduation in Summer 2026!

Posted on July 21, 2026 by Faul Research Group - Functional Polymers

This bright July marks the graduation of several Faul Research Group members. Congratulations once again to Ben Harker, Talia Pearce, Alastair Chua, and Yuerong Tian on their achievements!

All the best from the group to their next chapters!

Trip to Astana, Kazakhstan!

Posted on June 29, 2026 by Faul Research Group - Functional Polymers

Charl had the pleasure of visiting Kazakhstan for the first time – joining the 5th International Symposium on Emerging Materials and Devices, hosted by the Renewable Energy Lab at National Laboratory Astana, Nazarbayev University.

It was a pleasure to visit – not only the honour to be asked to give the opening plenary, but to experience the warmth and hospitality of many colleagues in Astana (including the kind hosting Dr Bakhytzhan Baptayev and Prof. Nurxat Nuraje). In addition, former Masters’ student, Dauren (now doing a PhD in Kazakhstan), travelled from Almaty to join the conference as well!

And, to top it off, Charl had the pleasure to meet with a Bristol alumna, Professor Siti Fairus, from UKM Malaysia. Not only did Siti do her PhD at the School of Chemistry (with the late Prof. Ian Manners), but Charl was her internal examiner for her PhD! What a joy!

Science in Shanghai!

Posted on June 26, 2026 by Faul Research Group - Functional Polymers

Those who were in Chengdu headed to Shanghai, very kindly hosted by Donghua University’s “State Key Laboratory for Functional Polymer Fibers” and Shanghai Jiaotong University’s “Department of Chemistry”. It was not only great to spend time with Bristol Alumni (Yaozu Liao and Wei Lyu at DHU, and Hongjing Dou and Huibin Qiu at SJTU), but also share science and interact with many students!

Thanks also to DHU for generous sponsorship of prizes – with a first prize by Jerry, and a second prize to Liang! Well done!