EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Integrated Catalysis

The EPSRC CDT in Integrated Catalysis (iCAT) will train students in process-engineering, chemical catalysis, and biological catalysis, connecting these disciplines in a way that will transform the way molecules are made. Traditionally, PhD students are trained in either chemocatalysis (using chemical catalysts such as metal salts) or biocatalysis (using enzymes), but very rarely both, a situation that is no longer tenable given the demands of industry to rapidly produce new products based on chemical synthesis. Graduate engineers and scientists entering the chemical industry now need to have the skills and agility to work across a far broader base of catalysis - iCAT will meet this challenge by training the next generation of interdisciplinary scientists and engineers who are comfortable working in both bio and chemo catalysis regimes, and can exploit their synergies for the discovery and production of molecules essential to society. iCAT features world-leading chemistry and engineering groups advancing the state-of-the-art in bio and chemo catalysis, with an outstanding track record in PhD training. The CDT will be managed by a strong and experienced team with guidance from a distinguished membership of an International Advisory Group. The rich portfolio of interdisciplinary CDT projects will feature blue-sky research blended in with more problem-solving studies across scientific themes such as supramolecular-assisted catalysis using molecular machines, directed evolution and biosynthetic engineering for synthesis, and process integration of chemo and bio-catalysis for sustainable synthesis. The iCAT training structure has been co-developed with industry end-users to create a state-of-the-art training centre at the University of Manchester, equipping PhD students with the skills and industrial experience needed to develop new catalytic processes that meet the stringent standards of a future sustainable chemicals industry in the UK. This chemical industry is world-class and a crucial industrial sector for the UK, providing significant numbers of jobs and creating wealth (currently contributing £15 billion of added value each year to our economy). The industry relies first and foremost on skilled researchers with the ability to design and build, using catalysis, molecules with well-defined properties to produce the drugs, agrochemicals, polymers, speciality chemicals of the future. iCAT will deliver this new breed of scientist / engineer that the UK requires, involving industry in the design and provision of training, and dovetailing with other EPSRC-, University-, and Industry-led initiatives in the research landscape.