Kathryn Wills, Centre Manager for the Hitachi-Imperial Centre for Decarbonisation

Kathryn Wills

“I’ve recently moved to the Hitachi-Imperial Centre for Decarbonisation and Natural Climate Solutions, which has the goal of aiding the transition to net zero pollution.”

My path to my current role has been a bit of a melange of interesting experiences and educations, each of which have contributed in their own way! I completed an undergraduate degree in chemistry at the University of Nottingham, and a PhD at the University of Bath. I was part of a Doctoral Training Centre and this provided opportunities outside of my day-to-day research for training in topics such as public engagement and entrepreneurship, and in helping to organise events such as an annual showcase.

After my PhD I worked as a Knowledge Transfer Partnership Associate, which is an Innovate UK funded route for industry and academia to work together on an innovation idea. This position helped me build my experience and skillset on the project management and ‘other activities’ side of things, i.e. everything else that goes on alongside the core research to add value to a project.

Fast forward a little, and I started a role at Imperial College in 2019 as Programme Manager for an initiative called IDLES (Integrated Development of Low-carbon Energy Systems). This was hosted in the Energy Futures Lab, and I spent a happy few years working alongside colleagues on all things energy systems related.

I’ve recently moved to the Hitachi-Imperial Centre for Decarbonisation and Natural Climate Solutions. The centre is a collaboration between Hitachi Ltd and Imperial College, with the goal of aiding the transition to net zero pollution, and beyond. We work together on a set of joint research projects which all sit within the three research pillars of the centre: Carbon Management and Decarbonisation, CO2 Removal (Technology and Nature-based Solutions), and Socio-economic and Policy work. I’m really enjoying being part of a new team with exciting new challenges ahead!

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