£5m Leverhulme Trust Award Brings International Professor to Lincoln in Push Towards Net Zero

The grant of £4,981,684 will be delivered over 5 years and will allow Professor Barbour to identify new and dynamic functional materials which could be used across a range of industries to support their low-carbon efforts. A key research strand for the University is energy and net zero; making meaningful contributions to reduce carbon emissions and the appointment of Professor Barbour will support this endeavour and enhance the institution’s research excellence. 

Joining from the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa, Professor Barbour’s research interests include solid-state phenomena (exploring the fundamentals of the structure and their influence on the properties of solids). He obtained his PhD from the University of Cape Town, where he investigated thermodynamic and structural aspects of solvate formation and decomposition.  

He has published more than 230 articles in peer-reviewed journals, including Nature and Science and has served as associate editor of the nine-volume major reference work Comprehensive Supramolecular Chemistry (2nd Edition, 2017), and the New Journal of Chemistry. 

The science behind energy efficient water treatment and capture, such as drying and air-conditioning, will be investigated at the University, led by Professor Barbour’s interest and innovation around water within confined spaces of materials. Capturing greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide from dilute emissions will be integral to the significant decarbonisation efforts of society and industry, and the scientific concepts behind these processes will underpin significant industrial transformations impacting Lincolnshire, including the decarbonisation of the industrial clusters around the Humber and the agricultural sector. 

Len Barbour, Professor of Materials Insight and Innovation at the University of Lincoln, commented: “I’m delighted to be joining the University of Lincoln to assemble a new and fast-moving and topical research group which will focus on facilitating advances in the fundamental understanding and design of materials which have so far been unimaginable – opening up new avenues for materials research. A particular aim of the research will be to develop new materials with innovative and potentially useful properties, shedding light on their structure-property relationship at the molecular level.”  

Professor Karl Dayson, Pro Vice Chancellor Research and Knowledge Exchange at the University of Lincoln, added: “As the University of Lincoln continues to make strides in its research and impact on net zero, we look forward to welcoming Professor Barbour and his complementary expertise to our academic community.  

We are committed to producing impactful research which informs policy, shapes industry practice, and helps to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon future and Professor Barbour’s appointment will surely support this endeavour.” 

A new research group will be created supporting three newly funded PhD studentships to focus on the science of materials – an ancient yet rapidly evolving discipline which profoundly influences nearly all aspects of our lives.  

Materials science is the experimentation, observation and conceptualisation of ‘how things work’, leading scientists to imagine and skilfully explore how materials might be adapted and improved, delivering new insight.  

The Leverhulme grant initiative aims to maintain the UK’s international standing as a desirable research destination, welcoming professorial applications from all countries and enabling universities to attract leading global scholars to be appointed in permanent professorial posts. The Trust’s mission is to support research of outstanding originality and quality, which is fundamental or curiosity-driven, and multi-disciplinary.  

The Trust Board introduced this grant scheme to support the UK higher education sector’s international standing and help universities continue attracting top talent to reshape existing areas or fields of study.  

More than three quarters (79%) of the University of Lincoln’s research was judged to be internationally excellent or world-leading in the most recent Research Excellence Framework (REF). The REF is an expert review system for measuring research excellence in higher education institutions, aiming to secure the continuation of a world-class, dynamic and responsive research base in the UK.