Victoria Hawkins

My work is on studying the degradation of Li-ion based battery materials over cycling using NMR and EPR spectroscopy, with a keen focus on the role of Mn dissolution from cathode materials and minimising its detrimental effect on battery lifetime. I will also be focusing on NMR Spectroscopic method development, to aid in the tracking of degradation of battery materials, with the aim that better understanding of battery degradation process will allow for optimisation in design for maximising lifetime.

Who or what inspired you to pursue your research interests?

The state of our climate and our relative inaction scares me, I learned about the climate emergency from a young age, and since then the influence of rising atmospheric green house gas levels has only become more prominent and dangerous and I hoped and continue to hope that I can make a difference in the fight against climate change. I developed an interest in Solid State chemistry, and Magnetic Resonance based spectroscopic methods during my undergraduate degree, further research into battery materials married both my scientific interests and desire to make a positive change.