Professor Sudipta Roy
Prof of Electrochem & Nanomats

  • Email: sudipta.roy@ncl.ac.uk
  • Telephone: +44 (0) 191 222 7274
  • Address: School of Chemical Engineering and Advanced materials.

Introduction

I am interested in electrochemistry and electrochemical engineering to fabricate novel materials at the micro and nano scale, mitigate corrosion, manufacture micro and nano devices for electronic applications. My group has 7-8 research assistants, some at the doctoral and some at the post-doctoral level. Masters students also work within the group for their research projects. We collaborate with a variety of industrial partners and other university departments. Our research has led to inventions which have formed spin off companies.

Background

I joined Newcastle in September 1994 after finishing a postdoctoral appointment at the materials department in The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Lausanne (1992-1994) prior to which I was studying for my MS and PhD at Tulane University, USA (1986-1991). I am a chemical engineer and got my first degree in Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (1981-1985).

Roles and Responsibilities

Professor in Electrochemical Nanomaterials, University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, U.K. (Aug 2005- present).Director of SME (Concodia Diagnostic Sensors) since July 2003.Royal Academy Industrial Secondment Fellow at JDS-Uniphase (2001-2002) Electrochemistry and electrodeposition, material science, corrosion, surface analysis, structuring and micro-technology, transport phenomena, thermodynamics. Industrial consultancy on plating, corrosion, microfabrication, advanced materials manufacture.

Lecturer and the Reader University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, U.K. (Sept. 1994 – July 2005) .
Advanced materials such as multi-layers, magnetic materials, shape memory alloys and biomaterials
Micro and nanofabrication technology, plating and etching technology
Environmentally sustainable electrode materials, electrolytes, and processes
Surface and interface engineering of micro-or nanoscale materials
New materials for fuel cell technology
Metal and alloy deposition, corrosion, corrosion technology

Research associate, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Switzerland (Jan 1992-Aug 1994)
Theoretical and applied metal and alloy electroplating by pulsed currents
Corrosion of electroplated alloys
Microstructure of pulse plated electro-deposits

Research assistant, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, USA (1986 - 1991)
Development of a potential relaxation method for on-line mass transfer analysis during metal plating and etching Theoretical analysis of mass-transfer processes during electrodeposition and electrodissolution
Preparation and performance of regenerable catalysts

Technical Consultant, Govt. of India, Delhi, India (1985- 1986, 15 months ) Technical and cost analysis for aluminum production. Energy auditing for steel production

Qualifications

BTech in chemical engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, 1981-1985
1985-1986, Technical Consultant, Ministry of Industrial Development, India
MS (1990), PhD (1991), Chemical Engineering, Tulane University, New Orleans, USA

Previous Positions

Technical Consultant for the Ministry of Industrial Development (1985-1986, 14 months)
Post Doctoral Researcher (1992-1994), Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Lausanne, Switzerland

Memberships

IChemE Member
SCI-ECTG (have been the excecutive treasurer)
The Electrochemical Society (have been a part of the executive committee for several years and Chaired the Electrodeposition Group between 2000-2001)

Honours and Awards

HONOURS AND AWARDS
Invited to Queen's Acheivers Reception at the Buckingham Palace (19th December, 2006)
Winner, Angels Den, NANOMED for Business Plan Competition (2006)
SMART award for Corrosion Sensor (2003)
Royal Academy Fellow supported by Industry (JDS Uniphase) (2001-2002)
Royal Society Grant for research on multi-layers, 1999
British Council Research Exchange Award, 1997
ACE Novartis Fellowship for shape memory alloys, 1996
Royal Society Grant for research on multi-layers, 1995
Elected to Omega Pi Epsilon Chemical Engineering Honours Society, USA,1988
Elected to Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honours Society, USA, 1987
Scholarship from Tulane University for Graduate Studies (1986-1991)
Best science student amongst 63,500 students, India,1979
5th position overall in Secondary Exams (O-levels) out of 63,500 student, 1979
4th out of 15,000 students in a National Science Talent Competition, India, 1977
Merit Student Award out of 100,000 students, 1975

Languages

English, Bengali and Hindi (Mother tongue)
French (good reading and spoken skills) both technical and non-technical
Punjabi, Urdu and Swedish (spoken comprehension)
Ancient Language - Sanskrit (reading, listening, written and spoken upto O-level)

Informal Interests

Sports such as walking, running, cycling and other racuet games
Music and Painting

Research Interests

My research interests are mainly in developing new understanding, processes or materials using electrochemistry, surface science and combining it with chemical engineering. This covers thermodynamics, corrosion, some material science, electrochemical modelling and surface reaction kinetics, reactor design and flow analysis etc. The work is interdisciplinary. The main applications have been in developing nanomaterials and advanced materials have unusual properties such as GMR, electrochemical and environmental processes for recovery of metals from industrial effulents, corrosion protection in civil structures and pipelines etc. We have developed our own reactors and processes to electrodeposit micro devices, nano structured metal multilayers as well as structure implants

Research themes:

Natural Resources

Products and Processes

Other Expertise

I have expertise in electrodeposition, pulse plating and etching and also consult companies electrodeposition and microfabrication. Our group also has expertise in speciation modelling, development of thermodynamic Pourbaix diagrams as well as predicting the shape and growth of microdevices acheived by electrochemical means.

Current Work

Currently we are active nanomaterials and corrosion science in one hand and in electrochemical recovery of toxic and precious metals on the other. The nanomaterials work involves using electrochemical methods to create advanced materials or nanostructured layers which have applications in micro and opto electronics. We also carry out novel electrodeposition and electroetching processes which can be used for fuel cells, batteries etc. In metals recovery we use bioelectrochemical and electrochemical means which has applications in waste water clean up as well as in hydrometallurgy. Finally, we are moving into "direct writing" methods for microelectronics manufacturing - mainly via electrochemical and inkjetting techniques.

Future Research

In the future we will continue to develop new coatings, materials and processes for electronic, magnetic, optical and medical devices. Some coatings will be used for environmental applications and corrosion protection. We are also going to pursue processes development for direct writing of micro patterns using our own patented technology - ENFACE and other inkjet techniques.

Research Roles

Research Post Graduate Director for School of Chemical Engineering and Advanced
Materials (Dec 2002-Present) : Senior tutor for all research students – approximately 70 in number. Responsible for implementation of Research Council Guidelines within the School.

Postgraduate Supervision

Supervisor to the following PhD and M Phil Students
1. D. G. Page, “Electrodeposition of Thin Film Shape Memory Materials” PhD, 2001
2. K Johannsen (partial), “Studies on the Electroreduction of Alloys” PhD, 2001
3. W. R. A. Meuleman, “Electrodeposition and Characterisation of Ni/Cu Nanostructured Multilayers from Citrate Solutions”, PhD, 2002
4. Mei-Jin Liew, “Novel Gold Electrodeposition Process for Micro and Opto Electronics” PhD, 2002
5. S. M. S. I. Dulal, “The Electrochemical and Physical Properties of Nanostrctured Magnetic Multilayers”, PhD 2003
6. Ivo Schoenenberger, “Electrochemical Microfabrication without Photolithography” MPhil, 2004
7. MuZhong Shen, “Novel MEA Application and Performance Modelling of The Direct Methanol Fuel Cell” PhD (2006)
8. Shafreeza Sobri, “ Electrocrystallisation and Recovery of Gold from Thiosulphate-Sulphite Aged Electrolyte” PhD (2006)
9. Rachel Buckle, “ Metal Recovery from Tin-Stripping Solutions” PhD (2007)
10. Samane Nouraei, “ Microfabrication without Photolithography” PhD (2008)
11. Brijesh Khedkar, “ Corrosion in Concrete” PhD, submitted (2009)
12. Peter Smith, “Prediction of Microbially Induced Corrosion in Sub-sea Pipelines” (2006-2009)
13. Swatilekha Ghosh, "Electrodeposition of Copper-Tin Alloys in a Rotahull Cell" M Phil (2007-2009).
14. Jeet Varia " Metal Recovery Through Bioelectrochemical Processes" (2007-2010)
15. Naray Pewnim, "Electrodeposition of Lead Free Solders" (2008-2012)
16. Swatilekha Ghosh "Electrodeposition from Ionic Liquids" (2008-2011)
17. Sarah Johnson-Lynn, "Effect of Ti surface Topography on Bone Formation" (2009-2012) - shared with supervisors in Medical School
18. Mossad Negem, "Deposition of Metal-Particulate Composites" PhD student through the Channel System, Egyptian Government (2009-2011)

Supervisor for Masters Degree Research Studentships (3-6 months duration)
1. M. P Shaw, MSc, “Electrochemical and Corrosion Preformance of
Impregnated Ebonex Material”, dissertation submitted in Oct, 1995
2. Y. Gupte, MEng student, “Design and Performance of Flow Cells for
Electrodeposition of Metals”, dissertation submitted in June 1997
3. S. Caprodossi, MEng, “Electrodeposition of Gold for Optoelectronics”
dissertation submitted at Universita de Roma 1999
4. Damian Carder, M Phys student, Magnetic Characterisation of Cu-Ni Rotating Cylinder Multilayered Films (1999)
5. Lewis Long, MPhys, Magnetic Characterisation of Cu-Co Multilayered Films (2000)
6. Cecilia Tillgren, “Fluid Flow in Micro-capillaries” (2003)
7. Brijesh Khedkar, Methanol Oxidation at a rotating Cylinder Cathode (2004)
8. Panagiotis Moussas, “Studying Gold Sulphite-Thiosulphate Electrolyte with UV-Vis Spectroscopy”(2005)
9. Hadiza Mohammed Lawan, “Enhancing the Oxygen Carrying Capacity using Cobalt Based Compounds” (2006)
10. Tri Widayatno, "Electrochemical Removal of Copper from Effluents"(2007).
11. Laura Wagner Veary, "Surface Structuring of Titanium Alloys for Medical Implants" (2009)
12. Golnaz Yousefi "Wet Etching of Chromium" (2009)

Esteem Indicators

Referee for Peer Reviewed International Journals
Electrochemistry: Journal of Applied Electrochemistry, Journal of The Electrochemical Society, Surface and Coatings Technology
Material Science: Journal of Material Science, Journal of Materials Chemistry
Chemistry: Journal of the Chemical Society: Faraday Transactions, Electroanalytical Chemistry; Nanotechnology, Journal of Physics D
Assessor and Panel Member for the DTI Technology Programme
Member of Engineering and Physical Sciences Council Coss-Disciplinary College
Member of WiSET (Women in Science and Technology) of the European Union
Invited Lectures at Numerous International Conferences and Workshops
Executive Member of International Learned and Technical Societies:
- Chair and other excecutive position of The Electrodeposition Group of The Electrochemical Society (1998-2002); Treasurer of the SCI-ECTG (1999-2001);
Co-ordinator of an Electrochemical Engineering Network (2001-2003); Advisory member in the Pulse Electrodeposition Group of the American Electroplaters and Surface Finishers Society; Member of the Select COST-D19 group on Functional Nanomaterials (2004-2006); Founder and Sustaining Member of the EDNANO conferences in Europe (2002 onwards)
EU Expert on Marie Curie MINDE (Surface Science and Technology) Training for PhD students.

External Examiner for PhD Students (5 and 5* RAE UK Departments and Reputed EU/International Universities):
1. University of Nancy, France (M. Heninot - PhD)
2. Liverpool University, UK (T. Nouar- PhD).
3. University of Manchester, UK (PhD)
4. University of Leeds, UK (Weiheng Xiong - PhD)
5. UMIST, UK (MPhil)
6. External examiner for PhD thesis for Mr. Subir Kumar Bose, IIT Bombay, “Studies on Electrodeposited Metallic Nanophase Alloys and Multilayers”.

Host for Visiting Fellows and Students
- Andzrej Wolkenberg, Department of Physics, University of Kostocawa, Poland
- Laszlo Peter, Royal Society Fellow, Department of Solid State Materials, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary
- Irene Mailand, Paul Scherrer Institute, Villingen, Switzerland
- Barbara Tury, Marie Curie Fellow, Otevos University, Budapest, Hungary
- Dessi Koleva, Marie Curie Fellow, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Bulgaria
- Aurora Rizzo, Leonardo Da-Vinci Fellow, University of Rome, Italy

Supervisor for Exchange Project Studentships
1. Alexei Solyakov, “Codeposition of TiO2 with Nickel from a Watts Nickel Bath ”
British Council student, 1995
2. S. Bonhomme, “Electrodeposition of Cu from Pyrophosphate Electrolytes” British Council student, 1996
3. Karel Dedek, M Eng Dissertation“Electrochemical Noise Analysis ”British Council student, 1997
4. Matej Stegu, M Eng Dissertation “Roughness Measurements from Fractal
Analysis” British Council student, 1998
5. Dima H. Naddadin, Project student on “Anodised coatings of Aluminium” British Council 1999
6. Ana Popovich, Project student on “Copper-Nickel Metal Multilayers” British Council student, 1999
7. Daniel Lebbie, Student Laboratory Projects (2005)
8. Salcido Pinera, Reactors for Metal Removal from concentrated and dilute solutions” (2006)

Funding

Research Grants: In excess of £ 3.0 M. Management and administration in all grants with the
largest project being £0.5M. Founded a fully equipped electrochemical materials laboratory with more than 50 m2 of lab space. Have completed several research projects, 80% of which have been judged to be outstanding by independent assessors.

Industrial Relevance

The patent discusses a new method for transferring micro-scale patterns on to substrates without using photolithography on them.

Specialist Expertise
Electrochemical surface engineering and technology including electrochemical deposition or plating.
Anodising and electroetching.
Electrochemical nano and micro fabrication and reactors for electronics and MEMs devices.
Electrochemical metal removal, clean-up and energy generation. Electrochemical sensing, sensors and process equipment.

Specialist Equipment
Wafer plating and etching equipment.
Electro-chemical quartz crystal nano-balance.
Rotating disc and rotating ring disc electrodes.
Pulse plating equipment up to 10 Amperes.
High speed potentiostats and bi-potentiostats.
Corrosion analysis equipment.

Patents

Inventor: S. Roy, “A Process for Manufacturing Micro- and Nano- Devices” GB0416600.5, filed on 24th July 2004. PCT/GB2005/002795, filed 19th July 2005.
Protected in Europe, USA, India, Japan and Korea

Keywords

Surface Science, electrochemical engineering, electrochemistry, corrosion, advanced materials, micro fabrication, nano materials, electroplating, electrodeposition, electrochemical dissolution and machining, pulse deposition, pulse etching, alloys and metals.

Undergraduate Teaching

CME 1003 - Chemistry for Chemical Engineers
CME 2015 - Reactor Engineering 1
CME 4003 - Materials
CME 8002 - Sustainable Materials and Processes
2nd Year laboratory for chemical engineering students

Postgraduate Teaching

CME 8002 and CME 4003