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Staff Profile

Dr Manjit Grewal

School of Engineering, SAgE Faculty

  • Address: Merz Court
    School of Engineering, Newcastle University
    Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU
    United Kingdom
Background

Dr. Manjit Singh Grewal is a Postdoctoral Research Associate (PDRA) in the School of Chemical Engineering at Newcastle University, where he works on advanced polymer synthesis and membrane fabrication for alkaline-based electrolyzers under the Ocean Renewable Energy Fuels project.

Dr. Grewal earned his MTech in Chemical Synthesis and Process Technologies from the University of Delhi in 2012. During his master’s studies, he was selected for a fully funded international exchange research fellowship at the Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (JAIST), where he conducted intensive research in materials science. He subsequently pursued his PhD at JAIST, supported by a prestigious Graduate Research Fellowship (GRP), and completed his doctorate in 2017.

Following his PhD, Dr. Grewal was appointed Research Assistant Professor at Tokyo Metropolitan University, where he worked on polymer electrolytes for rechargeable lithium batteries under the Young Platform Project. In 2019, he joined Tohoku University as a Research Associate, further advancing research in electrochemical energy materials. He later transitioned to industry, serving as a Senior Electrochemical Engineer at clean-energy start-ups in Belgium (2022) and the United States (2024), gaining strong exposure to technology translation and commercialization.

With over 15 years of multidisciplinary R&D experience across academia and industry, Dr. Grewal is a resilient, ambitious, and self-motivated early-career researcher. His core expertise lies in polymer and solid-state electrolytes for lithium-ion batteries, electrochemical interface engineering, bio-based composites, and energy-storage catalysts, with broader interests in perovskite solar cells, fuel cells, and next-generation sustainable energy technologies. He brings extensive hands-on experience in molecular simulations, spectroscopic techniques, single-molecule imaging, and advanced microscopy (AFM, high-speed scanning).

Highly proficient in laboratory operations, data management, scientific writing, safety compliance (MSDS), and waste/by-product management, Dr. Grewal demonstrates a strong understanding of the commercial and translational aspects of scientific research. His work is driven by a passion for developing innovative materials that support low-carbon technologies, address the global energy crisis, and advance the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).


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Research

CURRENT RESEARCH

Dr. Grewal is currently engaged in the synthesis, fabrication, characterization, and performance testing of anion exchange and ion-solvating membranes for water electrolyzers as part of the Ocean Renewable Energy Fuels project in Prof. Mamlouk’s research group.


RESEARCH INTERESTS

·      Lithium-ion Batteries & Solid-State Electrolytes

·      Polymer and Composite Electrolytes

·      Battery Materials & Fuel Cells

·      Biopolymers and Bio-Composites

·      Cathode Catalysts & Electrochemical Interfaces

·      Perovskite Solar Cells


TECHNICAL SKILLS

·      Electrochemical analysis (EIS, CV, LSV, Cell/Battery testing)

·      Battery fabrication (coin, pouch, Swagelok cells)

·      Electrode processing (dry/wet methods)

·      Characterization techniques: NMR, IR, MS, HPLC, GPC, UV-Vis, CD, SEM, TEM, Raman, XRD, DSC, TG-DTA, DMA etc.

·      Material design for ORR/OER/HER catalysis and solid-state batteries

·      Synthesis and applications of high-performance polymers, bio-derived polymers, nanocomposites, and composite polymers.


KEY ACHIEVEMENTS

  1. Patents: 3 (US20230261259A1, JP2020-076024A, JP2022164144A)
  2. Publications: 14 peer-reviewed papers (Langmuir, Electrochimica Acta, iscience); 3 cover features
  3. Fusion Research Grant for research entitled, “3D Printable Electrolytes to Electrodes for Energy-Efficient Lithium-ion Batteries” for FY2021 by Tohoku University.
  4. 2nd Prize for applicant’ presentation entitled Breaking the wall of Clean Energy From Marine Biomass at Falling Walls Lab (FWL) Sendai held on 31/08/2021.
  5. Fusion Research Grant for research entitled, “Innovate Composite Polymer Electrolytes for High-performance Energy Storage Devices” for FY2020 by Tohoku University.
  6. Best Poster Award for the poster presentation entitled ‘Biomimetic Catechol based Adhesive Polymers for Aqueous Dispersion of Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) Nanoparticles’ at a conference “the 3rd symposium for the core research clusters for materials science and spintronics” in Sendai, Japan (10/02/2020 – 11/02/2020).
  7. Top downloaded Paper Award: Research article entitled ‘Bifunctional poly(ethylene glycol) based crosslinked network polymers as electrolytes for all‐solid‐state lithium-ion batteries’ was awarded top downloaded paper in journal Polymer International in 2018-2019. A certificate was awarded for this work from Wiley (May 2020).


REVIEWER: Key reviewer for prominent journals like Results in Chemistry (Elsevier); Electrochemistry Communications (Elsevier); Ionics; Polymer Bulletin (Springer Nature); ACS Omega; Frontiers in Chemistry (Electrochemistry)

 



Publications