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The first six months of 2024 have seen three new scientists join the ECFP team: Dr Naomi Brown, Dr David Crosby, and Dr Hrishikesh Pingulkar. They bring additional expertise in chemistry, formulation science, and soft matter physics, as well as significant experience of working in both academic and industrial settings. It’s exciting to see our team grow further and we look forward to working with Naomi, David, and Hrishikesh. Read on to learn more about their backgrounds and specific areas of expertise.
Naomi has a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Sheffield studying the efficacy of hard surface cleaning formulations in collaboration with SC Johnson as part of the CDT in polymers, colloids and soft matter. Her work focused on the optimisation of surfactant mixtures and analysis of how these solutions remove kitchen soils from surfaces.
After her PhD, Naomi worked at SilviBio, formulating novel hydrogel seed coatings and developing processes for scaling up production. Her next role was as a formulation scientist at Solasta Bio developing novel formulations for peptide-based insecticides and methods for analysing their mode of action.
David received his PhD in Physics from the University of Edinburgh, his thesis was about understanding the rheological and surface active behaviour of a commercial microgel. This project was done in collaboration with GSK as part of the SOFI (Soft Matter and Functional Interfaces) CDT. The work focussed on understanding how a commercial microgel, used by GSK, acted to both thicken and stabilise skin creams.
After his PhD, David worked at Curia Glasgow, formulating new pharmaceutical products for external clients. His next role was a Colloid and Interface Scientist at Unilever, where he tested novel new sustainably sourced materials (polymers and surfactants) for use in laundry products.
Hrishikesh Pingulkar is a mechanical engineer turned soft matter physicist with a strong background in experimentation. He holds a PhD in rheology and has experience in microfluidics and colloids.
His PhD research focused on extensional rheology of stretched viscoelastic liquid capillary bridges. This research investigated the formation of filaments, the beads on a string (BOAS) phenomenon, and liquid transfer, with applications in printing, coating, and food industries.
He then went to conduct postdoctorate research where he specialized in microfluidics and colloids. His work primarily dealt with the directional drying of colloidal dispersions in microfluidic chips, with applications in paints, coatings, and personal care products. During this period, Hrishikesh gained valuable experience in microfabrication, particularly in creating complex PDMS chips using photolithography. He also developed an innovative method for measuring water potential during directional drying, a crucial parameter for understanding fluid dynamics in porous materials.
Please get in contact with us to find out more about ECFP and whether we can help you.
ECFP delivers fundamental product insight enabling improved formulation and processing for a more sustainable future.
ECFP delivers fundamental product insight enabling improved formulation and processing for a more sustainable future.
ECFP delivers fundamental product insight enabling improved formulation and processing for a more sustainable future.
