Thomas Hardcastle
- cp14tejh@leeds.ac.uk
- Location
- Level 1, Energy Building
- Sponsor
- Novartis
- Primary Supervisor
- Dr Andrew Scott, Chemical & Process Engineering
- Qualifications
- MChem Chemistry, Manchester; MSc Polymers, Colorants & Fine Chemicals, Leeds
Biography
Tom has a background in both atomic simulation and synthetic organic chemistry and believes that ab initio techniques can one day be used routinely as guidance for wet lab chemistry at all stages of product development. He is particularly interested in drawing together seemingly disparate knowledge and techniques to develop new understandings and perspectives on existing problems.
Tom previously worked as an analytical chemistry technician in the food industry.
He is also supporting two master’s students, working on ab initio structure prediction, and crystal structure optimisation with molecular mechanics.
PhD: Structure-property relationships for physical and chemical properties of pharmaceutical salts
The project involves working on the prediction of crystal morphologies using dispersion corrected density functional theory and developing post-processing methods for the estimation of interaction energies from calculated electron densities.
Outreach, training and other activities:
- Placement at Novartis Campus, Basel, Nov 2017
Publications and presentations:
Masters research project in year 1 of CDT:
- ‘Controlled crystallisation using reactive gases’ with Professor David York, Chemical & Process Engineering