Steven Nicholson

Biography:

Steven applied to the CP3 CDT because he wanted to continue his studies in something that’s not too far from the chemistry he knows, but different enough to be stimulating. Steven believes it’s a great opportunity to meet people who have different research backgrounds. The CP3 CDT also provides a number of opportunities involving industry and teaching, which allows Steven to keep his options open for his future career whilst also improving his skills and research capabilities. From his degree and his master’s project in particular, Steven has developed an avid interest in teaching as well as organic synthesis.

PhD: Understanding of Dissolution from Single Faceted Crystals

Oral administration is the preferable dosage form of solid drug compounds. Due to insufficient understanding of dissolution characteristics from first principles, the design of drugs where the rate-limiting step of drug release is dissolution is difficult. The current dissolution model, based off the Noyes-Whitney equation (1897), is dated and does not consider dissolution on different morphological faces nor molecular diffusion through the boundary layer.
Through the use of interferometric microscopic techniques (Michelson and Mach-Zehnder), single-faceted crystals’ dissolution rates can be characterised with varying morphology, size and solution undersaturation. Characterisation of the crystals’ surface chemistry, fluid properties and solution boundary concentration gradient/thickness can also take place to improve understanding of crystal dissolution.
It is the hope that creation of a more accurate model of crystal dissolution will have huge positive implications within the pharmaceutical industry. This would be through improvement of tablet efficacy and performance characteristics. This project also has wider applications in the nuclear industry, cleaning and performance of personal care products and food products etc

Research Project(s) during degree:

• Third year research project – Cavity ringdown spectroscopy with Dr Daniel Stone, Chemistry
  This consisted of building a spectrometer using mirrors and then measuring the ringdown time of various molecules using a laser which bounced back and forth between 2 mirrors in a “cavity”. This allowed the absorbance and vapour pressure of these molecules to be obtained.
• Master’s project - Improving how students learn difficult chemical concepts in organic chemistry, with Dr Nimesh Mistry, Chemistry.
  This project seeks to identify some specific misconceptions that students have within organic chemistry and understand why students have these misconceptions. The analytical techniques used in this project, as well as any active learning strategies developed to combat misconceptions found in this report, can then be used across multiple disciplines to allow for the weakening of misconceptions found within chemistry and other subject areas.

Outreach, training and other activities:

• Jan 2021 - Chemical & Process Engineering Research Event - Prize for best presentation in the "Innovative Manufacturing and Products" category
• During his master’s project, Steven assisted in examples classes for organic chemistry helping first year students with questions about the examples class material. Steven interviewed students one on one with questions involving certain parts of organic chemistry to get a deeper understanding of why students have misconceptions about certain parts of the subject.
  Steven also presented his master’s project at the Student Education Conference at University of Leeds as part of a larger presentation with Dr Nimesh Mistry talking about the use of active learning in teaching.

Masters research project in year 1 of CDT:

• ‘Modelling of continuous cooling crystallisation in a tubular flow crystalliser’ with Dr Tariq Mahmud, Chemical & Process Engineering