Summary
Prof Jason Hallett received his PhD in Chemical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He joined Imperial College, first with a Marshall-Sherfield Postdoctoral Fellowship in Sustainable Chemistry and in 2014 was appointed a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Chemical Engineering, before promotion to Reader in 2016 and Professor in 2018. He has authored over 90 articles and holds 4 patents. His current research interests involve the solvation behaviour of ionic liquids and the use of ionic liquids in the production of lignocellulosic biofuels, sustainable chemical feedstocks, vaccine manufacturing and waste recycling (particularly for metal-contaminated solid materials). This research is supported by both the UKRI and industry.
Prof Hallett currently serves as Director of the Imperial Network of Excellence in Industrial Biotechnology and as theme leader for Biorenewables and Biofuels research in the Manufacturing Futures Lab. He is also a core member of the Supergen Bioenergy Hub and the Future Vaccines Manufacturing Research Hub.
He is also co-founder of Chyrsalix Technologies, a spin-out company based on the group's ionic liquid biorefinery research.
Open Positions:
TWO POSTDOCTORAL POSITIONS:
Research Assistant/Associate in Ionic Liquids for Bioenergy
Applications are invited for a research associate position to work at Imperial College London, at the South Kensington Campus. The main role of the post holder is to help develop routes to renewable materials, chemicals and fuels from lignocellulosic biomass using ionic liquids. The post is part of the Supergen Bioenergy Hub, a wider UK programme aimed at transforming the energy and materials economy of the UK toward more sustainable resource utilisation. This project will focus on the use of ionic liquids to pretreat biomass for various energy and materials related end products, a key step in transforming industry and developing a more sustainable bioeconomy.
More information and how to apply
Research Assistant/Associate in Ionic Liquids for Protein Stabilisation in Plastic Recycling and Vaccine Manufacturing
Applications are invited for a research associate position to work at Imperial College London, at the South Kensington Campus. The main role of the post holder is to undertake work on protein stabilisation for both waste plastic recycling and therapeutic protein storage. This post will cut across objectives in larger UKRI funded research on these topics as part of the Future Vaccine Manufacturing Research Hub and involving several UK universities, international companies, and partner institutions in several countries worldwide.
More information and how to apply
PhD studentships: The Department of Chemical Engineering is currently accepting applications from outstanding students for our Departmental PhD Studentships (http://www.imperial.ac.uk/engineering/departments/chemical-engineering/courses/postgraduate/phd/scholarships/).
These are fully funded 42-month positions with a host academic. If you are interested in applying for a scholarship hosted in my lab, please contact me (j.hallett@imperial.ac.uk)
Funded opportunity (UK students):
There is a fully-funded (UK students only) studentship on the Science and Solutions for a Changing Planet DTP with the Grantham Institute. The project is on Waste Wood Biorefining and is supported by industrial partner Chrysalix Technologies. See link for details on how to apply:
https://www.imperial.ac.uk/grantham/education/science-and-solutions-for-a-changing-planet-dtp/studentship-opportunities/
Integrated Biorefinery Research:
This area of research focusses on the simultaneous production of both biofuels and chemical feedstocks from renewable resources, such as from lignocellulosic biomass. This involves a range of research areas in my group, including:
Deconstruction of Biomass using Ionic liquids
Enzymatic Biocatalysis in Protein-friendly Ionic Liquids
Bioprocess Development and Scale-up
Other Ionic Liquids Research:
Stabilisation of Therapeutic Proteins
Metal Recovery from Waste Streams
Process, Techno-economic, and Socio-economic Modelling of Ionic Liquid Biorefining
Catalytic Production of Platform Chemicals from Biomass using Ionic Liquids
Interactions of Ionic Liquids with Biopolymers
Recycling Ionic Liquids
Interactions of Ionic Liquids with CO2
Selected Publications
Journal Articles
Lui MY, Crowhurst L, Hallett JP, et al., 2011, Salts dissolved in salts: ionic liquid mixtures, Chemical Science, Vol:2, ISSN:2041-6520, Pages:1491-1496
Mota A, Hallett JP, Kuznetsov ML, et al., 2011, Structural characterization and DFT study of (VO)-O-IV(acac)(2) in imidazolium ionic liquids, Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, Vol:13, ISSN:1463-9076, Pages:15094-15102
Hallett JP, Liotta CL, Ranieri G, et al., 2009, Charge Screening in the S(N)2 Reaction of Charged Electrophiles and Charged Nucleophiles: An Ionic Liquid Effect, Journal of Organic Chemistry, Vol:74, ISSN:0022-3263, Pages:1864-1868
Wells TP, Hallett JP, Williams CK, et al., 2008, Esterification in ionic liquids: The influence of solvent basicity, Journal of Organic Chemistry, Vol:73, ISSN:0022-3263, Pages:5585-5588
Hallett JP, Ford JW, Jones RS, et al., 2008, Hydroformylation catalyst recycle with gas-expanded liquids, Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, Vol:47, ISSN:0888-5885, Pages:2585-2589
Ranieri G, Hallett JP, Welton T, 2008, Nucleophilic reactions at cationic centers in ionic liquids and molecular solvents, Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, Vol:47, ISSN:0888-5885, Pages:638-644