Following a history of successful collaboration with the Gläser group in an SPP project (DFG), Thomas now brings his knowledge of advanced catalyst characterization, in situ / operando methods, and chemical imaging, to synergise with existing activities concerning porous materials synthesis and catalytic testing at the institute. As a specialist in synchrotron radiation and hard X-ray analytics, he is looking forward to providing complementary skills and building successful collaboration within the faculty and beyond. The group is happy to welcome interested students and proposals for future collaboration!
Short Biography: Thomas Sheppard studied chemistry at Queen’s University Belfast (Northern Ireland), obtaining an integrated Master degree in 2010, followed by a PhD degree in 2014 in the field of heterogeneous catalysis, supervised by Dr. Jillian Thompson and Prof. Alex Goguet. From 2014 he was postdoctoral research at The Institute for Chemical Technology and Polymer Chemistry at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) with Prof. Dr. Jan-Dierk Grunwaldt, being appointed as KIT Young Investigator Group Leader in 2020. He is currently finalizing Habilitation proceedings (2018-2023) in chemical technology. His research interests are centered around applications of synchrotron radiation in catalysis research, particular X-ray microscopy/tomography, spectroscopy and diffraction. Advanced synchrotron-based characterization is complemented by a range of conventional laboratory methods to gain a holistic understanding of the structure and function of catalyst materials across time-, length-, and resolution scales. In situ / operando methodology to study catalysts at work are also a strong focus of the group.