SCHEMA Autumn Conference 2026
We are delighted to confirm the following keynote/plenary speakers for our upcoming Autumn conference at the University of Oxford. We will soon open poster abstract submissions for the conference so please check this page for any updates. You can register for the conference via the link at the bottom of the page.
Prof Andrew Livingston
Prof Katalin Barta
Prof Aaron D Sadow
Dr Cathy Dwyer
Prof Andrew Livingston [Queen Mary University of London]
Andrew Livingston (AGL) is from Taranaki NZ, and studied Chemical Engineering at University of Canterbury. He then worked at an NZ food processing company followed by a PhD at Cambridge UK, and in 1990 joined the Department of Chemical Engineering at Imperial College, serving as HoD 2008-2016. He leads a research group of 20 PhD students and Post-Docs, with interests in membranes for molecular separations in liquids and the development of chemical processes using these membranes. Awards include the Junior Moulton Medal, Cremer and Warner Medal, and Underwood Medal of IChemE, Silver Medal of Royal Academy of Engineering, and Imperial College Research Excellence Medal. AGL was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2006 and a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2022. From October 2016 he was the inaugural Director of the Barrer Centre at Imperial College, and from 1 July 2017 was the interim academic lead, from 1 Jan 2019- May 2019 the interim director, of the new Rosalind Franklin Institute, set up with a £100M investment from the UK Government to carry out ground-breaking research at the interface of engineering, physical sciences and life sciences. In 1 November 2019 he joined Queen Mary University of London as the Vice Principal, Research and Innovation.
Prof Katalin Barta [University of Graz]
The research programme of the Barta working group deals with scientific challenges that enable the transition from a linear industry dependent on fossil raw materials to an industry based on renewable resources. To this end, they are developing methods capable of integrating widely available sustainable carbonaceous material streams (such as renewable biomass, plastic waste) into the circular bioeconomy. Although the research group is deeply rooted in sustainable catalysis and green chemistry, it pursues a strongly interdisciplinary approach. Katalin Barta has been conducting research at the Institute of Chemistry at the University of Graz since December 2019. In addition to prizes such as the Innovation Award of the Province of Styria in the category "Sustainability" or the Austrian Phoenix Founders Award in the category Prototypes, she received an ERC Consolidator Grant in 2023 for her research in the field of sustainability in the entire life cycle of synthetic resins.
Prof Aaron D Sadow [Iowa State University and Ames National Laboratory]
Aaron D Sadow's interest in organometallic chemistry and catalysis began in Ayusman Sen's research group. As an undergraduate at Penn State, he worked on synthesis of polyesters, using CO and activated alcohols as co-monomers. He continued to study organometallics in Don Tilley's group as a graduate student at UC Berkeley, working first on catalysts for polymerization of silanes to make long chains with silicon-only backbones, synthesizing possible intermediates containing reactive metal-silicon bonds, and then on related CH activation reactions and hydrocarbon functionalization catalysis. They developed two new catalytic reactions that used methane as a source for methyl groups, hydromethylation of propene and dehydrogenative simulation of methane. He then moved to ETH Zürich, where he worked with Antonio Togni on enantioselective hydroamination and hydrophosphination for the synthesis of chiral amines and phosphines.
Dr Cathy Dwyer [Drochaid Research Services]
Dr Cathy Dwyer is Managing Director of Drochaid Research Services. She previously spent over 20 years at the South African petrochemical company Sasol, including roles as Technology Manager for the Chemicals Business and Vice President: Science Research. She holds a PhD in palladium catalysis from Rand Afrikaans University and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in asymmetric catalysis at the University of York. Her expertise spans homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis and process chemistry across the chemicals and energy sectors, with a strong focus on sustainability and circularity, and she has a passion for mentoring the next generation of scientists.
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