Rachel Evans Explained

Rachel Evans
Birth Name:Rachel Claire Evans
Workplaces:University of Cambridge
Trinity College Dublin
University of Aveiro
University of Coimbra
Lonza Group
Alma Mater:Swansea University (MChem, PhD)
Fields:Materials chemistry
Photophysics
Solar energy
Soft matter
Polymers
Thesis Title:Efficient emitters for technological applications
Thesis Year:2007
Thesis Url:http://discover.library.wales/44WHELF_NLW_VU1:CSCOP_EVERYTHING:44NLW_ALMA21806783110002419
Awards:Marie Curie Fellowship
Dillwyn Medal (2017)

Rachel Claire Evans FLSW is a Welsh chemist based at the University of Cambridge and a fellow of Jesus College, Cambridge. She works on photoactive polymer-hybrid materials for solar devices, including organic photovoltaics and stimuli-responsive membranes.

Early life and education

Evans grew up in South Wales.[1] She studied at Swansea University, earning a Master of Chemistry (MChem) degree in 2002.[2] [3] During her Masters, she completed an International Association for the Exchange of Students for Technical Experience (IASTE) fellowship at Lonza Group. She returned to Swansea University for her PhD, investigating on light-emitting materials for display technologies.[4]

Research and career

After her PhD, Evans spent a year at the University of Aveiro. She was subsequently awarded a Marie Curie Fellowship at the University of Paris where she worked as a postdoc on fluorescence of soft materials. Evans left Paris to join the University of Coimbra as a Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia postdoctoral fellow. She moved to Trinity College Dublin in 2009, where she was a lecturer in Physical Chemistry. Her research was funded by Science Foundation Ireland and Enterprise Ireland.[5] She delivered the 2011 Royal Society of Chemistry Schools lecture on the Chemistry of Light.[6] In 2013 she published the textbook Applied Photochemistry with Springer Publishing.[7] They explored self-assembly of conjugated polyelectrolyte–polyoxometalate networks, with dimensions controlled by the polymer chain length and steric charge distribution.[8] [9] The self-assembly of these lumophores can be used to tune the optical and electronic properties.[10] To understand the morphology of these films and inform the design of performance nanostructured devices, her group use small-angle scattering, spectroscopy and microscopy.[11] [12] Small-angle scattering allows her to study the microstructure of hybrid materials at the near atomic scale.[13] Their conjugated polyelectrolyte work was featured in the ChemComm Emerging Investigators issue.[14] She also worked on oxygen sensitive printable ink sensors.[15]

Evans has explored polymer-hybrid materials for luminescent solar concentrators.[16] By controlling the placement and orientation of the lumophore, she showed that it is possible to limit light lost by reabsorption.[17] [18] She minimises waveguiding losses by designing materials with high refractive indices. She demonstrated that perylene carboxdiimide-bridged triethoxysilane can be covalently grafted to siloxane hybrids.[16] Her work was featured in the Journal of Materials Chemistry C Emerging Investigators Issue in 2016.[19] She also develops encapsulation techniques to improve device lifetime.[20] She was made an associate professor in 2016. She collaborated extensively with the University of Montpellier as part of a French-Irish collaboration.[21]

Evans was appointed a lecturer at the University of Cambridge in 2017 and a fellow of Jesus College, Cambridge. Her group explore soft materials that are responsive to stimuli, nanostructured inks and hybrid nanoparticles.[22] The soft materials respond to light, using photoresponsive surfactants that include an azobenzene group.[23] She was appointed chair of the Royal Society of Chemistry Photophysics and Photochemistry Group in 2017.[24]

She founded Senoptica Technologies[25] in 2018 and is the chief scientific officer (CSO) working on optical sensors developed in Evans' lab.[26] Senoptica Technologies detect defective modified atmosphere packaging, changing colour to alert the consumer to the amount of oxygen in the pack.[27]

Awards and honours

2023 Elected a Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales (FLSW)[28]

2018 Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC)[29]

2018 Nominated a Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (FIMMM)[30]

2017 Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) and Society of Chemical Industry UK Young Researchers Medal[31] [32]

2017 Learned Society of Wales Dillwyn Medal[33]

2015 Trinity College Dublin Fellowship[34]

2014 Irish Lab Awards Young Leader of the Year[35]

2008 RSC Harry Hallam prize

2007 RSC Ronald Belcher Memorial Lectureship

Notes and References

  1. News: Dr Rachel C. Evans. 19 October 2016. The Evans Group. 2 December 2018. labevans.co.uk.
  2. Web site: Dr Rachel Evans. 2018. Anon. Jesus College Cambridge. jesus.cam.ac.uk. 2 December 2018.
  3. Web site: Graduate Profiles. swansea.ac.uk. 2 December 2018.
  4. PhD. Efficient emitters for technological applications. Rachel Claire. Evans. 2007. Swansea University. . 502626916. discover.library.wales.
  5. Web site: Rachel Evans : School of Chemistry – Trinity College Dublin. chemistry.tcd.ie. 2 December 2018.
  6. Web site: RSC Annual Lecture for Schools 'Chemistry of Light' – Irish Science Teachers' Association. ista.ie. 2 December 2018.
  7. Book: Applied photochemistry. 2013. Springer. Evans, Rachel C., Douglas, Peter, Burrows, Hugh. 9789048138302. Dordrecht. 842836702.
  8. Houston. Judith E.. Patterson. Adam R.. Jayasundera. Anil C.. Schmitt. Wolfgang. Evans. Rachel C.. 2014. Charge-modulated self-assembly and growth of conjugated polyelectrolyte–polyoxometalate hybrid networks. Chem. Commun.. 50. 40. 5233–5235. 10.1039/c3cc47552b. 24336591. 1359-7345. 2262/72169. free.
  9. Houston. Judith E.. Chevrier. Michèle. Appavou. Marie-Sousai. King. Stephen M.. Clément. Sébastien. Evans. Rachel C.. 2017. A self-assembly toolbox for thiophene-based conjugated polyelectrolytes: surfactants, solvent and copolymerisation. Nanoscale. 9. 44. 17481–17493. 10.1039/c7nr06169b. 29106435. 2040-3364. free.
  10. Web site: Rachel Evans : Profiles – Trinity Research : Trinity College Dublin, Rachel Evans. Dublin. Fiona Killard, Trinity College. tcd.ie. 2 December 2018.
  11. News: Nanostructured Inks for Organic Electronics. 14 November 2016. The Evans Group. 2 December 2018.
  12. News: Instrumentation. 23 February 2017. The Evans Group. 2 December 2018.
  13. Web site: ISUO – the Irish Synchrotron, Free Electron Laser, Neutron and Muon Facility Users Organisation Materials and Device Photochemistry Group – Evans (TCD). isuo.ie. 2 December 2018.
  14. Contributors to the Emerging Investigators Issue 2014. Chemical Communications. 50. 40. 2014. 5100. 1359-7345. 10.1039/c4cc90109f. Anon.
  15. News: Trinity Chemistry Newsletter 2016. Issuu. 2 December 2018.
  16. Meazzini. Ilaria. Willis-Fox. Niamh. Blayo. Camille. Arlt. Jochen. Clément. Sébastien. Evans. Rachel C.. 2016. Targeted design leads to tunable photoluminescence from perylene dicarboxdiimide–poly(oxyalkylene)/siloxane hybrids for luminescent solar concentrators. Journal of Materials Chemistry C. 4. 18. 4049–4059. 10.1039/C5TC03952E. 2050-7526. 20.500.11820/320613b7-a508-47ae-9c07-a34e8bb54070. free.
  17. Brennan. Lorcan J.. Purcell-Milton. Finn. McKenna. Barry. Watson. Trystan M.. Gun'ko. Yurii K.. Evans. Rachel C.. 2018. Large area quantum dot luminescent solar concentrators for use with dye-sensitised solar cells. Journal of Materials Chemistry A. 6. 6. 2671–2680. 10.1039/c7ta04731b. 2050-7488. 2262/96216. free.
  18. Kaniyoor. Adarsh. McKenna. Barry. Comby. Steve. Evans. Rachel C.. 15 December 2015. Design and Response of High-Efficiency, Planar, Doped Luminescent Solar Concentrators Using Organic-Inorganic Di-Ureasil Waveguides. Advanced Optical Materials. 4. 3. 444–456. 10.1002/adom.201500412. 97140164 . 2195-1071.
  19. Web site: Emerging Investigators 2016: Novel design strategies for new functional materials Home. pubs.rsc.org. 2 December 2018.
  20. McKenna. Barry. Troughton. Joel R.. Watson. Trystan M.. Evans. Rachel C.. 2017. Enhancing the stability of organolead halide perovskite films through polymer encapsulation. RSC Advances. 7. 52. 32942–32951. 10.1039/c7ra06002e. 2017RSCAd...732942M . 2046-2069. free. 2262/82530. free.
  21. Web site: A growing French-Irish radiance. Ambassade de France en Irlande – French Embassy in Ireland. 2 December 2018.
  22. News: Research. 19 October 2016. The Evans Group. 2 December 2018.
  23. News: Soft Responsive Materials. 1 August 2018. The Evans Group. 2 December 2018.
  24. Web site: RSC Photophysics & Photochemistry Group Meeting 2018 – Specific. specific.eu.com. 19 November 2018 . 2 December 2018.
  25. Web site: Home - Senoptica Technologies LTD. Senoptica Technologies LTD.
  26. News: About Us Senoptica Technologies LTD. Senoptica Technologies Ltd. senoptica.com. 2 December 2018.
  27. Web site: Home Senoptica Technologies LTD. Senoptica Technologies LTD. 2 December 2018.
  28. Web site: Wales . The Learned Society of . Rachel Evans . 2023-08-30 . The Learned Society of Wales . en-US.
  29. News: Rachel is admitted as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry. 27 September 2018. The Evans Group. 2 December 2018.
  30. Web site: New IoM3 Fellows. Sallows. Lianne. 26 October 2018. University of Cambridge. 2 December 2018.
  31. Web site: 2017 Macro Group UK Young Researchers Medal awarded to Dr Rachel Evans. Sallows. Lianne. 8 May 2018. University of Cambridge. 2 December 2018.
  32. News: 2017 Macro Group UK Young Researchers Medal. 4 May 2018. Macro Group UK. 2 December 2018.
  33. News: Dillwyn prize for outstanding ECR researcher in STEMM. 22 May 2017. The Evans Group. 2 December 2018.
  34. Web site: Provost & President : Trinity College Dublin. Dublin. Provost & President, Trinity College. tcd.ie. 2 December 2018.
  35. Web site: 2014 – School of Chemistry – Trinity College Dublin. chemistry.tcd.ie. 2 December 2018.

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