Hey, I'm Jackson. I'm one of the 2022 scholars at University of Leeds. My course is Mechatronics and Robotics; in particular I'm interested in the ways that technology interacts with social and political issues that are important to me, such as environmentalism, the digital divide and the racial and gender biases in algorithms. My research focusses on improving the robustness of energy storage devices, e.g. for electric vehicles and solar panels. You can read a quick summary below! The recent global shift towards electrification is raising questions concerning the robustness of current energy storage devices. Electrical vehicles require many battery cells connected together in order to provide a sufficient amount of energy to power the car and solar panels contain many generating cells connected. However, the assumptions made when designing and developing these storage devices, can become invalid due to the uncontrolled environmental conditions or unpredictable faults with individual cells in the arrangement. In order to prevent failure and premature end-of-life, a unique collection of equalisation circuits can be designed for a system. My research centers on widening the use cases for these equilisation circuits and investigating whether a single set of circuits can be designed in a way that allows it to be used for a variety of applications rather than just one.

Hi everybody. I am Mateo. I am an Experimental Physics graduate from the University of St Andrews. I am a curious, talkative and reflective individual with a love for telling and hearing stories. I am from Peru, but have moved around quite a bit having lived in Equatorial Guinea, England and now Scotland. I consider having such a multicultural background a very nourishing and essential part of my being. Consequentially, I love travelling and learning languages, and I am always happy to connect with people from all walks of life and parts of the world. When I am not busy demystifying the rules of the universe, I enjoy dancing, cooking, walking and analysing movies. I also love programming and its applications for simulating real-world physics and processing large amounts of day-to-day data. In June, I will be graduating with an Integrated Masters in Physics, however, I aspire to develop professionally outside of academia possibly in the field of data analytics. I am happy to connect with any Scholars! 

I study Physics and Chemistry, and undertook research in synthetic and analytical inorganic chemistry. The aim of my project was to optimise the carbon dioxide adsorption behaviour (by optimising pore structure changes, gating effects and pore sizes) of merlinoite (zeolite) molecular sieves, for use in carbon capture in industry. This included development of reliable synthetic routes for merlinoites and developing an analytical model for their kinetic adsorption behaviour. The work will hopefully lead to further work, producing practical results which can be implemented to make gas purification in industrial processes, natural gas upgrading and waste processing more environmentally friendly. My Leadership in Action programme involved working with Grupo PROMESA on the circular economy by working on their "Recilcando x un Techo" recycling scheme in Mexico City, partnered with Make Sense Americas. My future research interests lie at the interface between physics and chemistry, particularly in solid state chemistry and in developing and using novel analytical techniques. I am interested in materials engineering, particularly within the energy sector, for example in carbon capture, nuclear fusion energy, and renewables. I also have a recent interest in patent law. Outside of studying and research, I have keen interests in writing fiction, amateur rocketry/aeronautics, cookery and philosophy. I play tennis, football and chess.

I am an MMath Mathematics student at the University of St Andrews, focusing on Applied Maths and Statistics. I have long been passionate about Mathematics, History, and Languages, studying Russian alongside my Mathematics degree. I also care strongly about education, dedicating much of my time to tutoring different levels of Mathematics to various children and teens of different ages. Through Laidlaw, I have recognised that my key strengths of confidence, communication, and curiosity can be applied to leadership and that there is no archetypal leader. 

Dan-Thi is an enthusiastic professional with +8 years of work experience in strategic marketing, business development and communication within the higher education industry. She currently works at EPFL as a Project Manager for the School enhanced learning programs (incl. the Laidlaw program). Dan-Thi likes all aspects related to her position but what she especially loves is interacting with students and helping them grow personally and professionally. Dan-Thi has lived in fast-paced environments in Asia (Hong Kong, Japan) and she is now based in Lausanne, Switzerland. She enjoys travelling and always looks for discovering new cultures. She can speak French, English and Vietnamese. You can talk with her about anything regarding food, sport and travel. She is a really bad swimmer and has absolutely no green thumb! :)

Martha graduated from Trinity College Dublin in 2024 with a First Class Honours in Law and Political Science. Her Summer 1 research project concerned Russian Military Aggression towards Ukraine.  She is passionate about public speaking and debating, which informed her Leadership in Action Project working with the English-Speaking Union (ESU) in London. She also won the 2024 European Universities Debating Championships, becoming the first Irish woman to ever do so.

Adam is a student of Political Science and Geography at Trinity College Dublin and, is a Senior Volunteer with Scouting Ireland.

Hello :) I am a year 3 student in the University of Hong Kong, studying Bachelor of Science in Speech and Hearing Sciences.

Hi, currently, I am working with Timothy Smith Network as an instructor in Boston, MA. My research was about the relation between sport entertainment industry on adults’ (sport fans) engagement in physical activity. I am majoring in accounting and minoring in finance at the University of Hong Kong. Please reach out if you want to discuss.

Currently in my fifth year of pursuing the Bachelor of Speech Language Pathology at the University of Hong Kong

I am a fourth year student studying Geography and Sustainable Development at The University of St Andrews. I have a particular interest in reforestation, conservation and climate change mitigation. For the first summer of the Laidlaw Scholars Leadership and Research Programme I produced a research essay and poster titled 'Climate Change Mitigation: Investigating the impact of land use on soil organic matter (SOM)'. My research focuses on measuring and reporting soil organic matter content across different land use types such as cropland and woodland. I explore the climate change mitigation potential of soil and the potential of adding soil organic matter through woodland restoration. For the second summer of the Laidlaw Scholars Leadership and Research Programme I produced a Leadership-in-Action Video about my project on sustainable agricultural practices in Williamsburg, Virginia. My LiA project involved interviewing farmers in and around Williamsburg, academic researchers at the local university, The College of William and Mary and the manager of the Williamsburg Farmers Market. I also produced a reflective essay about my experience over the Laidlaw Scholarship titled 'Learning, Growing and Developing as a Leader'.

1st year medical student at the University of St Andrews with a particular interest in cancer! Outside of university I am interested in cooking, chess, and the outdoors. Feel free to get in touch about any or all of these things :)

Hi! I'm Yasmin and I am a part of the 2022 cohort of Laidlaw Scholars. I am currently in my final year of study of the Neuroscience course at the University of Leeds! My research project is on Microglia Activation in Ageing and Neurodegenerative Diseases. 

Hello! I am a fourth-year undergraduate student majoring in chemistry at the University of Hong Kong. My research project was to develop an electrocatalytic method to upcycle chloride ions (Cl-) derived from polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a commonly used plastic product, into hypochlorite ions (OCl-), which is an active ingredient of bleach. Feel free to have a chat with me!

Hello! I am an undergraduate student from HKU! I am currently majoring in Economics and Mathematics.