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HomeAcademic staffDr Philip Howes
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I am a Visiting Academic in the Division of Mechanical Engineering and Design. I specialise in nano- and microscale engineering, with applications in the healthcare and energy sectors.

I have a highly multidisciplinary academic background. Originally studying Physics as an undergraduate, I completed a PhD in nanomaterials chemistry at King’s College London, which was followed by postdoctoral work at University College London (in materials science) and Imperial College London (in bioengineering). Prior to joining LSBU in 2021, I was a Senior Scientist at ETH Zürich (in chemical engineering), having moved to Switzerland as the recipient of a Marie Skłodowska Curie Individual Fellowship.

I have published research articles in a range of areas, including nano- and microscale engineering, microfluidics, materials chemistry, biosensing and in vitro diagnostics, and optoelectronic materials. A central theme of my work has always been the discovery and engineering of nanomaterials for application in functional devices.

My research focuses on ways to expedite the translation of nanomaterials from the fundamental study through to advanced applications. The work combines materials chemistry with microfluidic instrumentation development in the search for more efficient, economical and higher performance functional nanomaterials. A particular focus is on photoluminescent and plasmonic nanomaterials, which have great potential to help overcome the grand challenges facing human society, including in energy and healthcare. These nanomaterials harness or transform light energy in various ways, and possess unique attributes as high performance components in advanced applications. Areas of particular impact include their use in effective solar cells, energy-efficient lighting, advanced in vivo imaging and sensitive in vitro diagnostics. Although great progress has been made in these fields already, there is vast potential waiting to be unlocked, which is exactly the aim of my research activities.

Courses taught

Mechanical Engineering - BEng (Hons)

Mechanical Engineering - MEng (Hons)

Advanced Vehicle Engineering - BEng

Mechanical Engineering - MSc

Mechanical Engineering - PhD

Postgraduate Research Supervision
Current
Mr Ngonidzashe Neal MunyebvuAccelerating nanomaterial development with flow chemistry, automation, and algorithmsPhD
Mr Sherif Abdel Ghaffar Mohamed ElsoudyPerformance assessment of nanoparticle-enriched lubricants for internal combustion enginesPhD
Miss Esme Willow LaneUsing high throughput experimentation and atomistic simulations to investigate colloidal quantum dotsPhD
Mr Sean Paul DoidgeNanoparticle bioconjugates for early-stage cancer diagnosis through detection of miRNAPhD

Awarded in the last 5 years
Julia NettePhD
Akkapol Suea-NgamPhD
Shangkun LiPhD
BSc Physics

King's College London

2003
2006
PhD Nanomaterials Chemistry

King's College London

2006
2010
FunderYear wonProjectRole
Royal Society of Chemistry 2023Towards new cancer diagnostic assays using emergent nanoparticle-enzyme interface phenomenaPrincipal Investigator
Royal Society2022Enhancing wind turbine performance with nanolubricantsPrincipal Investigator
Royal Society of Chemistry 2021Ligand Engineering of Heavy-Metal Free Quantum Dots for Solar CellsPrincipal Investigator

Filter publications

Strain‐Promoted Cycloadditions in Lipid Bilayers Triggered by Liposome Fusion
Jumeaux, C., Spicer, C.D., Charchar, P., Howes, P., Holme, M.N., Ma, L., Rose, N.C., Nabarro, J., Fascione, M.A., Rashid, M.H., Yarovsky, I. and Stevens, M.M. (2024). Strain‐Promoted Cycloadditions in Lipid Bilayers Triggered by Liposome Fusion. Angewandte Chemie International Edition. p. e202314786. https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202314786

Transforming Nanomaterial Synthesis with Flow Chemistry
Munyebvu, N., Nette, J., Stavrakis, S., Howes, P. and deMello, A.J. (2023). Transforming Nanomaterial Synthesis with Flow Chemistry. CHIMIA. 77 (5), p. 312. https://doi.org/10.2533/chimia.2023.312

Microfluidic synthesis of monodisperse and size-tunable CsPbBr3 supraparticles
Nette, J., Montanarella, F., Zhu, C., Sekh, T.V., Boehme, S.C., Bodnarchuk, M.I., Rainò, G., Howes, P., Kovalenko, M.V. and deMello, A.J. (2023). Microfluidic synthesis of monodisperse and size-tunable CsPbBr3 supraparticles. Chemical Communications. https://doi.org/10.1039/D3CC00093A

Accelerating colloidal quantum dot innovation with algorithms and automation
Howes, P., Munyebvu, N., Lane, E. and Grisan, E. (2022). Accelerating colloidal quantum dot innovation with algorithms and automation. Materials Advances. https://doi.org/10.1039/d2ma00468b

Noble Metal Nanoparticle Biosensors: From Fundamental Studies toward Point-of-Care Diagnostics
Geng, H., Vilms Pedersen, S., Ma, Y., Haghighi, T., Dai, H., Howes, P. and Stevens, M. (2022). Noble Metal Nanoparticle Biosensors: From Fundamental Studies toward Point-of-Care Diagnostics. Accounts of Chemical Research. 55 (5), pp. 593-604. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.accounts.1c00598

An amplification-free ultra-sensitive electrochemical CRISPR/Cas biosensor for drug-resistant bacteria detection.
Suea-Ngam, A., Howes, P. and deMello, A. (2021). An amplification-free ultra-sensitive electrochemical CRISPR/Cas biosensor for drug-resistant bacteria detection. Chemical science. 12 (38), pp. 12733-12743. https://doi.org/10.1039/d1sc02197d

A review of Laser Powder Bed Fusion Additive Manufacturing of aluminium alloys: Microstructure and properties
H.R.Kotadia, G.Gibbons, A.Das and Howes, P. (2021). A review of Laser Powder Bed Fusion Additive Manufacturing of aluminium alloys: Microstructure and properties. Additive Manufacturing. 46, p. 102155. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addma.2021.102155

MicroRNA Detection by DNA-Mediated Liposome Fusion
Jumeaux, C., Wahlsten, O., Block, S., Kim, E., Chandrawati, R., Howes, P., Höök, F. and Stevens, M. M. (2018). MicroRNA Detection by DNA-Mediated Liposome Fusion. ChemBioChem. 19 (5), pp. 434 - 438. https://doi.org/10.1002/cbic.201700592

Bright, near infrared emitting PLGA-PEG dye-doped CN-PPV nanoparticles for imaging applications
Kemal, E., Abelha, T. F., Urbano, L., Peters, R., Owen, D. M., Howes, P., Green, M. and Dailey, L. A. (2017). Bright, near infrared emitting PLGA-PEG dye-doped CN-PPV nanoparticles for imaging applications. RSC Advances. (25), pp. 15255-15264. https://doi.org/10.1039/c6ra25004a