Dr John Conti-Ramsden
Director
Dr John Conti-Ramsden is the Director of the KCMC. He has extensive experience in the materials chemistry space across the US and the UK, and he holds a PhD in macrocycle chemistry.
What do you do at the KCMC?
My role is largely to lead the development of the programme across all of our industry and academic partners. This also involves working with our industrial steering groups and other key sponsors across the HVM, CPI and Innovate UK. A key part of what we do is building trust between people, so I like to be very consultative in my work.
What are your strengths?
I genuinely enjoy the process of innovation! And my broad experience of different industries and strong technical background mean that I can understand the language and identify critical issues quickly.
I think it’s important to listen carefully, in order to understand the needs and limitations of the academic partners, as well as interests of the companies. This helps to build trust early on, and it allows me to spot underlying trends and to help our partners respond to them.
Why do you enjoy working at the KCMC?
We get to work with world-leading experts across our partner universities and companies, which is very stimulating. Sometimes the pace of change can make it tough, but it’s worthwhile. We’re utterly professional, and are well-connected across the innovation landscape, which means that I get to work in a multicultural, diverse sector.
I personally enjoy solving difficult problems – we get lots of challenges through the door! And that gives me the opportunity to constantly learn new things, which is very special at this stage of my career.
What area of materials science excites you?
Too many to mention! But one area I think will undergo a huge change in the coming years is renewable energy. There are materials challenges right across storage, generation, and transmission, and in all cases, the nanoscale has become mainstream.
