Rosemary Rupesinghe

PhD Student

I was first introduced into the world of research at a metrology laboratory during my industrial placement year. Here I worked on a project that was investigating trace-level contaminants in recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET) water bottles using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled with mass spectrometry. During my final year of my bachelor’s degree in chemistry at the University of Surrey, I undertook another research project where I used spontaneous Raman to assess the homogeneity of radiation-grafted anion-exchange membranes which are used for a wide range of electrochemical technologies such as fuel cells, electrolysers and reverse electrodialysis.

Afterwards, I joined the Biospec group as a PhD student working with Syngenta and NPL in taking steps towards more efficient farming. The project focuses on synthesising nanopesticides and using Stimulated Raman Spectroscopy (SRS) to image and investigate their uptake into and translocation inside leaves.