Saiful Islam (chemist)

{{Short description|British chemist and professor of materials modelling (born 1963)}}

{{Infobox scientist

| name = Saiful Islam

| honorific_prefix = Professor

| honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|FRSC|FIMMM|size=100%}}

| image = Prof-Saiful-Islam-26154-31.jpg

| caption = Saiful Islam with crystal structures

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1963|08|14}}

| birth_place = Karachi, Pakistan

| nationality = British

| field = Materials chemistry
Lithium-ion batteries
Solid-state battery
Perovskite solar cells

| work_institutions = University of Oxford
University of Bath
University of Surrey
The Eastman Kodak Company
University College London

| alma_mater = University College London (BSc, PhD)

| awards = IOM3 Robert Perrin Award (2023)
Hughes Medal (2022)
American Chemical Society Award for Energy Chemistry (2020)
RSC Peter Day Award for Materials Chemistry (2017)
Wolfson Research Merit Award (2013–2018)
RSC Sustainable Energy Award (2013)

| doctoral_advisor = Richard Catlow {{post-nominals|country=GBR|FRSC|FRS|FInstP}}

| known_for = Chemistry of Energy Materials
Royal Institution Christmas Lectures (2016 Lecturer)

| website = {{URL|https://www.materials.ox.ac.uk/peoplepages/islam.html}}

}}

Saiful Islam (born 14 August 1963) is a British chemist and professor of materials modelling at the Department of Materials, University of Oxford. Saiful is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC), and received the Royal Society's Wolfson Research Merit Award and Hughes Medal, and the American Chemical Society Award for Energy Chemistry for his major contributions to the fundamental atomistic understanding of new materials for lithium batteries and perovskite solar cells.

Saiful is an atheist who refused the Order of the British Empire citing discomfort with the phrase "British Empire" and its link to colonialism.

Biography

= Early life and education =

Saiful was born in 1963 in Karachi, Pakistan to ethnically Bengali parents. The family moved to London in 1964 and he grew up in Crouch End, north London. There he went to Stationers' Company's School, a state comprehensive. He received both a BSc degree in chemistry and a PhD (1988) from University College London, where he studied under Professor Richard Catlow. Subsequently, he held a postdoctoral fellowship at the Eastman Kodak laboratories in Rochester, New York, working on oxide superconductors.

= Career and research =

Saiful returned to the UK in 1990 to become a lecturer, then reader, at the University of Surrey. In January 2006 he was appointed professor of Materials Chemistry at the University of Bath.{{Cite journal |last1=Islam |first1=M. Saiful |last2=Slater |first2=Peter R. |date=2009-12-01 |title=Solid-State Materials for Clean Energy: Insights from Atomic-Scale Modeling |url=https://doi.org/10.1557/mrs2009.216 |journal=MRS Bulletin |language=en |volume=34 |issue=12 |pages=935–941 |doi=10.1557/mrs2009.216 |issn=1938-1425|url-access=subscription }}{{cite journal |last1=Malavasi |first1=Lorenzo |last2=Fisher |first2=Craig A. J. |last3=Islam |first3=M. Saiful |title=Oxide-ion and proton conducting electrolyte materials for clean energy applications: structural and mechanistic features |journal=Chemical Society Reviews |date=19 October 2010 |volume=39 |issue=11 |pages=4370–4387 |doi=10.1039/B915141A |pmid=20848015 |url=https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2010/cs/b915141a |language=en |issn=1460-4744|url-access=subscription }} His group applies computational methods combined with structural techniques to study fundamental atomistic properties such as ion conduction, defect chemistry and surface structures.{{cite journal |last1=Mather |first1=G. C. |last2=Islam |first2=M. S. |last3=Figueiredo |first3=F. M. |title=Atomistic Study of a CaTiO3-Based Mixed Conductor: Defects, Nanoscale Clusters, and Oxide-Ion Migration |journal=Advanced Functional Materials |date=16 April 2007 |volume=17 |issue=6 |pages=905–912 |doi=10.1002/adfm.200600632 |s2cid=96841067 |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/adfm.200600632 |language=en|url-access=subscription }}{{cite journal |last1=Islam |first1=M. Saiful |title=Recent atomistic modelling studies of energy materials: batteries included |journal=Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences |date=28 July 2010 |volume=368 |issue=1923 |pages=3255–3267 |doi=10.1098/rsta.2010.0070 |pmid=20566510 |bibcode=2010RSPTA.368.3255I |s2cid=14558115 |url=https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/abs/10.1098/rsta.2010.0070|url-access=subscription }} In January 2022, he joined the Department of Materials, University of Oxford as a professor of materials modelling.{{Cite web |title=Saiful Islam |url=https://www.materials.ox.ac.uk/peoplepages/islam.html |access-date=2024-01-15 |website=www.materials.ox.ac.uk |language=en}}

Saiful has been a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Materials Chemistry, and sits on the advisory board of the RSC journal Energy and Environmental Science.{{cite web|title=Sustainable Energy Award 2013 Winner|url=http://www.rsc.org/ScienceAndTechnology/Awards/SustainableEnergyAward/2013-winner-sustainable-energy.asp|work=RSC|access-date=7 March 2018}} He is Principal Investigator of the Faraday Institution's 'CATMAT' project on Next-generation Lithium-Ion Cathode Materials.{{Cite web | url=https://faraday.ac.uk/research/lithium-ion/li-ion-cathode-materials/cathode-materials-catmat/ | title=Research - Lithium-ion cathode materials CATMAT; The Faraday Institution |access-date=28 April 2020}}

= Outreach and public engagement =

Saiful presented the 2016 Royal Institution Christmas Lectures, entitled "Supercharged: Fuelling the Future" on the theme of energy, a commemorative lecture series for the BBC which celebrated 80 years since the Christmas Lectures{{cite web|url=http://www.rigb.org/christmas-lectures/supercharged-fuelling-the-future/meet-saiful-islam|title=Collections : Ri Channel|publisher=Ri Channel|website=richannel.org|access-date=7 March 2018}} were first broadcast on television in 1936.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/aug/20/chemistry-professor-audience-dark-saiful-islam-royal-institution-christmas-lectures|title=Chemistry professor to leave audience in dark at Christmas lectures|last=Sample|first=Ian|date=19 August 2016|newspaper=The Guardian|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}} The lectures were broadcast on BBC Four, and achieved over 3.5 million interactions through the BBC broadcasts and social media. Saiful was interviewed before these lectures for articles in The Guardian.{{cite news |last=Davis |first=Nicola |date=4 December 2016 |title=Saiful Islam: 'You need more than one electric eel to light a Christmas tree' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/dec/04/saiful-islam-christmas-lectures-royal-institution-electric-eel |work=The Guardian |access-date=1 August 2020}}{{cite web|access-date=7 March 2018|title=Supercharged: Fuelling the future|publisher=The Royal Institution|url=http://www.rigb.org/christmas-lectures/supercharged-fuelling-the-future/|website=www.rigb.org}}{{cite news|first=Ian|last=Sample|title=Chemistry professor to leave audience in dark at Christmas lectures|url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/aug/20/chemistry-professor-audience-dark-saiful-islam-royal-institution-christmas-lectures|newspaper=The Guardian|date=19 August 2016|access-date=7 March 2018}} A demonstration in these lectures led to a Guinness World Record for the highest voltage (1,275 Volts) produced by a fruit battery using more than 1,000 lemons.{{cite news|title=Guinness World Records - Fruit Batteries |url=https://guinnessworldrecords.com/products/books/science-and-stuff-2018/make-and-break/fruit-batteries/}} Saiful later broke that record in 2021 after using 2,923 lemons to produce 2,307.8 Volts.{{Cite web |title=New GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title for highest voltage from fruit battery |url=https://www.rsc.org/policy-evidence-campaigns/environmental-sustainability/rsc-lemon-battery-breaks-guinness-world-records/ |access-date=2024-01-30 |website=Royal Society of Chemistry |language=en-GB}}

Saiful has served on the Diversity Committee of the Royal Society, and was selected for the Royal Society's 'Inspiring Scientists'{{Cite web | url=https://royalsociety.org/topics-policy/diversity-in-science/inspiring-scientists/ |title=Inspiring Scientists: Diversity in British Science |website=Royal Society}} project that recorded the life stories of British scientists with minority ethnic heritage in partnership with National Life Stories at the British Library. His outreach activities include talks on energy materials to student audiences using 3D glasses organised by the TTP Education in Action at the UCL Institute of Education, London.{{cite web| url=https://thetrainingpartnership.org.uk/speaker/saiful-islam/|title=Speaker Saiful Islam}} He was interviewed for The Life Scientific programme on BBC Radio 4 in October 2019.{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0009rhg |title=Saiful Islam on materials to power the 21st century |work=The Life Scientific |publisher=BBC Radio 4 |access-date=28 April 2020}}

On 23 November 2022, Saiful was an invited speaker at the Brian Cox & Robin Ince's Compendium of Reason charity event, which was at the Royal Albert Hall.{{Cite web |last=CosmicShambles |date=2022-11-24 |title=What Went on at the 2022 Compendium of Reason |url=https://cosmicshambles.com/words/news/what-went-on-at-22-compendium/ |access-date=2024-01-30 |website=The Cosmic Shambles Network |language=en-GB}}{{Cite web |date=2024-01-09 |title=St Anne's Fellow, Professor Saiful Islam, delivers invited talk at the Royal Albert Hall as part of "Compendium of Reason" charity event {{!}} St Anne's College, Oxford |url=https://www.st-annes.ox.ac.uk/st-annes-fellow-professor-saiful-islam-delivers-invited-talk-at-the-royal-albert-hall-as-part-of-compendium-of-reason-charity-event/ |access-date=2024-01-30 |language=en-GB}}

= Personal life =

As of 2021, Saiful lives in Bath with his wife, Gita Sunthankar (a local GP), and their two children, Yasmin and Zak.{{Cite web |title=Prof. M. Saiful Islam - Family Photo Gallery |url=https://people.bath.ac.uk/msi20/social/ |access-date=2024-01-15 |website=people.bath.ac.uk}}

Saiful is an atheist and Patron of Humanists UK.{{Cite web|url=https://humanism.org.uk/about/our-people/patrons/professor-saiful-islam/|title = Professor Saiful Islam|accessdate=19 January 2023}}

Awards and honours

Saiful is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC) since 2008 and the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (FIMMM), as well as Honorary Fellow of the British Science Association.{{Cite web |date=2022-12-01 |title=Honorary Fellows 2022 announced |url=https://www.britishscienceassociation.org/news/honorary-fellows-2022-announced |access-date=2024-01-11 |website=British Science Association |language=en}}

Saiful has received several RSC research awards including 2008 Francis Bacon Medal for Fuel Cell Science,{{cite news|url=http://www.rsc.org/ScienceAndTechnology/Awards/Archive/FuelCellScienceandTechnologyAward/FuelCellScienceAward.asp|title=Fuel Cell Science and Technology Award - Francis Bacon Medal|access-date=7 March 2018}} 2011 Materials Chemistry Division Lecturer Award, 2013 Sustainable Energy Award,{{cite web|url=http://www.rsc.org/ScienceAndTechnology/Awards/SustainableEnergyAward/2013-winner-sustainable-energy.asp|title=Sustainable Energy Award 2013 Winner|access-date=7 March 2018}} 2013 Wolfson Research Merit Award from the Royal Society,{{cite web|title=Professor Saiful Islam|url=http://royalsociety.org/people/saiful-islam/|work=Royal Society|access-date=7 March 2018}}{{cite news|url=http://royalsociety.org/news/2013/new-wolfson-research-merit-awards/|title=Royal Society announces new round of Wolfson Research Merit Awards|publisher=The Royal Society|date=26 April 2013|access-date=7 March 2018}}{{cite web|title=Fellow (FIMMM)|url=https://www.iom3.org/fellow-fimmm}}{{cite web|access-date=7 March 2018|title=Saiful Islam|url=https://www.bl.uk/voices-of-science/interviewees/saiful-islam|website=The British Library}} 2017 Peter Day Award for Materials Chemistry, 2020 Storch Award in Energy Chemistry from the American Chemical Society,{{cite news |title=ACS Award for Energy Chemistry -Henry H. Storch Award in Energy Chemistry |url=https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/funding-and-awards/awards/national/recipients/2020-national-award-recipients.html |access-date=19 May 2020}} 2022 Hughes Medal from the Royal society,{{Cite web |title=Hughes Medal {{!}} Royal Society |url=https://royalsociety.org/grants-schemes-awards/awards/hughes-medal/ |access-date=2024-01-11 |website=royalsociety.org|date=30 November 2023 }}{{cite web |title=Royal Society Hughes Medal |url=https://www.materials.ox.ac.uk/article/royal-society-hughes-medal |website=Department of Materials |publisher=University of Oxford |access-date=8 April 2025}} and the Robert Perrin Award from Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining.

In 2019, he declined a New Year Honours Award of an Order of the British Empire, because he is "never been comfortable with the words ‘British Empire’ in this award and the links to empire, colonialism, and slavery".{{cite web |date=May 2020 |title=An honour by any other name |work=LSE Higher Education |url=https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/highereducation/2020/01/20/1174/}}