I’m Maureen, a Black African, Igbo Mum originally from Nimo, Nigeria, and a first-generation highly skilled immigrant. Although there were difficulties at first, living in the UK became easier as the years progressed. In the last 15y, I have enjoyed working in education, teaching Maths and Science in local schools, sixth-form colleges and running my own supplementary school.
As soon as my children (now young adults and teens) got older and became more independent, I devoted my time to STEM research. My journey in academia has come with plenty of upheavals, bottlenecks, and gains. Being an ethnic minority woman was one of the shortcomings limiting my choices in accessing STEM research opportunities. Indeed, the Black community, especially women and girls are disadvantaged in areas of science research. With our allies and the government, we must come together to shift this paradigm.
My current role (July 2022 – present) as a Doctoral Researcher is challenging and rewarding. I am based in the Department of Chemical and Process Engineering, University of Surrey, Guildford. Fortunately, I have a very supportive, diverse, and inclusive supervisory team. My study is focused on reusing lignocellulosic biomass from agricultural plant residues as sustainable substrate substitutes replacing non-renewable, petrochemical-based feedstocks. Working with renewable plant biomass fostered my connection with the diverse team of ‘Black in Plant Science UK’.
The aim of my study is to ascertain the optimal processing pathways of multiple, green co-products and simplify lignocellulosic biomass supply chain configurations for sustainable production of platform chemicals such as xylitol, lactic acid, succinic acid, ethanol, and non-fossil jet fuels. My goal is defossilising feedstocks and achieving net-zero carbon emissions.
This research is inspired by the slow transition from fossil-based economy to Circular Bioeconomy. My study benefits from low-cost computer-aided, AI-driven technologies such as web ontology language (OWL). OWL is proposed for modelling integrated biorefinery processes used in the conversion of feedstocks such as sugarcane bagasse which are fibrous, renewable residues derived from sugarcane processing. My ontology model includes other integrated biorefinery feedstocks from agricultural residues, algal biomass, and food wastes. This semi-automated reference model catalyses decision-making configurations, accelerating predictions into minutes and seconds following multiple iterations. OWL infrastructure is expected to overcome current and inherent problems associated with lifecycle analysis. This digitalised web algorithm synthesizes intellectual assets due to its distinct semantic functionalities and reasoning capabilities.
Prior to my current doctoral studies, I completed an extensive research project (MRes.) at Cranfield University (Sep 2018 – Jan. 2022) where I explored a range of second-generation feedstocks (crude glycerol, agro-industrial residues, and food wastes) for the production of commodity platform chemicals.
I am developing into a competent biomass researcher who is excited about the future of lignocellulosic biomass as enablers of a decarbonised society and Circular Bioeconomy. I acknowledge the immense support of the Doctoral College of University of Surrey, EPSRC, and my principal supervisor – Dr Madeleine Bussemaker for making my research dream a reality.