An EconoTimes perspective

Alvin Orbaek White

Senior Lecturer in Engineering and Sêr Cymru II Fellow, Swansea University

Senior Lecturer in Engineering and Sêr Cymru II Fellow, Swansea University Dr. Alvin Orbaek White is a Senior Lecturer and Sêr Cymru II Fellow and at the Energy Safety Research Institute (ESRI). His vision is to advance global energy sustainability by developing more efficient and equitable methods of transmitting electricity. He is building a research group that develops new methods to produce and use carbon nanomaterials. While also building a community of researchers and stakeholders to engage this issue. He aims to impact the environment both locally and globally positively. This will be done in a two-fold manner. Firstly, by taking carbon waste and turning it into carbon nanotubes (CNTs). Secondly, to use CNTs to transmit electricity because they are much lighter so they offer mass savings and specific forms (ballistic conductors) transmit electricity with near-zero loss. Alvin also has active research interests in Blockchain technologies and innovation, as well as pursuing impact activities to communicate the socio-technical aspects of science and technology better. Throughout his academic career, Dr. Orbaek White has worked to develop innovative methods to synthesise and characterise carbon nanomaterials. He completed his PhD at Rice University, USA, on the catalytic growth of single-walled carbon nanotubes. At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), he developed a novel technique resulting in the growth of SWCNTs with centimetre length scales; called ultra-long CNTs. Alvin's research activities are now heavily focused on using circular economy philosophy to close the loop on the carbon cycle. Alvin is an alumnus of the Welsh Crucible (2017) and the Digital Economy Crucible (2017).