Dr Jenny Baker is a Senior Technology Transfer Fellow at SPECIFIC, led by the University’s College of Engineering.
She was recently awarded an Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Early Career Researcher Fellowship of £1.3 million to develop novel, ‘fixed storage’ batteries which perform better, are kinder to the environment, and cut costs.
Dr Baker’s research under the Fellowship will take advantage of advances in one field of solid-state printed photovoltaics and apply them to the field of electro-chemical storage. The Fellowship will also allow her to increase the size of her team working in this area.
Dr Baker said: “By supporting a greater proportion of renewable electricity generations, fixed storage batteries will reduce energy costs and help to meet UK targets for limiting the catastrophic effects of climate change. To accelerate the commercialisation of the project, demonstrators will be manufactured and tested within low carbon buildings built as part of the SPECIFIC Innovation and Knowledge Centre project.”
A passionate advocate for sustainability, Dr Baker recently set up a Sustainability Committee within SPECIFIC, to encourage staff members within the project and across the University to be more environmentally friendly in the workplace.
Dr Baker is also the Swansea University lead for M-RHEX, a collaborative battery project involving internationally leading researchers on world-class materials research. She was the winner of Swansea University’s Research and Innovation award for ‘Early Career Rising Star’ in January 2020, an award which recognised her work in establishing a new Electrochemical Storage research group, and her prestigious EPSRC fellowship.
Dr Baker is the creator of Welshwomenwiki, training people to contribute to Wikipedia, promoting inspirational Welsh women, and reducing the current gender bias on Wikipedia. She has received funding to support and run women’s outreach events such as the first Welsh Soapbox Science, and she regularly runs outreach activities at science fairs and schools to encourage children’s interest in engineering. She is a member of the Women’s Engineering Society and holds events on their behalf.
