Overview

Join us in exploring exciting careers across the different fields of chemical engineering. Four professional chemical engineers will deliver speeches about their careers diving into the fields of chemical manufacture, food and beverage, green hydrogen, engineering project management, water and wastewater, commercial research and design, and the academic career track.

Do not miss this event if you are a chemical engineering student thinking of your future career in chemical engineering. Local professional engineers are more than welcome to join for the talks and the networking session which will conclude the day. Lunch and refreshments will be provided for in-person attendees.

The event will be held at the Lister Learning and Teaching Centre which is an 11-minute walk away from the Edinburgh Waverly Station via the scenic Old Town of Edinburgh.

Why attend?

• Discover a selection of chemical engineering fields and how a career in them looks like
• Network with local professionals
• Enhance your career prospects
• If you're an undergrad student, you can still attend by becoming an IChemE member for free.
  
  

Who should attend?

• Chemical engineering students thinking about their future career
• Professional chemical engineers who would like to network with the next generation of chemical engineers

Speakers

Fraser Borthwick, Research Lead, Impact Solutions

Fraser began his chemical engineering journey in secondary school. From there he went on to align the rest of his studies with the aim of studying a Master's in chemical engineering. Fraser went on to join the MEng course at Heriot-Watt where he graduated with a 2:1 in 2023. He was picked up by Impact Solutions straight out of university as a Research Specialist and have since worked his way up to leading a sustainable process innovations team driving real world change through process intensification.

Rachel Fox, Engineering Manager, Scottish Water

Rachel joined Scottish Water as an engineering graduate in 2013 and has since built a career across the organisation, taking on roles in asset strategy, resilience and optioneering. She now leads Scottish Water’s engineering teams and is responsible for technical assurance and value management across the capital programme. Rachel is also championing a step change in standardisation, driving the adoption of standard products and the expansion of a design library to help deliver more consistent, efficient solutions.

John McRitchie, Senior Project Engineer, Green Cat Hydrogen

John is a chemical engineer and senior project engineer with more than 10 years of experience across the chemical, food and beverage and green hydrogen sectors. His roles have spanned plant operations, maintenance turnarounds, continuous improvement, EH&S and process safety compliance and capital project delivery, ranging from small plant upgrades to multimillion-pound new build plants. At Green Cat Hydrogen, he supports the development of green hydrogen projects to facilitate decarbonisation of hard-to-abate sectors.

Sam Lau, Professor in Circular Chemical Engineering, University of Edinburgh

Sam is a personal chair in circular chemical engineering at the School of Engineering, The University of Edinburgh. Sam’s background is in materials science, with particular focus on separation applications. He is a graduate of Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Flinders University and The National University of Singapore in electronics and computer engineering, nanotechnology and chemical engineering.

The material presented has not been peer-reviewed. Any opinions are the presenter's own and do not necessarily represent those of IChemE or the National Early Careers Group. The information is given in good faith but without any liability on the part of IChemE.

Time

10:00–17:00 GMT.

Agenda

• 10:00 – Registration and morning refreshments
• 10:45 – Introductory talk
• 11:00 – Speaker 1: Mr John McRitchie
• 12:00 – Speaker 2: Prof Sam Lau
• 13:00 – Lunch break and networking
• 14:00 – Speaker 3: Mr Fraser Borthwick
• 15:00 – Speaker 4: Dr Rachel Fox
• 16:00 – Afternoon refreshments and networking

Software

The presentation will be delivered via Microsoft Teams. We recommend downloading the app from the Microsoft website, rather than using the web portal.