Professor Andrea Russell

Profile

Professor Andrea Russell is a leading specialist in the application of spectroscopic methods to study the electrode/electrolyte interface, with particular emphasis on electrocatalysts and electrode materials for fuel cells, metal-air batteries, water electrolysers, and gas sensors.

Her work often involves the use of national and international facilities such as the Diamond Light Source, ISIS, and other synchrotron radiation sources in Europe and the USA. She is particularly known for her in situ and in operando X-ray absorption spectroscopic studies of electrocatalysts, with an emphasis on electrocatalysts for PEM (proton exchange membrane) fuel cells.

Andrea also takes part in collaborative projects on the identification of microplastics in the environment with colleagues in Oceanography and Environmental Sciences at Southampton, and on the use of vibrational spectroscopy in the analysis of heritage materials with colleagues from the Winchester School of Art and History.

In addition, she leads the Energy and Electrochemistry research group within the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering and is a key contributor to Southampton’s renowned summer school programme, Instrumental Methods in Electrochemistry.

Andrea is the author or co-author of more than 100 refereed papers and has chaired international conferences and symposia on fuel cells and electrocatalysis, as well as several symposia at annual meetings of the International Society of Electrochemistry. She is President Elect of the International Society of Electrochemistry and a Fellow of both the Royal Society of Chemistry and Higher Education Academy.

After completing her PhD in 1989 at the University of Utah and joining the US Naval Research Laboratory as a National Research Council Fellow, Andrea moved into academic roles in the UK in 1991. She joined the University of Southampton in 1997 and was promoted to Professor of Physical Electrochemistry in 2007.