Renee Goreham

Renee came to the engineering profession by accident, but since starting her postgraduate studies she hasn’t looked back.

“I realised that I was interested in engineering new materials and making old materials better. The thought of generating new compounds/materials that can change the way we live – such as polymers, Kevlar or POSS (Polyhedral Oligomeric Silsesquioxane) – drives my research,” says Renee.

During the course of her research, Renee engineered a novel aluminium alloy coating that inhibited corrosion, as an alternative to toxic chromate based methods. Results have shown that the silane-based coating she manufactured provided better corrosion resistance than other silane coatings.

“I realised that I had actually created something that could be used industrially to replace the very toxic chromate based method – it was a very proud moment,” she says.

Now, Renee is concentrating on completing her PhD thesis, which is on generating gradients of nanoparticles for a better understanding of a cell’s interaction at a nanoscale. Her research may help in the development of biomedical devices that save lives and change the course of medicine.