Meet Our Team
RESTART brings together leading researchers and scientific leaders from Africa, Europe and the United Kingdom with expertise spanning renewable energy materials, synchrotron science, accelerator physics and scientific capacity building.
Marcus Newton
Project Lead
University of Southampton
Brings expertise in synchrotron-based materials characterisation, advanced X-ray imaging methods, and energy materials research, together with leadership experience in the African Light Source initiative.
Benjamin Agyei-Tuffour
Co-Investigator
University of Ghana, Ghana
Brings expertise in renewable-energy materials, energy-storage technologies, and synchrotron X-ray scattering methods applied to advanced materials research.
Muaaz Bhamjee
Co-Investigator
University of Pretoria
Brings expertise in computational modelling, high-performance computing, artificial intelligence, fluid dynamics, renewable-energy technologies, and large-scale scientific collaborations through CERN’s ATLAS experiment.
Richard Catlow FRS
Co-Investigator
University College London
Provides expertise in the application of computational techniques used in direct conjunction with experiment in probing the properties of complex materials.
Simon Connell
Co-Investigator
University of Johannesburg
Brings expertise in particle, nuclear, quantum and applied physics, together with extensive experience in large-scale international scientific collaborations and African science strategy.
Lerothodi Leonard Leeuw
Co-Investigator
University of Pretoria
Brings expertise in accelerator physics, particle physics, and large-scale international research infrastructure, providing valuable knowledge for the development, operation, and strategic planning of a future African synchrotron light source.
Edward Mitchell
Co-Investigator
European Synchrotron
Radiation Facility
Provides expertise in synchrotron facilities, training, international collaboration and strategic development of large-scale research infrastructures.
Phuti Ngoepe
Co-Investigator
University of Limpopo
Brings internationally recognised expertise in computational modelling of materials, particularly lithium-ion batteries and other energy-storage systems, using atomistic simulation techniques.
Victor Odari
Co-Investigator
Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, Kenya
Brings expertise in solar-energy materials, photovoltaic device characterisation, computational materials modelling, and research capacity building within the African materials science community.
Julia Parker
Co-Investigator
Diamond Light Source
Brings expertise in synchrotron X-ray and electron imaging, specialising in advanced nanoscale spectroscopy and high-resolution structural characterisation.