Dr. Fatmah Mish Ebrahim was a Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) Fellow in the Optoelectronics group (OE) of the Cavendish Laboratory at Cambridge. Her research focuses on designing molecular materials for a range of energy- and environment-related applications. Drawing from a diverse background in inorganic chemistry, spectroscopy, and microengineering, Mish synthesizes materials with targeted functionalities, studies the mechanisms governing their photo-chemical behaviour, and uses those insights to construct prototypes that demonstrate their potential in real-world applications. Her primary activities at OE were two-fold, and involved: (i) a series of molecular light emitters, synthesized from the firefly bioluminescence substrate, for a new class of efficient, low-cost, colour-tunable, thin-film lighting devices; and (ii) a molecular catalyst containing a key structural component of chlorophyll that exhibits stable solar-to-chemical energy conversion for several weeks in ambient conditions.
Outside of the lab, Mish is passionate about education development, and has recently co-piloted a series of free, project-based STEM programs for schools in low-income districts of her native city of Karachi, Pakistan. She loves spending her free time being outdoors, socializing, painting, and hanging out with her brave little rescue dog, Peanut.
