I lead a research group at the University of Warwick working on porous functional materials - zeolites, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), and MOF-derived carbons - for energy storage and sustainable chemical conversion. My approach is to study these materials while they work: in-situ and operando characterisation (synchrotron XAFS and tomography, solid-state NMR, FT-IR and Raman), often using reactor and spectroscopic cells of my own design. Current focus: MOF-derived carbon electrocatalysts and single-atom catalysts for zinc-air batteries, PVDF-free binders for lithium-ion batteries, operando synchrotron imaging of dendrite growth, and inkjet printing of oriented MOF thin films onto electrode surfaces. This builds on twenty years across heterogeneous catalysis and biomass valorisation.