Prof. Richard Bourne
Profile
Richard A Bourne is currently Professor of Digital Chemical Manufacturing at the University of Leeds based at the Institute of Process Research and Development (IPRD) at Leeds, working on rapid process development and continuous flow chemistry. His research group is particularly focused on rapid optimisation of pharmaceutical processes using automated systems.
Richard is a Royal Academy of Engineering Research Chair working on Digital Discovery and Manufacturing of Pharmaceuticals.
Responsibilities
Member of School of Chemical and Process Engineering Research & Innovation Committee
Group lead for Digital Manufacturing and Emerging Technologies Research theme in Chemical Engineering.
Dial-a-Molecule Steering Group Member
Research Interests
Development of new sustainable processes with focus on continuous flow routes to pharmaceutical and fine chemical products. Our group is based within the Institute of Process Research and I am particularly interested in the use of automated flow systems combining online analysis, feedback control and evolutionary algorithms to provide process understanding and optimisation. This particularly interdisciplinary research at the interface between Chemistry and Chemical Engineering aims to develop processes at laboratory, pilot plant and manufacturing scales.
He is leading a 4 year EPSRC project 'Cognitive Chemical Manufacturing' that is developing an Industry 4.0 approach coupling machine learning algorithms to a cyber-physical reactor platform.
Grant: Cognitive Chemical Manufacturing - EPSRC
Grant: NanoMan: Self-Optimising Nanoscale Manufacturing Platforms for Achieving Multiscale Precision - EPSRC
Grant FLEXICHEM: Flexible Digital Chemical Manufacturing Through Structure/Reactivity Relationships - EPSRC
Grant: Digital Discovery and Manufacturing of Pharmaceuticals - Royal Academy of Engineering / AstraZeneca
Grant: Intensified by Design® For the Intensification of Processes Involving Solids Handling - IbD (EU)
Grant: Robust and affordable process control technologies for improving standards and optimising industrial operations - ProPAT (EU)
Grant: Driving down the cost of waste derived sugar - CelluPAT (Innovate UK)
Grant: Optimising the production of thermoset resins from MSW-derived sugars - OPTOMS (Innovate UK)
Grant: Multifunctional Electrochemical Flow Platform for High-Throughput Synthesis & Optimisation of Catalysts - MEPHISTO (EPSRC)
Grant: A Multifunctional Flow Platform For Enhanced Biobutanol Production - EPSRC Catalysis Hub
Grant: Self-optimising Reactors for Pharmaceutical Process Development (hosted at AstraZeneca) - Royal Academy of Engineering
Research Groups and Institutes
Institute of Process Research and Development
Digital Manufacturing and Emerging Technologies