James Andrew Bennett was born in Derby, England in 1981. He obtained a first class degree in Chemistry (MChem) and a PhD in catalysis at the University of Leicester. His thesis investigated the use of perfluoroalkyl moieties to allow heterogenisation of homogeneous catalysts over zirconium phosphate supports. In 2007, he started work as a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Birmingham on a multidisciplinary project, investigating biogenic heterogeneous catalysts composed of transition metal nanoparticles supported on bacterial biomass. The goal of the project was to use waste metals (e.g. recovered from automobile catalytic converters or electronic scrap) and waste biomass (e.g. from industrial fermentation processes) to produce an economically valuable product in the form of active and recyclable catalysts for a range of chemical transformations and involved a 6-month KTN secondment at C-Tech Innovation. James then worked with Professors Karen Wilson and Adam Lee at the European Bioenergy Research Centre (EBRI) at Aston University (2013-2016), developing sustainable catalysts for pyrolysis oil upgrading. During his time at Aston, James completed a Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, granting him fellowship status with the Higher Education Academy. James has always enjoyed teaching and during his research career continually sought out opportunities to lecture, tutor and pass on his enthusiasm for chemistry. In 2017, James joined the University of Hull as a Teaching Fellow to pursue his passion for education before moving to the University of York in 2018 as an Associate Lecturer. He has worked at the University of Nottingham since 2019 and is currently Assistant Professor in Chemical Education.