back row: Nils, Kai, Moritz, Léonard, Zaid, Lovepreet
front row: Astha, Fabian, Zegha, Linnea, Franziska, Fiona, Diana, Naia
Prof. Dr Moritz F. Kühnel 
Moritz was born and raised in Berlin. He studied Chemistry at Freie Universität Berlin and obtained his PhD under the supervision of Dieter Lentz, developing homogeneous catalysts for selective C-F bond activation (link to PhD thesis) within the DFG Doctoral Training Centre ‘Fluorine as a Key Element‘. After a short stay with Thomas Braun at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, he joined Erwin Reisner’s lab in Cambridge to develop molecular electrocatalysts for CO2 reduction within the Christian Doppler Laboratory for Sustainable Syngas Chemistry. In 2018, Moritz moved to Swansea University as a Lecturer in Inorganic Chemistry. In 2020, he was promoted to Senior Lecturer and in 2023, he was appointed as an Honorary Associate Professor at Swansea University (full CV). From 2020-2022, Moritz held an additional part-time appointment with the Fraunhofer Society in Leuna, Germany where he served as group leader for Hydrogen Technologies at Fraunhofer IMWS before being promoted to head of the department Hydrogen Labs and Field Tests at Fraunhofer IWES. After briefly serving as a Visiting Professor, Moritz was appointed as Professor of Inorganic Chemistry (Chair) at the University of Hohenheim and Managing Director of the Institute of Chemistry in 2024.
Taylor Frost (since 9/2025)
Master’s student co-supervised by Dr. Sven Marhan (soil biology)
Zegha Ghirmay (since 5/2024)
Lab technician
Franziska Häberle (since 10/2023)
Administrative assistant of the Institute of Chemistry
Lovepreet Kapila (since 04/2025)
Research intern
Ellen Lambur (since 09/2025)
Lab technician
Léonard Olivotto (since 10/2022)
PhD student co-funded by Swansea University and Université Grenoble-Alpes (IDEX). His collaborative project is split between the labs of Alan Le Goff (Université Grenoble Alpes), Chrstine Cavazza (CEA Grenoble) and the Kühnel Lab and focuses on using redox enzymes in non-aqueous media for solar fuel production.
Linnea Ossenkop (since 5/2024)
Lab technician
Dr. Michail Papadakis (since 11/2025)
Postdoctoral Research Fellow working on the development of hybrid materials for photocatalysis. His research is funded by an ERA Green Hydrogen Fellowship from the DAAD. Michail holds a PhD from Aix-Marseille Université in photo- and electrocatalysis.
Fiona Parth (since 11/2024)
PhD student. Her project focusses on semiartificial photosynthesis.
Diana Pieger (since 10/2023)
PhD student. Her project focusses on photocatalytic CO2 reduction.
Dr. Astha Singh (since 1/2024)
Postdoctoral Research Fellow working on the development of porous materials for photocatalysis. She holds a PhD from the Indian Institute of Technology Mandi in photocatalysis and flow chemistry.
Dr. João Stival (since 11/2025)
Postdoctoral Research Fellow working on the development of metal-oxide based materials for photocatalysis. His research is funded by an ERA Green Hydrogen Fellowship from the DAAD. João holds a PhD from the Federal University of Paraná in photocatalysis.
Alumni
Zaid Wonde (6/2024 – 10/2025) – BSc student then research intern
Nils Weimper (04/2025 – 10/2025) – research intern
Atekelte Kassa (11/2024 – 10/2025)
Fabian Speck (04/2025 – 08/2025) – intern and BSc student
Naia Luengo Ibarra (03/2025 -07/2025) – Visiting PhD student from University of the Basque Country
Emeline Clauss (05/2025 – 07/2025) – Research Intern from the University of Grenoble
Marija Kuzman (10/2023 – 02/2025) – Lab technician
Alexander Engel (10/2023-02/2025) – Final-year PhD student, completed his work on chemical evolution
Kai Brinschwitz (3/2024 – 10/2024) – Research intern from University of Stuttgart
Mükahit Cem Peküz (7/2024 – 10/2024) – Research intern from Gebze Technical University, Istanbul. Returned to Istanbul to complete his undergraduate studies.
Dr. Wolfgang Einholz (10/2023 – 9/2024) – Private lecturer (privatdozent)
Claudia Görgen (10/2023 – 9/2024) – Lab technician. Retired after more than 10 years at Hohenheim.
Michael Allan (10/2018 – 1/2023) – PhD student (EPSRC), then research assistant (Ser Cymru, HEFCW). Moved to University of Michigan for a postdoc with Eranda Nikolla. Now at the Yan Lab at UArizona.
Maite Perfecto Irigaray (3/2022 – 6/2022) – Visiting PhD student from University of the Basque Country. Returned to Bilbao to complete her PhD.
Anna Catton (1/2022 – 5/2022) – BSc project student. Moved to University of Bristol for a PhD with Jonathan Reid.
Ellie O’Neill (1/2022 – 5/2022) – BSc project student
Sophie Powell (1/2021 – 5/2021 and 9/2021 – 5/2022) – BSc and MChem project student
Ethan Tull (1/2021 – 5/2021) – BSc project student
Ellis Willis (1/2021 – 5/2021) – BSc project student
Morgan McKee (1/2020 – 5/2020 and 9/2020 – 7/2021) – BSc and MChem project student. Moved to University of Montreal for a PhD with Nikolay Kornienko (now University of Bonn).
Ryan O’Neill (3/2019-3/2021) – MSc by research student funded by EPSRC
Max Kutter (3/2018 – 6/2018 and 10/2018 – 4/2019) – Erasmus+ fellow from Freie Universität Berlin, Germany. Moved to University of Bayreuth for a PhD with Christina Roth. Now working as Technical Project Lead at H-TEC Systems.
Martins Osaigbovo Omorogie, PhD (12/2018 – 4/2019) – ACU Blue Charter Fellow from Redeemer’s University, Nigeria. Currently AvH fellow at TU Munich.
César Feniou (6/2019 – 9/2019) – Summer intern from Ecole Normale Supérieure Paris-Saclay
Saleh Alofi (1/2019 – 1/2020) – MSc by research student funded by Taibah University, Medina
Moved to Queen’s University Belfast for a PhD. Now Assistant Professor at Taibah University.
Kühnel Lab 