Geography, Geology and the Environment

I came to Keele as a mature student in 1997 to study dual honours Biology and Chemistry BSc. I then went on to complete a PhD in thermochemical corrosion of materials in 2000 with Keele and Ceram Research. I worked as Keele's Business and Enterprise Manager until 2008 when I left to run my own training and innovation company, NovaSci Ltd. During this time I lectured in innovation and entrepreneurship at Coventry and Staffordshire Universities and managed innovation projects across a variety of industrial and educational sectors. I was recruited as Lecturer in Green Technology and Environmental Sustainability in 2010 and I am Course Director for the MSc in Environmental Sustainability and Green Technology.

My research area is in high temperature materials chemistry, particularly corrosion and gas, liquid and solid interfaces. In particular I have researched the corrosion of refractory materials for the regenerators of glass furnaces. My PhD project focussed on the theromochemical corrosion mechanisms of cruciform alumina-zirconia-silica refractories.

I also have an interest in barriers to commercialisation of technology and entrepreneurship and have carried out a study into the barriers to female entrepreneurship in the West Midlands.

Lockyer J., George S., (2010) What Women Want: Barriers to Female Entrepreneurship in the West Midlands, In: ISBE 33rd Annual Conference, Looking to the Future: Economic and Social Regeneration through Entrepreneurial Activity, London 2-4th November 2010 (in press)

George, S.D., Cronje, M., Farn, S.M., (2006) Modelling High Temperature Refractory Structures for the Glass Furnace, Advances in Science and Technology, Vol.45, pp. 2308-2315

Farn, S., (2004), Thermochemical Corrosion of Alumina-Zirconia-Silica Refractories for Glass Furnace Regenerators, PhD, Keele University

Baxendale, S., Farn, S., (2002) Glass Making Refractories – Importance of Corrosion Assessment, Refractories Engineer, pp. 15-18

• MSc Environmental Sustainability and Green Technologies (Course Director)

Module leader for:

• ESC - 40032 Clean and Green Technologies II - Power from Beneath the Earth
• ESC- 40031 Clean and Green Technologies I - Power from Above the Earth
• ESC - 40030 Case Studies in Sustainability
• CHE - 10045 Entrepreneurship
• CHE - 00035 Entrepreneurship