Daniela Plana

Biography

I was born in Venezuela, where I graduated with a Chemistry degree from the Universidad Simón Bolívar in 2006. I then moved to the UK to study for a PhD at the University of Manchester, later taking up a postdoctoral position at the University of Bristol. I joined Keele in 2015 as a Teaching Fellow in Chemistry. I was heavily involved in the 3+1 joint degree between Keele University and Nanjing Xiaozhuang University (China), serving as School Internationalisation Director until 2019. In 2019, I became a Lecturer and I’m currently involved in teaching across all areas in the School: Chemistry, Physics and Forensic Science.

Research and scholarship

During my career I have specialised in Electrochemistry, mainly involvinging work related to Electrocatalysis and Materials for Energy and the Environment. I'm interested in and have worked on a variety of topics such as generation of fuels from greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide reduction and methane oxidation), electrocatalysis for fuel cells, diamond electrochemistry, metal deposition, materials for energy and electrochemical water remediation.

Over the last few years I have become involved in Chemical Education research, particularly regarding international students, transnational education, team-based learning, feedback and the use of technology for teaching.

Teaching

• CHE-10063: Chemical Structure and Reactivity
• PHY-10020: Oscillations and Waves (Module Lead)
• PHY-10022: Mechanics, Gravity and Relativity
• CHE-20059/65: Physical and Structural Chemistry
• CHE-20083: Spectroscopy and Molecular Structure
• CHE-30032: Advanced Chemical Analysis (Module Leader)
• FSC-30037: Advanced Forensic Chemistry
• CHE-30050: Chemistry/Medicinal Chemistry Research Project
• CHE-30051: Chemistry/Medicinal Chemistry Dissertation