Dr Kat Skerratt-Love
Royal Society Career Development Fellow at the University of Liverpool
Engineering · Chemistry · Astronomy and physics
For Kat Skerratt-Love, glass is one of the most misunderstood materials around. While most of us think of windows, bottles or phone screens, she explores the surprising roles glass can play in everything from fertiliser and toothpaste to space technology.
Coming from industry into research, Kat is driven by solving real-world problems, constantly asking how materials can be useful and how they might help address some of society's biggest challenges. It is perhaps fitting for someone who once considered a career in music that she sees research not as a solo performance, but as part of a much larger orchestra, contributing notes and knowledge that help lay the foundations for future technologies and sustainable solutions.
Kat believes that sustainability is not just about the materials we use, but the decisions we make along the way. She works to share the importance of material lifecycles, helping people understand the bigger picture and prioritising evidence and transparency over idealism. Her approach is grounded in trial and error, and in the understanding that scientific exploration is as much about getting things wrong as it is about getting them right.
Glass is a material with enduring relevance and remarkable versatility, and for Kat its potential lies not only in what it can do today, but in the possibilities it may unlock tomorrow. From protecting people to supporting a more sustainable future, she is helping us see this familiar material in an entirely new light.
