Downing PhD student wins Gold at Parliament
Andrea Rogolino, a third-year PhD student at Downing College, has won Gold at the Houses of Parliament in London for a competitive poster presentation.
His poster, an entry in the annual STEM for Britain competition which showcases the work of early-career scientists, engineers and mathematicians, presented research into the solar-driven full valorisation of waste cooking oil.
Andrea’s research focuses on taking waste oil from diesel and turning it into valuable products using sunlight to power the process. For his competition entry, Andrea sourced waste oil from a College kitchen and converted it into useful chemicals, using sunlight from the roof of the Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry as the only energy input.
Shortlisted from hundreds of candidates, his poster won the Gold Award in the Chemistry category ahead of dozens of other scientists.
"We scientists enjoy playing with our toys on the bench so much that we can easily forget that science does not end at the threshold of the laboratory," said Andrea.
"Science is all about understanding how the world around us works, and we have a responsibility to share our knowledge and passion with that world outside".
Andrea’s work has now been published in the journal Energy and Environmental Science.
Image: Andrea Rogolino, courtesy of STEM for Britain
Published 28 April 2026