At SuperAIRE, we recognise that Early Career Researchers (ECRs) are vital to the future of AI for Renewable Energy. Our ECR initiatives aim to support researchers at early stages in their careers, whether in academia or industry, helping them grow their expertise, expand their networks, and accelerate their professional development.
We provide a structured program designed to enhance engagement, mentorship, and career advancement:
A dedicated community bringing together researchers across AI and Renewable Energy fields, fostering collaboration and idea exchange.
Our mentorship scheme pairs ECRs with experienced professionals from both academia and industry, offering career guidance and research insights.
Opportunities to gain hands-on experience through placements at leading AI and Renewable Energy companies.
Regular in-person and online sessions covering key topics such as AI-driven energy optimisation, digital twins, and responsible AI practices.
ECRs will have the opportunity to present their work at SuperAIRE events, including our key challenge workshops and international conference.
ECR grants will be available to support innovative small-scale research projects, seed funding for proposals, or networking/collaboration activities.
The ECR Working Group is currently made up of three members of the community who work to create more opportunities for ECRs within SuperAIRE as well as representing the network externally. If you would like to get in contact, please email the SuperAIRE resource account: [email protected]. Read more about the Working Group members here:
Dr. Jie Lin is a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) at the School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Queen’s University Belfast. He received his PhD in Mechanical Engineering from National University of Singapore and BSc in Mechanical Engineering from Shanghai Jiao Tong University. His research focuses on sustainable energy technologies for energy conversion and storage, air conditioning and thermal management, with an emphasis on multiscale and multi-physics battery characterisation, diagnostics, modelling and management. He has led 10+ research projects funded by EPSRC, Royal Society, STFC, Northern Ireland Department for the Economy, etc., and published 40+ international journals articles and a book in Springer Nature. He obtained 2019 and 2023 STFC “Futures Early Career Award” and LSMS2024 & ICSEE2024 “Best Paper Award”. He is the managing editor of Energy, a youth editor of The Innovation, a guest editor of Green Energy and Intelligent Transportation, Energy Technology and Discover Electrochemistry.
Dr. Tongtong Zhang is currently an Assistant Professor at the School of Chemical Engineering and the Birmingham Centre for Energy Storage, University of Birmingham. She obtained her PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Birmingham in 2021. Her research focuses on thermal and thermo-mechanical energy storage and conversion, and whole-system integration to support decarbonisation across the power, heat, and industrial sectors. Her work spans device modelling, process optimisation, system integration, and experimental demonstration. One of her key innovations, Mobile Thermal Energy Storage using composite phase-change materials, has been successfully demonstrated at a 100 kWh pre-pilot scale and has been shortlisted for the IChemE Global Awards 2024 (Renewable Energy category). She also serves as Managing Editor of Carbon Neutral Technologies and as Guest Editor for Energy Storage and Saving.
Dr. Mohammad Amir is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the School of Engineering, University of Liverpool, UK. He currently serves as the Lead Principal Investigator on EPSRC, Innovate UK, and UKRI funded projects, and is a recipient of the 2025 Early Career Researcher Award and Grant under the EPSRC-SuperAIRE programme. Previously, Dr. Amir served as a Lead PI and National Postdoctoral Fellow at the Department of Energy Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi, India. He was awarded the Typhoon-HIL-604 Device (£50k) at the Ee 2025, Europe. He earned his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the Advanced Power Electronics Research Laboratory, JMI, Delhi, where he also worked as a Research Assistant on a SPARC project in collaboration with Aalborg University, Denmark. From 2019 to 2021, he served as a Visiting Faculty at NSUT, University of Delhi, and later as a Visiting Research Associate at Qatar University on a NPRP project. Dr. Amir has authored over 50 peer-reviewed journal publications and a book. He holds two granted patents and has received Best Paper Awards at several international conferences. He has also served on technical programme committees for leading conferences. A recipient of GATE, UGC, MHRD, and SERB fellowships, Dr. Amir is a UK Global Talent Visa holder and is listed among the top 2% of scientists worldwide by Stanford University. He is an active IEEE Young Professional, a Global Mentor with IEEE-PES, and a Research Outreach Member of the IEEE-PELS, also professional engagement across technical societies such as IET, ASME, and CIGRE. His research interests include renewable energy integration, advanced energy storage systems, smart grids, electric vehicles, and AI-driven energy management.
