Dr. SocMan Ho-Kimura

I was born in Macau. After high school, I moved to Tokyo to study at Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology majoring in applied chemistry. I received a scholarship from the Education Ministry of Japan for three years to complete my study until a master's degree. In my master's, I mainly studied catalytic reactions on platinum group catalysts.

Following this, I worked at Konica Minolta in the research and development of medical photographic films. I focused my research on photosensitivity dyes/agents while simultaneously applying for patents. I also managed and trained laboratory assistants. While collaborating with Chiba University, I received my doctoral degree in 2007. My doctoral research thesis received an Academic Award of The Society of Photographic Science and Technology of Japan in 2008.

For my postdoctoral work, I started to learn about solar energy conversion as a visiting researcher in the lab of Professor James Durrant at Imperial College London (October 2010−December 2011). I investigated photogenerated charge transfer reactions using transient laser spectroscopies. Also, I researched solar-driven water splitting by metal oxide semiconductors and studied CO2 reduction by using ruthenium complex catalyst. Since 2012, I have been working with Professor Junwang Tang and Professor Ivan Parkin from University College London. My research activities involve the fabrication, measurement and analysis of metal oxide photoelectrodes, the development of low-cost, visible light active semiconductor electrodes (e.g. BiVO4, Cu2O and Fe2O3) and the application of solar fuels synthesis. I am interested in the development of new materials/devices for solar energy conversion, and the elucidation of their mechanism. In 2017, I was appointed as a research assistant professor at the University of Macau, allowing me to investigate this field deeper.