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drorlawilliams.bsky.social
Dr Orla Williams
@drorlawilliams.bsky.social
980 followers 890 following 180 posts
Assistant Professor in the Dept M3 @uniofnottingham.bsky.social: Milling expert researching low carbon fuels, mechanochemistry, critical raw materials and life cycle analysis. Rocket science is simple; it's the engineering that's hard
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Reposted by Dr Orla Williams
fbermingham.bsky.social
Finbarr Bermingham @fbermingham.bsky.social · 1d
Henry Gao as usual on the ball here to explain these controls
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drorlawilliams.bsky.social
Dr Orla Williams @drorlawilliams.bsky.social · 19h
Big implications from China's are-earth export controls - time to build up UK and EU capacity in REE through recycling! 🧪⚒️
fbermingham.bsky.social
Finbarr Bermingham @fbermingham.bsky.social · 1d
This could be really damaging. Just imagine Europe or Ukraine trying to buy a military item that contains a trace of a Chinese rare earth from a seller in the United States. Beijing would need to approve!
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drorlawilliams.bsky.social
Dr Orla Williams @drorlawilliams.bsky.social · 2d
I did my PhD on biomass milling with EDF Cottam; this marks the end of an era, but a new chapter begins with a solar farm rising in its place. Farewell to the past, hello to a brighter, cleaner future. 🌅⚡☀️ 🧪💡#EnergyTransition #Renewables”
wiilp.bsky.social
WillP @wiilp.bsky.social · Aug 14
Cottam coal power station demolished today (the cooling towers).

Will be replaced by a solar farm, using the same grid connection.
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drorlawilliams.bsky.social
Dr Orla Williams @drorlawilliams.bsky.social · 8d
#GoogleArts&Culture has published an in-depth feature on #mechanochemical techniques! 🧪🔬 Find out more at:

techniqueshttps://g.co/arts/Ux96GmdNYRWxy7g5A
Mix, Crush, Shear: The Tools of Mechanochemistry - Google Arts & Culture
Discover how old techniques can produce greener, cleaner new things
g.co
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drorlawilliams.bsky.social
Dr Orla Williams @drorlawilliams.bsky.social · 9d
A good news story about an injured #peregrinefalcon rescued by @uonresearch.bsky.social staff & released back on campus

blogs.nottingham.ac.uk/sustainablen...

There is at least one breeding pair of peregrine falcons on #UniversityPark hanging around the tower, chimney & other tall buildings. 🧪
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drorlawilliams.bsky.social
Dr Orla Williams @drorlawilliams.bsky.social · 22d
It was fantastic to share my #milling experiences in the power sector with the #mechanochemistry community at the @incomeofficial.bsky.social #conference at @bamresearch.bsky.social in #berlin this morning. 🧪💡🔌⚒️
incomeofficial.bsky.social
INCOME 2025 @incomeofficial.bsky.social · 22d
Orla Williams ( @drorlawilliams.bsky.social ) at #INCOME2025 delivered a powerful and inspiring talk:
Shaping Chemistry by Force: Using Advances in Milling Knowledge from the Power Generation Sector to Progress #Mechanochemical Extraction

@bamresearch.bsky.social
@humboldtuni.bsky.social
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drorlawilliams.bsky.social
Dr Orla Williams @drorlawilliams.bsky.social · 24d
#berlin by night
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drorlawilliams.bsky.social
Dr Orla Williams @drorlawilliams.bsky.social · 24d
Some great #mechanochemistry talks this morning at @incomeofficial.bsky.social. It’s also raining 🐱 and 🐶 so good to be inside! 🧪
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drorlawilliams.bsky.social
Dr Orla Williams @drorlawilliams.bsky.social · 25d
Dinner at the base of the #BerlinerFerstrum at @vapiano.bsky.social. Always a decent meal 🥘
drorlawilliams.bsky.social
Dr Orla Williams @drorlawilliams.bsky.social · 25d
On my way to #Berlin for the @incomeofficial.bsky.social conference!
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drorlawilliams.bsky.social
Dr Orla Williams @drorlawilliams.bsky.social · Sep 9
Today we picked up 16 bags of #miscanthus for our #biochar project funded by #pbc4ggr @aberuni.bsky.social. A big thank you to #Terravesta for organising this! 🧪🚜🔬
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drorlawilliams.bsky.social
Dr Orla Williams @drorlawilliams.bsky.social · Sep 4
⭐️#NottinghamshireWildlifeTrust Wilder #Nottinghamshire #Awards now open for nominations for individuals and businesses!⭐️

📆 #Submissions accepted until Sunday 26 October 2025

Apply now at: www.nottinghamshirewildlife.org/news/nominat...
Nominations now open to celebrate local champions for wildlife | Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust
Following the success of their launch last year, Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust has announced that nominations and applications for the Wilder Nottinghamshire Awards 2025 are now open. Submissions ope...
www.nottinghamshirewildlife.org
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drorlawilliams.bsky.social
Dr Orla Williams @drorlawilliams.bsky.social · Sep 1
For any current students doing a degree, they have no hope of clearing it - it is basically a #studentgraduatetax which particularly hits hard for female students and those doing postgraduate research degrees. 🧪
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drorlawilliams.bsky.social
Dr Orla Williams @drorlawilliams.bsky.social · Sep 1
🎆After just over 20 years, I have finally cleared my student load balance! 🎉💰

I "only" had ~£17K when I graduated (5 years inc 1 in london), but with doing a PhD and 2 maternity leaves, it has taken a loooong time to clear. 🤑
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Reposted by Dr Orla Williams
ukerc.bsky.social
UK Energy Research Centre @ukerc.bsky.social · Aug 29
The story of energy efficiency policy in the UK has been a bumpy ride.

In our latest blog, Mitya Pearson explores the lessons of the last 15 years of energy efficiency policy, for the future of policy in this area and climate change action more broadly.
ukerc.ac.uk/news/buildin...
Building Energy Efficiency and Climate Change Policy Inertia
The story of energy efficiency policy has been quite a bumpy ride. This blog explores the lessons from the last 15...
ukerc.ac.uk
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drorlawilliams.bsky.social
Dr Orla Williams @drorlawilliams.bsky.social · Aug 18
💻 Upcoming #Webinar: When Experiments Don’t Go as Planned: How to Stay Curious Instead of Frustrated 🧪💡🔌

📌 Monday 6th Oct 2025
🕓 4:00 pm

Join #BitesizeBio who will explore this simple but powerful habit 👍

💡 For details: www.ibioic.com/events-datab...

#science #biotechnology
Webinar: When Experiments Don’t Go as Planned: How to Stay Curious Instead of Frustrated — IBioIC
In this episode of The Happy Scientist Live, BiteSize Bio will explore a simple but powerful habit: learning to approach setbacks with curiosity instead of judgment. Instead of automatically label...
www.ibioic.com
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drorlawilliams.bsky.social
Dr Orla Williams @drorlawilliams.bsky.social · Aug 16
Interesting book review on how to approach lab leadership as a new lab leader 🧪💡🔌 another book for the library! 📚📖 www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Leading a lab, and all it entails
A chemist offers actionable leadership advice to principal investigators
www.science.org
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Reposted by Dr Orla Williams
sfrost.bsky.social
Stephen Frost @sfrost.bsky.social · Aug 15
Excellent article by @wouterpoortinga.bsky.social on drivers of climate policy support.

Perception matters. Policies must be seen to be fair & effective. Ppl need to know they’re not alone in supporting climate action.

“Climate action does not just need good policy, it also needs good psychology.”
Why some climate policies are more popular than others – a psychologist explains
Climate action does not just need good policy, it also needs good psychology.
theconversation.com
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drorlawilliams.bsky.social
Dr Orla Williams @drorlawilliams.bsky.social · Aug 14
Great to see the #EuChemS #PeriodicTable highlighting elemental scarcity (www.euchems.eu/euchems-peri...) support notes links to @uniofnottingham.bsky.social periodic videos by @bradyharan.bsky.social! www.periodicvideos.com 🧪🔬
The Periodic Table of Videos - University of Nottingham
Short videos about every element on the periodic table, plus other cool experiments and chemistry stuff
www.periodicvideos.com
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Reposted by Dr Orla Williams
drskyskull.bsky.social
Dr. SkySkull @drskyskull.bsky.social · Aug 12
New super-long physics blog post: Maxwell invents a demon, people get angry (1879). 🧪 skullsinthestars.com/2025/08/12/m...
Maxwell invents a demon, people get angry (1879)
Some time ago, I was browsing 150 year old popular science magazines as one does and I found an amusing editorial from 1879 in The Popular Science Monthly titled “Explanations that do not exp…
skullsinthestars.com
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drorlawilliams.bsky.social
Dr Orla Williams @drorlawilliams.bsky.social · Aug 12
Fantastic idea for summer reading. I’m keen to know anyone else’s sustainable energy #readinglist entries! 🧪🔌🔬💡
bioenergyeu.bsky.social
Bioenergy Europe @bioenergyeu.bsky.social · Jul 17
📚 Fuel Your Imagination this Summer! ☀️
The @bioenergyeu.bsky.social team is sharing something different: the books we love! From fiction to science, these picks will keep you inspired on holiday.
👉 Check out our #readinglist: bioenergyeurope.org/fuel-your-im...
What’s on your #SummerReads list?
Bioenergy Europe’s reading picks for an energetic summer
Whether you’re by the beach or simply enjoying a quiet moment at home, these books are here to energise you. Bioenergy Europe’s reading picks for an energetic summer fuel your imagination.
bioenergyeurope.org
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drorlawilliams.bsky.social
Dr Orla Williams @drorlawilliams.bsky.social · Aug 10
Milling is one of the oldest technologies and uses a crazy amount of the worlds energy, but we can learn from the past to make it more sustainable 🧪💡⚒️🔌
volcaholic1.bsky.social
Volcaholic @volcaholic1.bsky.social · Dec 24
Nashtifan, a village in Iran, is renowned for its 1,000-year-old windmills, among the oldest in the world, used for centuries to harness wind power and grind grain.
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Reposted by Dr Orla Williams
science.org
Science Magazine @science.org · Aug 8
Not only do catnip and silver vine hold a special place in felines’ hearts, but the intoxicating chemicals in these plants also protect cats from mosquito bites, according to #ScienceAdvances research from 2021.

Learn more on #InternationalCatDay: scim.ag/3HpxYwv
A figure showing the neurophysiological and functional significance of silver vine response in cats.
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drorlawilliams.bsky.social
Dr Orla Williams @drorlawilliams.bsky.social · Aug 7
"We think that we can probably produce 30% of the rare earths needed by Europe just by recycling end of life motors and other equipment" 🧪🔬⚒️💡🔌 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
How Europe is vying for rare earth independence from China
The EU is aiming to increase its own production of rare earth metals, led by a facility in France.
www.bbc.co.uk
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drorlawilliams.bsky.social
Dr Orla Williams @drorlawilliams.bsky.social · Jul 31
Detecting fraud ‘is a job for professionals, not peer reviewers’ - could not agree more 🧪
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-o...
Detecting fraud ‘is a job for professionals, not peer reviewers’ - Research Professional News
Integrity investigator Elisabeth Bik urges publishers, journals and institutions to take responsibility
www.researchprofessionalnews.com
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