Bristol Electrosynthesis Meeting 2026
School of Chemistry, University of Bristol
30th March 2026
12:30 - 18:00
Supported by
BEM26 is open for registration, and for those wishing to give a presentation to submit an abstract.
The Bristol Electrosynthesis Meeting 2026 (BEM26) is the 5th annual gathering for the chemical community working and interested in the field of electrochemical synthesis. It will be held at the University of Bristol on the 30th of March 2026, and will feature plenary speakers supported by talks from early career researchers and postgraduate students. We are able to make this event free to participants in 2026 thanks to the support of the University of Bristol, Metrohm, IKA, Merck, Asynt and Alvatek.
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The final registration deadline for the event is 16th March 2026.
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Scientific Contribution
Participants who would like to present a short oral presentation are asked to register via the online form and submit their abstract to Mohamed Elsherbini (m.elsherbini@bristol.ac.uk). Abstract submission is encouraged from researchers in all areas of synthetic electrochemistry, including methodology development, reactor design, and electrode functionalisation. Abstract submission is currently open. The final deadline for abstract submission is 6th March 2026.
Plenary Speakers
Prof Zach Wickens
UW Madison, USA
"Selective Synthesis using Light and Electricity"
Zach Wickens is currently an Associate Professor of Chemistry at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Zach received his B.A. from Macalester College (2010) and his Ph.D (2015) from the California Institute of Technology with Robert H. Grubbs. In his doctoral work, he discovered and studied new catalyst-controlled Wacker oxidation reactions. Following doctoral studies, Zach was an NIH postdoctoral scholar in the lab of Eric N. Jacobsen at Harvard University. In his postdoctoral studies, he developed a useful synthetic methodology to prepare chiral building blocks and introduced a potentially general framework to precisely control reactive ionic intermediates. In 2018, Zach launched his independent career at UW–Madison where his group develops new approaches to generate and exploit reactive intermediates in organic synthesis using light and electricity. His research has led to a range of important discoveries, including advancing strategies to exploit abundant nucleophiles in oxidative alkene functionalization, introducing powerful photocatalytic systems for challenging reductions, and pioneering the use of formate salts as sources of CO2•–.
Industry Talk
Dr Riccardo Zaffroni
TNO, Netherlands
"Electrochemical Strategies Towards Industrial Electrification: Selective Conversion of Furfural to Pilot-Scale Operation"
University of Manchester
"Electrochemical Strategies for the Ring-Opening of Heterocycles"​
Giacomo grew up in Trezzo sull'Adda (Italy). He obtained both his BSc and MSc Degrees from Università degli Studi in Milan, where he undertook his final year projects in the laboratory of Prof. La Rosa and Prof. Dalla Croce – investigating the synthesis of novel isoxazoline heterocycles and their participation in chemoenzymatic reactions.
In 2012, Giacomo joined the Chemical Synthesis CDT (Centre for Doctoral Training) at the University of Bristol (UK). There, he started his doctoral studies under the supervision of Prof. John F. Bower. During his PhD, Giacomo investigated novel methodologies for selective C–C bond formation via Ir-catalysed C–H activation.
In 2017, he started a postdoctoral appointment in the group of Prof. Paolo Melchiorre at ICIQ (Tarragona, Spain), where, in 2018, he was awarded a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship. During this time, his efforts focused on the development of asymmetric reactions, enabled by the photochemical activation of organocatalytic and organometallic intermediates.
In 2020, Giacomo joined the University of Manchester (UK) as a Lecturer in Organic Chemistry, working in close collaboration with the research group of Prof David J. Procter on asymmetric Cu-catalysis, sulfonium salt-mediated couplings, and the reactivity of SmI2.
Two years later, Giacomo started his independent career at UoM, where he was appointed Lecturer in Net Zero Catalysis. Currently, his research interests span from synthetic radical chemistry (electrochemistry and photochemistry) to catalytic processes mediated by Earth-abundant metal sources and main-group elements.
Giacomo is a passionate cook and an avid Inter Milan fan.