Following his graduation in the summer, Sam joined Croda as a Graduate Process Engineer.
During his studies, Sam completed an industrial placement year at GSK as a Downstream Process Engineer. In this time he achieved EngTech registration with IChemE.
Achieving a first-class degree, Sam gained the highest mark in his year group both for his individual design project and his final year research project.
During his time as a student, he was a keen musician, playing piano, trumpet and viola, and also a rugby player, captaining the Loughborough University 2nd team. As well as this, he was part of an outreach programme that involved tutoring maths to GCSE students. He is continuing these pursuits post-graduation.
Commenting on receiving the award from the Salters’ Institute, Sam said:
“I feel extremely privileged to receive this prestigious award from the Salters’ Institute recognising my hard work throughout my degree and placements.
“I would like to thank my family and friends for their support and encouragement through the highs and lows as well as the Department of Chemical Engineering at Loughborough who have helped develop me and equip me with the tools to pursue my future goals.
“I have thoroughly enjoyed starting my career at Croda putting into practice all I learned at Loughborough University to make a positive impact supporting Croda’s vision of a sustainable future.”
Candidates for the Salters’ Award are nominated by their university and those shortlisted are interviewed by a panel of academics and industry figures.
The graduate awards celebrate candidates that demonstrate ability to become leaders in their chosen field.
A prestigious award within Chemical Engineering and Chemistry related fields, the candidates are required to show passion, skills and motivation to lead and shape the UK chemical or related sector.
Sam received his award on 1 December and was joined by the Head of the Department of Chemical Engineering at Loughborough, Dr Andy Stapley for the ceremony.
Dr Stapley was delighted to see another Loughborough graduate scoop an award. He said:
“I am so pleased that Sam has won this award. He was a top student here and also showed himself to be a very capable leader. He looks set for an exciting and fulfilling career in chemical engineering, focusing on the transition away from petrochemical based feedstocks to more sustainable and environmentally friendly bio-derived feedstocks and recycled materials.”
Sam is not the first Loughborough graduate to be recognised through these awards, with 24 winners since 1994, and has made it five wins in a row, following Matthew Samson (2022), Alex Wright (2021), Daniel Gray (2020) and Emma Hutchinson (2019).
Congratulations, Sam on your recognition.