School of Management alumnus Jon Hughes and his wife Catherine have generously pledged more than £670,000 to support six Research with Impact PhD Scholarships in sustainability. These prestigious scholarships enable us to attract the best and brightest inventors and innovators that are essential to scientific research.

“What excites us about sustainability research at Bath is that it’s investing in future technologies that will enable people to continue to live the lives they want to live but in a much more sustainable and less polluting way,” says Jon.

Finding future fuels is key to addressing the climate crisis. Not only is the University leading a multi-million research hub, but we’re also hosting the first green hydrogen manufacturing plant in the South West, finding ways to harness hydrogen and alternative liquid fuels as a sustainable energy source in aviation, marine and heavy-duty transport, which are hard to electrify.

Catherine adds:

“We want the UK to be a leader in developing future fuels, with Bath at the forefront."

The Hughes have long championed postgraduate research, supporting their first student more than a decade ago. “We both have a real affinity for Bath,” explains Jon, “Catherine was born here, and I studied business at the University. Bath played a big part in my career, so it’s great to give something back and help advance scientific knowledge.”

The variety of research the scholars have undertaken ranges from exploring astrophysics to developing technological solutions to help Alzheimer’s patients live independently for longer, and over the years, they’ve been able to see research projects transform from ideas into reality.

“We were one of the early supporters of Asel Sartbaeva’s research into stable vaccines and that’s become a phenomenal thing,” he says. Asel has since developed life-saving technology to make vaccines stable in all temperatures, meaning more people around the world can be immunised against vaccine-preventable diseases.

Catherine says:

“We wanted to help people doing important work, and Bath’s PhD programme enabled us to do that. We felt we were very close to where the money was being used and knew it was having a direct impact – making a difference to people's lives, advancing science, as well as the reputation of the University, and that was compelling. It made it an easy decision to support.”