Alvin Orbaek White

Dr Alvin Orbaek White is an Associate Professor and former Sêr Cymru II Fellow at the Energy Safety Research Institute (ESRI) in Swansea University.

His vision is to advance global energy sustainability by developing more efficient and equitable methods of transmitting electricity. His research activities include the circular economy philosophy to close the loop on the carbon cycle. Throughout his academic career, Dr Orbaek White has worked to develop innovative methods to synthesise and characterise carbon nanomaterials. He completed his PhD at Rice University, USA, on the catalytic growth of single-walled carbon nanotubes. At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), he developed a novel technique resulting in the growth of SWCNTs with centimetre length scales; called ultra-long CNTs.

Global energy security is not merely a technical challenge because long-term security in a balanced society must also account for the human element, people. All people should have ready access to needed technologies and opportunities to grow and thrive to the best of their human capacity. At the individual level, Alvin works to create an inclusive and dynamic learning environment in his classrooms (in-person and virtual) to ensure the growth of his students to go beyond his teaching. He sits on the Board of Swansea University’s Black And Majority Ethnic (BAME) Network to instil growth within the University and Academic enterprise with the aim and hopes to bring equal opportunity to all students and staff regardless of their background.

He is an alumnus of the Welsh Crucible (2017) and the Digital Economy Crucible (2017). In 2019 he founded TrimTabs Ltd to bring his technologies from the lab space to the marketplace. in 2020 he was selected to participate in The Royal Society Parliamentary Pairing Scheme.