Dr. Ian Thompson

Biography

Professor Ian Thompson has extensive expertise in microbial ecology, having trained in the field and earned his PhD, which focused on community dynamics in soils. After working at Shell, he joined the NERC Institute of Virology and Environmental Microbiology, where he became the Head of Environmental Biotechnology. In 2008, he joined the Department of Engineering Science at the University of Oxford and established the Environmental Biotechnology Group. His research is centered on developing sustainable methods for generating clean energy from waste, as well as cleaning up contaminated wastewaters and soils. His group particularly focuses on utilizing microbial processes and creating consortia capable of transforming environmental contaminants into harmless compounds, while also converting them into high-value products such as bioplastics and bioenergy. A significant area of his research involves rethinking the design of Anaerobic Digestors, aiming to improve their efficiency by mimicking natural processes found in cow’s rumen. His notable projects include the EPSRC-funded Liquid Fuel bioEnergy Supply CO2 Reduction project and a program aimed at generating biogas from dryland plants in Africa, in collaboration with the Oxford University Martin School.

Research Interests