Research in Action Workshop on Critical Minerals and the Green Energy Transition

Research in Action Workshop27-28 April 2026The Science of Critical Minerals and the Realigning Global Order

In partnership with: INET, Cambridge Central Asia Forum, Jesus College, University of Cambridge; ‘The Green Industrial Policy in the Age of Rare Metals: A Transregional Comparison of Growth Strategies in Rare Earth Mining Project’ (Funded by European Research Council (ERC) administered by University of Sussex, UK; and British Management University Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

Co-sponsored by Department of Science Technology and Innovation, UK (DSIT).

Concept Note:

This proposal outlines an initiative focused on the critical geopolitical, economic, and developmental transformations in Central Asia and broader Eurasia. It aims to foster dialogue, research, and capacity building among scholars, students, and stakeholders dedicated to understanding this evolving region. The main aim is to integrate sciences with humanities and social science research on minerals and materials referred to as critical minerals that are essential to the Fourth Industrial Revolution and for clean energy transformation. This project aims to identify gaps in the critical minerals story globally by engaging with scientists and thinking through technological breakthroughs that serve as disruptive technologies. The aim here is to look beyond myths of supply chain disruptions and geopolitical machinations and do a deep dive into ‘critical for whom, and critical for what?’ when discussing minerals (metals) essential to servicing energy needs.

The initiative is centered on analyzing the complex interplay between global macroeconomic trends, geopolitical shifts, and regional development processes, with a specific geographical focus on Central Asia and the Eastern Neighbourhood.

Key themes:

Critical Minerals, Global Economy, and the Fourth Industrial Revolution: Examining the role of critical minerals in driving global economic transformation and the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and how these dynamics impact resource-rich regions like Central Asia.
Geopolitical Realignments and the Evolving International Order: Analyzing the shifting power balances, emerging security architectures, and the subsequent geopolitical realignments that are reshaping the international system, with a focus on their manifestation in Eurasia.
Historical Perspectives on Development Processes: Employing a historical lens to understand the long-term trajectories, successes, and challenges of development in the region.
Political Economy and Global Governance Infrastructure: Investigating the complex relationship between domestic political economies and the international Global Governance Infrastructure, including multilateral institutions and regional cooperation mechanisms.
Addressing Global Challenges: Considering how the region engages with and responds to pressing global challenges, such as climate change, pandemics, and economic inequality.

Organising Team:

Sunanda Nair-Bidkar (INET)

Bikram Barman (INET)

Prajakti Kalra (University of Cambridge)

Siddharth S Saxena (University of Cambridge)

Jewellord Nem Singh (University of Sussex)

Yingfeng Ji (University of Sussex)

Attendance by invitation only.

Research in Action Workshop 2026

Programme
27–28 April 2026

Ray Dolby Centre, Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge

Day 1 — 27 April

10:00 – Registration & Tea/Coffee

10:30 – Welcome Note: Sunanda Nair-Bidkar, INET

10:45 – Panel 1: Introductions

Theme: The current landscape of studying critical minerals in Social Sciences, Physics, Chemistry, Engineering; Green Transition, AI, 4IR; Need for Interdisciplinary Research.

Siddharth S. Saxena – Professor, University of Cambridge, Introductory reflections on interdisciplinary critical minerals research
Jewellord Nem Singh –Professor, University of Sussex, Critical minerals in political economy and development studies
Prajakti Kalra – University of Cambridge, Interdisciplinary approaches to critical minerals

10:45-11:15 Keynote Lecture

Peter Nolan – Professor, University of Cambridge
Global political economy and resource transitions

11:15–12:30 – Panel 2: Energy Materials

Chair: Hayrullo Hamidov, Professor, Navoi University of Mining Science and Technology

Sian Dutton – Professor & Deputy Head, Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, What scientists consider “critical minerals” and why: materials science and quantum technologies
Zhumabay Bakenov, General Director, Institute of New Materials and Energy Technologies (INMET), Academy of Sciences, Kazakhstan
Mathew Coak – Assistant Professor, University of Birmingham, New 2D quantum materials: science discovery to fuel an electronics revolution
T Ramazanov, Professor at KAZNU and Head of Physical Society of Kazakhstan, Thermonuclear energetics: plasma physics and materials science

12:30–13:45 – Lunch

13:45–15:15 – Panel 3: From the Region

Theme: Material Strategies and Prospectives
Chair: Chokan Laumulin, Kazakh British Technical University

Maratbek T. Gabdullin – Professor and Rector, Kazakh British Technical University, Kazakhstan’s national critical minerals landscape
Anton Souslov – Professor, Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Metamaterials as alternatives to critical minerals
Didar G. Batryshev – Associate Professor & Vice President, Academy of Sciences of Kazakhstan, State of geological mapping and mineral resources
Holly Middleton-Spencer – Research Associate, University of Birmingham, Ultracold atoms for quantum advantage

15:15–16:15 Panel 4: Commodity Trade and Networks across time and space

Chair: Prajakti Kalra

Prajakti Kalra – University of Cambridge, Mining the Heartland: The Mongol Pivot in Central Asia's Mineral Revolution
Magnus Marsden – Professor and Director of Asia Centre, University of Sussex, Trading networks and regional political economy
Roman Osharov – MIASU, Cambridge and Post-Doc at University College Dublin, The ‘Critical Minerals’ of the Nineteenth Century: Manganese Mining in the Russian-ruled Caucasus

16:15-16:30 – Tea & Coffee

16:30–17:45 – Panel 4: Critical Minerals and Commercialisation

Chair: Siddharth S. Saxena

Hayrullo Hamidov – Professor, Navoi Mining Institute, Uzbekistan, Mining and materials discovery in Uzbekistan
Lionel Henderson, Vice-Rector, British Management University, Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Vladislav Zavadskiy – Resource Economist and Mining Services Expert, Kazakhstan, Critical Minerals and Commercialisation in Central Asia: Key Players, Market Segments and Perspectives

Ray Dolby Centre, Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge

Day 2 — 28 April

10:00 – Tea & Coffee

10:15–10:45 – Chair: Yuri Loktionov, Rector, British Management University in Tashkent

Akshay Rao – Professor, Cavendish Laboratory, Materials and Matters of Energy Transition

10:45–12:00 – Panel 1: Mining, Export Diversification & Industrialisation

Chair: Yingfeng Ji, Post-Doctoral Research Associate, University of Sussex

Jewellord T. Nem Singh – Principal Research Fellow, University of Sussex, From Structural Capacity to Fragmented Developmentalism: Why Mineral-Upgrading States Diverge Under Strategic Competition
Annabel Marin – Research Fellow, University of Sussex, Critical Minerals and Industrial Development: Old Wine in New Bottles?

12:00–13:15 – Panel 2: The Changing Geopolitics of Mining & Supply Chains

Chair: Jewellord T. Nem Singh, Principal Research Associate, University of Sussex

Christopher Vandome – Programme Lead, Critical Minerals Initiative, Chatham House, London
Geopolitics of critical minerals
Clement Sefa-Nyarko – Lecturer in Security, Development and Leadership in Africa, King’s College London, From strategic minerals to social risk: Rethinking vulnerability in critical mineral supply chains
Aidan Barlow – Lecturer, Department of Social & Policy Sciences, Centre for Development Studies (CDS), University of Bath, Industrialisation through Geopolitics? Critical Minerals and Development in Zambia’s Mining Sector

13:15–14:15 – Lunch

14:15–15:30 – Panel 3: Mining and the Challenge of Legitimacy

Chair: Anabel Marin – University of Sussex

Tomas Frederiksen – University of Manchester, Critical minerals governance, politics and development: comparing Serbia and Zambia
Chokan Laumulin – Professor, Kazakh British Technical University, Kazakhstan’s Critical Mineral strategies and issues of legitimacy
Serik Orazgaliyev – Associate Professor & Co-Chair SSDN, Nazarbayev University, Can Mining Be Environmentally Cleaner & Sustainable?

15:30–15:45 – Tea & Coffee

15:45–17:30 – Critical Energy: Resources, Infrastructure & Geopolitics

Chair: Prajakti Kalra, University of Cambridge

Alaeddine Louetti – Centre of Development Studies, University of Cambridge, North Africa's Green Moment: Minerals, Multipolarity and the Fight to Set the Terms
Habiba Abdelshakour – Centre of Development Studies, University of Cambridge, Governing the Transition: Infrastructure, Finance, and External Actors in Egypt's Energy Sector
S.K. Mani – Centre of Development Studies, University of Cambridge, Technological Sovereignty in China’s Semiconductor Sector

17:45–18:30 – Panel 4: Roundtable — Future of Critical Minerals Research

Theme: Gaps, interdisciplinary pathways, and future methodologies.

Siddharth S. Saxena – University of Cambridge
Prajakti Kalra – University of Cambridge
Jewellord Nem Singh – University of Sussex
Yingfeng Ji – University of Sussex

Discussion prompts:

Mining vs Green Transition
Pollution, People, Climate Change
Quantity vs Disruptive Technologies
Geopolitics vs National Strategies
Economic development vs Universal needs

18:30 – Concluding Remarks

18:45 – Cavendish Tour followed by Drinks Reception

Speaker Biographies

Habiba Abdelshakour, University of Cambridge Abdelshakour is an MPhil student in the Centre of Development Studies in the University of Cambridge. Habiba Abdelshakour holds a BA degree in Economics. She is passionate about tackling energy inequality and shaping inclusive, data-driven policies that foster climate resilience and equitable growth across Africa and the Global South. Her academic interests sit at the intersection of sustainable development, energy security, and global political economy. Habiba is pursuing an MPhil in Development Studies and is committed to leveraging evidence-based policymaking to address structural challenges and advance sustainable transformation. At Cambridge, she is excited to deepen her research, collaborate with a global network of changemakers, and contribute to reimagining just and sustainable energy futures for the continent.

Dr. Florian Anderhuber, EUROMINES Anderhuber has gathered extensive experience in EU public affairs, both from a corporate and an association angle and within the EU institutions. Prior to his engagement in Euromines, Dr Anderhuber headed the office of Aurubis. In his capacity as Director for Energy, Climate and Sustainability for Euromines, he is also responsible for sustainability matters such as Sustainable Finance and sustainability reporting, addressing EU mining causes in various EU Expert Groups and at OECD level.

Dr. Aidan Barlow, University of Bath Barlow’s primary research focuses on the political economy of the extractives sector in Sub-Saharan Africa through a temporal lens. In particular, he focuses on the hydrocarbon sector in East Africa, and the battery metals sector in Southern Africa. His PhD focused on the temporalities of the hydrocarbon sector in Tanzania, with a particular focus on Resource Nationalism, Local Content and the wider temporalities found in the Tanzanian hydrocarbon sector. Alongside these focuses, he also have research experience and interests in the political economy of agriculture, agro-industrialisation, and agricultural value chains in Southern and Eastern Africa.

Prof. Didar G. Batryshev, Vice President, National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Kazakhstan Professor Batryshev is a leading figure in the scientific community of Kazakhstan, currently serving as the Vice President of the National Academy of Sciences. With a background rooted in high-level physics and chemical technology, his current portfolio involves the strategic oversight of national research initiatives and science policy. Prof. Batryshev is instrumental in shaping the scientific landscape of Kazakhstan, focusing on international research collaboration and the commercialization of scientific breakthroughs to drive the national economy.

Prof. Zhumabay Bakenov received his Doctor of Engineering from Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan. He is currently a Professor of Chemical and Materials Engineering at Nazarbayev University in Kazakhstan and also serves as a Director of Centre for Energy and Advanced Materials Science of National Laboratory Astana. His research focuses on new materials for next generation energy conversion and storage.

Dr. Matthew Coak, Assistant Professor and Research Fellow, University of Birmingham Coak is a lecturer in physics at the University of Birmingham, where his group works on synthesising and exploring new two-dimensional materials. His speciality lies in subjecting promising new compounds to extremes of pressure, temperature and magnetic field to discover new phenomena that can be harnessed for future technologies. He completed his PhD at the University of Cambridge's Cavendish Laboratory, followed by postdoctoral posts at Seoul National University, the University of Warwick and the London Centre for Nanotechnology, starting his group at Birmingham in 2023.

Prof. Siân Dutton, Deputy Head, Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge Siân Dutton is a Professor in Physics and Solid-State Chemistry at the Cavendish Laboratory in the University of Cambridge and Director of the Winton Programme for the Physics of Sustainability. Siân completed her DPhil. on the ‘Synthesis and Characterisation of Mixed Metal Oxides’ under the supervision of Prof. Peter Battle in Oxford after gaining a MSci Degree in Chemistry from University of Cambridge.. She then moved to Princeton University for postdoctoral work with Prof. Bob Cava on geometrically frustrated magnets. Since 2012 Siân has been based at the Cavendish Laboratory first as a Winton Advanced Research Fellow, and subsequently as a University Lecturer (2015) and Reader (2018) and now a Professor. Her multidisciplinary research group explores the relationships between composition, structure, and physical properties with a focus on energy materials, including materials for rechargeable batteries, hybrid perovskites and low temperature magnetocalorics. She is a memeber of management comittee of Cambridge Central Asia Forum at Jesus College, Cambrdige.

Dr. Tomas Frederiksen, University of Manchester The current focus of his research is the processes, policies and institutions through which environmental change in the global South is constituted and its consequences for international development. In particular, how the practices of mining companies in Zambia, Ghana and Peru are shaped through international, national and local regulatory pressures producing specific socio-environmental outcomes. His research examines historical and contemporary natural resource extraction and international development along three axes: (i) transnational environmental governance and international development, (ii) The political ecology of natural resource extraction in Africa and Latin America and (iii) the historical and contemporary geographies of colonialism in Africa.

Prof. Maratbek T. Gabdullin, Rector, Kazakh-British Technical University (KBTU) Professor Gabdullin serves as the Rector of the Kazakh-British Technical University, a premier institution for energy and technology education in Almaty. A distinguished physicist by training, his research interests span nanotechnology, plasma physics, and materials science. Under his leadership, KBTU has solidified its reputation as a bridge between industry and academia, particularly in the oil and gas and IT sectors. Prof. Gabdullin is a frequent contributor to international scientific journals and is an advocate for the digitalization of higher education and the development of "Green" technologies.

Prof. Hayrullo Hamidov, Navoii State Mining and Technological University Professor Hayrullo Hamidov is a prominent academic leader and expert in the field of mineral resource processing and mining engineering. As a professor of the Navoii State Mining and Technological University (formerly the Navoii Mining Institute), he plays a pivotal role in advancing Uzbekistan’s industrial innovation. His work focuses on the integration of sustainable mining practices and the development of high-tech solutions for the extraction of precious metals. Prof. Hamidov is deeply committed to fostering international academic partnerships and modernizing engineering education in Central Asia. He completed his BSc. and PhD Degrees at Bristol University in United Kingdom and His Post-Doctral Work at University of Edinburgh and Rutherford Appleton Labs in Oxfordshire. He is a visiting scientist at Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge.

Prof. Lionel Huntley Henderson DBA is the Deputy Rector of Postgraduate Programmes British Management University Formerly he was the Head of School, Business and Management, at The Sino-British College-USST, a joint venture between the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology and nine UK partner universities. He enjoys teaching accounting and finance-based subjects and has taught students enrolled on various programs from the Bachelor to Doctorate level. He has held several adjunct positions for other Transnational Education partnerships, e.g., Honorary Senior Lecturer for the University of Aberdeen’s Executive Master of Business Administration (EMBA) program in Shanghai; Adjunct Professor for Webster University’s International Master of Business Administration (iMBA) jointly offered with Shanghai University of Finance and Economics and the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China. He was also a Visiting International Professor for Emlyon’s Business School in Shanghai.

Dr. Yingfeng Ji, Research Fellow, University of Sussex Ji is a Research Fellow at the University of Sussex, with Prof JT Nem Singh. specializing in the intersection of industrial policy, innovation, and the global green economy. She complete her PhD at University of Cambridge, which was supervised by Prof SS Saxena and was titled, ‘’ Interpreting Belt and Road Initiative Dynamics in China and Kazakhstan.’’ Her work often examines the dynamics of low-carbon technology transfer and the role of emerging economies in global value chains. With a focus on empirical analysis, Dr. Ji contributes to understanding how policy frameworks can accelerate the adoption of sustainable energy solutions while balancing economic competitiveness. She is an active contributor to international dialogues regarding the governance of green industrialization.

Prajakti Kalra, University of Cambridge Kalra is a Research Officer at the Cambridge Central Asia Forum and the Research Networks Manager at Wolfson College, University of Cambridge. With an academic background spanning history, political science, and psychology, her research provides a unique interdisciplinary lens on the Eurasian region. She is the author of the acclaimed book, The Silk Road and the Political Economy of the Mongol Empire (Routledge, 2018), which re-evaluates the role of nomadic empires in early globalization. Her current work focuses on bringing local Eurasian narratives into global discourse and exploring the International World Order in medieval period. She did her MA in International Relations from the University of Chicago and MPhil in Persian Studies from the University of Cambridge. She obtained her BA in History and Psychology from Indiana University, Bloomington.

Prof. Chokan Laumulin, Kazakh-British Technical University (KBTU), Kazakhstan. He is a Professor, School of Social Sciences, The Kazakh-British Technical University, Almaty, Kazakhstan; Research Affiliate, Cambridge Central Asia Forum, Jesus College, University of Cambridge, Member of the Education Committee, British Kazakh Society, UK; Vice Chair, The UNECE Committee on Sustainable Energy, Geneva, Switzerland. He holds a PhD from Darwin College and Centre of Development Studies, University of Cambridge (2019), an MSc degree from the London School of Economics (2001) in European Political Economy, and a BSc degree (distinction) in Journalism from the Kazakh National University (1996). He specialises in science and industrial policy

Prof. Yuri Loktionov is Rector of British Management University in Tashkent He completed his Ph.D. in Management from MIT Sloan School of Management (USA) and master's in finance, Boston College (USA). Dr. Loktionov brings extensive experience in university management, finance, and international consulting across the USA, China, Russia, and Kazakhstan. He has led major accreditation and recognition projects with bodies such as ACBSP, the CFA Institute, and Harvard’s Microeconomics of Competitiveness Network. He previously served as Vice President at the Kazakh-British Technical University, overseeing social science programmes and internationalisation. His academic roles include Professor of Finance (KBTU), Visiting Professor (Beijing Foreign Studies University), and Assistant Professor (University of Southern California). His expertise spans financial statement analysis, valuation, and investment risk assessment. He also holds a Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

Alaeddine Loueti, University of Cambridge Loueti is a strategy and development-oriented analyst with cross-sectoral experience in financial inclusion, social investment and public policy. He is pursuing an MPhil in Development Studies and holds a BA degree in Banking and Finance from the Lebanese American University. Alaeddine has contributed to development projects in Tunisia and across the MENA and African regions in collaboration with organisations including UNDP and the IFC-World Bank. His experience spans fieldwork, stakeholder engagement, investment and policy analysis—leading focus groups, developing behavioral research on financial access for youth and women, and assessing agricultural value chains. Deeply committed to the development of Tunisia and the wider region, he aims to support inclusive, evidence-based policy solutions that advance equitable and sustainable socio-economic transformation.

Dr. Holly Middleton-Spencer, Research Fellow, University of Birmingham Middleton-Spencer is a Research Associate at the University of Birmingham. She completed her PhD in Mathematics at Newcastle University in 2023, where she worked on modelling quantum turbulence in ultracold atomic systems. After a short Postdoc in the history of science at Newcastle University, she moved to Birmingham where she works with Professor Hannah Price on a multi-university Programme Grant focussing on studying ultracold atoms and molecules, and how they can be used to observe various phenomena such as extra-dimensional space, exotic phases of matter, and quantum computing.

Prof. Magnus Marsden, University of Sussex Marsden is a Professor of Social Anthropology and Director of the Sussex Asia Centre at the University of Sussex. His work is centrally concerned with the study of Asia's Muslim societies. Magnus has conducted extensive fieldwork in Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Afghanistan, as well as with diasporic communities from this region in the Gulf, Eastern Europe, and China. He sits on the International Advisory Board of Central Asian Survey and the Editorial Board of Modern Asian Studies. He completed his PhD at Trinity College, Cambridge in 2002. Between 2002 and 2007, he was the Graduate Officer in Research at the Centre of South Asian Studies and a Title A Research Fellow at Trinity College. He then moved in 2007 to the Department of Social Anthropology at SOAS, University of London, before joining Sussex as Professor of Social Anthropology in November 2013. His research has been funded by major grants from the Leverhulme Trust, the ERC (Advanced Grant), and AHRC.

S. K. Mani, University of Cambridge Mani is doing his MPhil in the Centre of Development Studies in the University of Cambridge. He is studying Chinese technological sovereignty and semiconductor industrial policy. His research focuses on private finance entry in nuclear energy, and industrial value chains and inequality dynamics in Southeast Asia. He has a bachelor’s degree from Duke University.

Dr. Annabel Marin, Institute of Development Studies (IDS) Annabel Marin is a researcher specializing in the intersection of innovation, international development, and natural resource management. She currently serves as the Leader of the Business, Markets, and State Cluster at the Institute of Development Studies (IDS). Her work primarily focuses on how developing countries can leverage natural resources to foster industrial growth and technological advancement. Marin is a strong advocate for "resource-based industrial policy," arguing that sectors like agriculture and mining can serve as platforms for high-tech innovation.

Sunanda Nair-Bidkar, INET & YSI Sunanda Nair Bidkar has over three decades of entrepreneurial experience working at the intersection of Law, Strategy, Policy, the Academy, and Government. Trained as a lawyer in India and the United States, she began her career as an Attorney in the Supreme Court of India, attached to the chambers of the constitutional lawyer K.K. Venugopal, the former Attorney General for India. Nair Bidkar earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in History with Honors from the Hindu College, University of Delhi, a Bachelor of Laws degree from the Campus Law Centre, University of Delhi, and a Master of Laws degree from Columbia Law School in New York.

Dr. Jewellord T. Nem Singh, Principal Research Fellow, University of Sussex Singh is a Principal Research Fellow at the University of Sussex and a leading expert in the political economy of development. He is the Principal Investigator of the ERC-funded project GRIP-ARM, which examines green industrial policy and the global race for rare metals. His research focuses on the intersection of natural resource governance, industrial policy, and the clean energy transition. Dr. Nem Singh is the author of Business of the State: Why State Ownership Matters for Resource Governance (Oxford University Press, 2024).

Prof. Peter Nolan CBE, Jesus College, Cambridge Prof Peter Nolan is the Founding Director of the University’s Centre of Development Studies and was the Director of Jesus College's China Forum. He is the Director of the Chinese Executive Leadership Programme (CELP).The Financial Times commented: "Nolan knows more about Chinese companies and their international competition than anyone else on earth, including in China".Peter Nolan has spoken at the Chinese Government’s annual China Development Forum since its inception in 2000. He has testified at the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission of the US Congress and lectured to the Board of the US-China Business Council. He is a member of the UK Government’s Asia Task Force and the China Council of the World Economic Forum. He holds an honorary doctorate from the Copenhagen Business School. In 2009 he was awarded the CBE (Commander of the British Empire) "for services supporting China’s integration into the global economy

Prof. Tulkin Nurmuradov, Navoii State Mining and Technological University, Uzbekistan Professor Nurmuradov is a highly respected specialist in chemical technology and mechanical engineering at the Navoii State Mining and Technological University. His research significantly contributes to the optimization of industrial processes and the efficiency of mining machinery. Prof. Nurmuradov is recognized for his extensive publication record and his dedication to training the next generation of engineers in Uzbekistan.

Associate Prof. Serik Orazgaliyev has been with Graduate School of Public Policy in Nazarbayev University since 2016 first as an Instructor, Assistant Professor and currently as an Associate Professor and Co-Chair of Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) country chapter in Kazakhstan. He held visiting professor positions at Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore (2017) and at the Center for International Development and Environmental Research, Justus Liebig Universität (Germany, 2024). He was also appointed as a Research Fellow at Hiroshima University in Japan (NERPS Center) and CAREC Institute in China, Urumqi.

Dr. Roman Osharov is a historian of the Russian Empire and Eurasia in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. He is currently a European Research Council Postdoctoral Fellow in the School of History at University College Dublin, which he joined shortly before completing his PhD in History at the University of Oxford. He continues to work on Russian rule in Central Asia, the focus of his PhD research, combining this with his current project on Russian rule in the Caucasus, both in the Tsarist period. His research has taken him to archives and libraries across Eurasia, including in Georgia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Mongolia, as well as to holdings in the UK, the US, and Japan.

Prof. Tlekkabul Sabitovich Ramazanov is a distinguished Kazakhstani physicist and academic leader, widely recognized for his contributions to plasma physics and the modernization of higher education in Kazakhstan. He currently serves as a senior leader and professor at Al-Farabi Kazakh National University (KazNU).

Prof. Akshay Rao, University of Cambridge Rao is Professor of Physics at the Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge. He obtained BSc from St Stephen’s College, University of Delhi, in 2006 and MSc from the University of Sheffield in 2007. He completed his Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge in 2011, following which he held a Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) at Corpus Christi College, before establishing his independent research group in 2015. He was awarded the Henry Moseley Medal and Prize of the Institute of Physics for “exceptional early career contributions to experimental physics” and has also been awarded an EPSRC Early Career Fellowship and ERC grants. He is the co-founder of Cambridge Photon Technology and Illumion.

Prof. Siddharth S. Saxena (Montu), University of Cambridge Saxena is Director of Cambridge Central Asia Forum, Jesus College, University of Cambridge and a Research Professor at Cavendish Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Cambridge. He has been the National Facility Development Manager, an EPSRC Advanced Research Fellow, Sarah Woodhead Fellow, Girton College, Cambridge, a Postdoctoral Fellow at University College, London and a Spinoza Fellow at the University of Groningen, the Netherlands, after completing a PhD at Trinity College, Cambridge in 1998. His research spans quantum materials, condensed matter physics, and science policy in Central Asia and Eurasia. Prof. Saxena holds senior positions at institutions such as BMU (British Management University) in Uzbekistan and KBTU (Kazakh-British Technical University) in Kazakhstan, contributing to educational and scientific capacity-building initiatives. He plays a key role in promoting scientific cooperation between the UK and Central Asia, supporting interdisciplinary innovation at the intersection of physics, technology, and regional development.

Dr. Clement Sefa-Nyarko is a Lecturer in Security, Development and Leadership in Africa, at the African Leadership Centre at King's College London. Clement is both an academic and international development practitioner with over a decade’s experience in designing, managing and leading several projects in Africa and the Asia Pacific. Clement’s areas of interest include natural resource governance, political theories of the state, social protection, security, and leadership. He has produced several knowledge products in the form of policy briefs, reports, public presentations, book chapters, and peer reviewed papers in high impact international journals.

Dr. Anton Souslov is Associate Professor in the Cavendish Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Cambridge. He is working on the theory of soft materials, including mechanical metamaterials, active matter, topological states, and polymer physics. He was an academic at the University of Bath from 2018 to 2023. Previously, he worked in the James Franck Institute at the University of Chicago, the Lorentz Institute for Theoretical Physics at Leiden University, and the School of Physics at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He received his Ph.D. in 2011 from the University of Pennsylvania working with Tom Lubensky on descriptions of granular media, mechanical metamaterials, and colloids.

Christopher Vandome, Senior Research Fellow, Chatham House Christopher Vandome leads the Chatham House Critical Minerals Initiative. He is a senior research fellow with both the Global Economy and Finance Programme and the Africa Programme. Christopher is a highly experienced research and operations professional covering political economy, geopolitics, security, natural resource governance, extractive industry performance standards, critical minerals and international relations. He is regularly sought after by government, companies and media for strategic advice, expert analysis and project delivery. He is a member of the standards committee of the Responsible Jewellery Council and serves on the advisory committee for the African Minerals Policy Forum – Mining in Motion. He has worked as a consultant for several election observation and pre-electoral assessment teams in Africa.

Dr. Vladislav Zavadskiy is engaged in research in the field of renewable energy, energy transition, climate change, smart grids, electricity storage systems, energy market, sustainable development, generation and Unit Commitment. He has more than 15 years of practical experience in project management, mining, energy industry, energy and industry equipment sales, geochemistry laboratory facilities and equipment. He has participated in international conferences and has publications in peer reviewed journals.

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Research in Action Workshop on Critical Minerals and the Green Energy Transition

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