Honorary Graduates 2024: Dr Paula Carey

A former academic and current Chief Scientific Officer has been named as an Honorary Doctor of Science at this year’s University of Chichester graduation ceremonies. Alongside Professor Colin Hills, who was also recognised with an honorary doctorate this week, Dr Paula Carey co-founded Carbon8 Systems in 2006 to commercialise accelerated carbon technology. In 2018, Carbon8 obtained funding from the Ontario Government to build a containerised system which captures CO2 directly from flue stack emissions. More recently the company has gained investment from EDF and the Vicat cement group, and a containerised plant has been deployed to the south of France. Here it plugs into the flue stack of a cement plant; permanently capturing CO2 in the cement residues to manufacture low carbon, lightweight aggregates for the construction industry.

Paula started her academic career as a geologist studying for a BSc in Geology at the University of St Andrews. She went on to study for a PhD at Keele University, before working as an academic at the University of Greenwich where she taught at undergraduate and postgraduate level, moving from structural to engineering geology, geomaterials and contaminated land remediation.

Paula said: “It is a real privilege to receive this Honorary Doctorate and it’s so nice to see a balance of men and women getting these awards. I have a long connection to the Chichester area as my brother was Bishop Chaplain here and I married at Boxgrove Priory. I would say to today’s graduates to stick with it when it comes to their chosen careers. Don’t plan too far ahead because you never know what opportunities will appear.”