Paul is Professor of Glasses and Ceramics at Sheffield Hallam University. He works closely with multiple foundation industries, including glass and ceramics, to help reduce their energy use, CO₂ emissions and environmental impact.

Paul contributes to teaching of Materials Engineering, with specific focus on materials composition / structure / property relations; and ceramic and glass technology. Paul has published over 120 research papers in glasses; glass-ceramics; energy and the environment; waste management and nuclear and toxic waste treatment; advanced spectroscopy; and manufacturing technologies. He has co-edited and co-authored a book on the subject of low-energy, environmentally-friendly glass manufacture and he has a strong track record in attracting research funding. He is Director of Studies for several PhD students and line manages many postdoctoral researchers, visiting academics and interns.  Paul is a Fellow of the Society of Glass Technology and sits on its Basic Science and Technology Committee. He is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. He is a reviewer for over 10 international journals, the US DoE Nuclear Energy Universities Programme and EU H2020 funding bids. Paul sits on several international and national committees. He is a member of the International Commission on Glass Technical Committee 5: Waste Vitrification and the RAL-ISIS Neutron User Committee. He was elected onto the Sector Decarbonisation Roadmap Committee for the ceramics industry, which directly advises the UK Government in this area. He is also a lead Academic Advisor to Glass Futures, which aims to develop a state-of-the-art training and R&D facility in glass. Paul also carries out a wide range of consultancy activities. He has consulted for the UK Government’s Committee on Climate Change and for the ceramics, optoelectronics and glass industries. He also acts as an international expert witness and has worked with some of the world’s largest and most well-known companies in his field. He has organised multiple conferences and was Chair of the Local Organising Committee for the highly successful Centenary Conference of the Society of Glass Technology. He has given many Invited Presentations at international conferences, and actively engages with the international academic and industrial communities.