Jacob graduated with an MChem from University of Reading. In his final year project he used spectroelectrochemical techniques to probe the mechanisms in the transformation of CO₂ to CO with organometallic catalysts. Moving to the Maldives he then became the Operations Manager for an international food safety consultancy company, Food Safety Asia. He joined the CSCT to return to research and pursue his keen interest in sustainability. Outside of work Jacob enjoys amongst other things mountaineering, English folk and winning ultra-marathons.