After completing her PhD in 2008, Haigh worked as an application specialist for JEOL and spent two years working with the Nelson Mandela University in the Centre for High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy.[5] She co-edited Nannocharacterisation with Kirkland in 2014.[7]
Working at the University of Manchester, Haigh became interested in graphene and other 2D materials. She is a member of the National Graphene Institute.[8] Haigh has used TEM to study graphene-boron nitride heterostructures and found that hydrocarbons group in isolated pockets.[5] She used focused ion beam TEM to reveal that graphene layers within electronic devices have perfect alignment.[9] Haigh has discussed 2D materials on BBC Radio 4.[3] She won the 2013 IOM3 Silver Medal for her research and education activities.[10] She used a graphene 'petri dish' to help image nanomaterials, using graphene-boron nitride liquid crystal cells.[11] She demonstrated that graphene-oxide membranes could be used as a sieve to remove the salt from seawater.[12][13] In 2018 her group identified a new bending behaviour in 2D Materials, that folds were delocalised over several atoms.[14][15] She demonstrated that catalytic materials could be used to recover energy from waste water.[10]
Haigh was appointed at the University of Manchester as a lecturer in 2010, and in 2015 Haigh was promoted to Reader.[5] In 2015, Haigh was quoted saying
"I was promoted to Reader last year and I'd like to see myself as a Professor within the next five to ten years"[5] and in 2018 Haigh was promoted to Professor (i.e. a Personal Chair).[16][17]
Haigh was Chair of the Institute of Physics EMAG group (2016–2018) and EMAG Honorary Secretary and Treasurer (2014–2016), a member of council for the RMS (2014–2018).[20]
Awards and honours
In 2018 she applied for Freedom of the City of Manchester.[21] Her awards and honours include:
^Smith, David J.; Pennycook, S. J.; Castell, Martin; Brydson, Rik; Dunin-Borkowski, Rafal; Midgley, Paul; Bell, D.; O'Brien, Paul (2014). Kirkland, Angus I.; Haigh, Sarah J. (eds.). Nanocharacterisation (2nd New ed.). Cambridge: Royal Society of Chemistry. doi:10.1039/9781847557926. ISBN9781849738057.