Ryan was born in Canada and did his PhD at Western University, London, Ontario. He then moved to Germany to research at the Max Planck Institute for Colloid Research, Potsdam, where he later became group leader.

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Ryan was first interested in the synthesis of phosphorus-containing compounds and ionic liquids, and later on expanded his interests toward electrolytes and material science. The technology at FaradaIC is based off >10 years of Ryan's experience.