In this section you can find out about my history and get my contact details.

Background

In February 2009 I moved to Nottingham University to take up an academic position in the Faculty of Engineering. From 2009 to 2013 I was a lecturer within the Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, and from 2013 onwards an Assistant Professor, and then Associate Professor (from 2015) in the Department of Mechanical, Materials and Manufacturing Engineering.

I graduated from the University of Cambridge in 1999 with a Masters in Engineering, specialising in mechanics and structures. I obtained my doctorate (DPhil) from the University of Oxford in 2003 researching the mechanics of a medical injection device. I was then appointed as Research Assistant in Polymer Engineering within the Solid Mechanics and Materials Engineering group at the University of Oxford, and College Lecturer in Balliol, Somerville and St Hilda's colleges, teaching a broad range of topics including Materials, Mechanics, Structures, Dynamics and Engineering Mathematics. If you are interested you can read a brief history of my time before Nottingham.

Appointments

  • Visiting Professor, Department of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering "Giulio Natta", Politecnico di Milano, Italy (2025)
  • Visiting Professor, Laboratory for Processing of Advanced Composites, EPFL Lausanne, Switzerland (2025)
  • Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical, Materials and Manufacturing Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham (2015-present)
  • Assistant Professor in Polymer Engineering, Department of Mechanical, Materials and Manufacturing Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham (2013-2015)
  • Visiting Scientist, Paul Scherrer Institute, Switzerland (2013)
  • Visiting Professor, Institute for Mechanical Systems, ETH Zurich, Switzerland (2013)
  • Lecturer in Polymer Engineering, Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham (2009-2013)

Membership of professional institutions

Committees

Editorial

Awards

  • 1/1/2024 EPSCR Impact Accelerator Account, "Ongoing Development, Support and Active Promotion of University of Nottingham’s Composite Tack Testing Fixture Design and Associated Expertise" (£10,005 funding)
  • 1/12/2023 British Aerospace, "Tack testing investigation" (£26,210 funding)
  • 16/9/2023 European Office of Aerospace Research & Development "Failure of amorphous polymers under dynamic loading" ($446,816 or approx. £353,000 funding, with University of Oxford)
  • Innovate UK Knowledge Transfer Partnership with Biome Bioplastics "BioPolyScaleUp” (£117,736 funding)
  • 1/11/2021 EPSRC Future Manufacturing Hubs feasibility study “Rewinding Tape Laying: can Direct End-of-Life Recovery of Continuous Tapes be a Step-change in the Sustainability of Thermoplastic Composites?” (£63,330 funding)
  • 1/11/2021 EPSRC Future Manufacturing Hubs feasibility study “Furthering the uptake of carbon fibre recyclates by converting into robust intermediary materials suitable for automated manufacturing (£62,229 funding)
  • 8/2021 Industrial collaboration with Convatec/Camstent “Measurement of friction on coated catheters” (£23,823 funding)
  • 1/9/2020 Innovate UK Knowledge Transfer Partnership with Biome Bioplastics “Polymerisation Method Development for the Manufacturing of Novel, High-Performance Compostable and Recyclable Hetero-Aromatic Bioplastics for the Packaging Industry (BioPolyMet)” (£120,129 funding)
  • 9/2019 Dutch Polymer Institute grant “Impact Modelling of Polymers: high-Rate Experiments for Solid-state Simulations (IMPRESS)”, with University of Oxford (€400,936, or approx. £342,700, with University of Oxford)
  • 7/2018 Industrial collaboration with Toray USA, “Tack measurement on four materials” (£37,290 funding)
  • 1/3/2016 EPSRC Grant "Novel polymers from terpenes" (approx. £987,000 FEC equivalent funding).
  • 11/12/2015 Exhibit at the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition 2016 (estimated £25,000 total funding)
  • 11/12/2015 EPSCR Impact Accelerator Account, to support Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition (£10,000 funding)
  • 27/10/2015 Innovate UK Knowledge Transfer Partnership with Haydale Composite Solutions (£195,293 funding).
  • 16/12/2014 Innovate UK Knowledge Transfer Partnership with BASE Group (£147,694 funding).
  • 21/7/2014 EPSRC Impact Accelerator Account, Proof of Concept stream, "A novel mechanism for large strain biaxial testing of materials using uniaxial test machines" (approx. £101,000 FEC equivalent funding)
  • 1/3/2014 Industrial collaboration with Boeing, Seattle, USA, on prepreg tack measurement methods (£987,117 direct income)
  • 4/1/2013 Swiss National Science Foundation award for International Short Visit (9,510CHF - approx. £6,420)
  • 29/10/2012 EPSRC Research Development Fund, Bridging the Gaps scheme, "Tailoring the engineering properties of supercritical CO2 degradable foams to the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers" (approx. £45,000 FEC equivalent funding)
  • 10/7/2012 Paul Scherrer Institute SANS 1-week beam time, "Intra-chain form factors of blend components in oriented bimodal polystyrene blends", funding from the 'Research Infrastructures' action of the 'Capacities' Programme, NMI3-II Grant number 283883 (approx. £1000 funding).
  • 15/6/2012 EPSRC Standard Grant "Integrated Molecular Design of Melt-processable Bioresorbable Engineering" (£1,515,000 FEC funding).
  • 3/1/2012 Royal Academy of Engineering Visiting Teaching Fellow Scheme (£5,000 funding).
  • 6/12/2011 EPSRC First Grant scheme, "Solid-state Property Predictions of Bimodal Blends and Polydisperse Oriented Polymers" (£125,000 FEC funding).
  • 27/5/2010 Early Career Research and Knowledge Transfer Award, "Multifunctional characterisation of polymers on a very small scale" (£40,000 funding).
  • 8/1/2010 Technology Strategy Board’s Affordable Composites Manufacturing Grand Challenge Stage 1 (8/1/2010) and Stage 2 (17/2/2010) grant for "In-Situ composite Pipe pRoduction & Deployment system (InSPiR&D)"
  • 8/4/2009 Dutch Polymer Institute Best Poster prize for excellent research in the field of polymers, awarded at Deformation, Yield and Fracture of Polymers 2009 (€500 prize)
  • 26/3/2009 EPSRC Bridging the Gaps Pump Prime Sandpit award for research in the area of wearable deformation sensors (£8000 funding)

Minor awards

  • 22/9/2009 Royal Society International Travel Grant for visit to Germany for ECCMR (£1240 funding)
  • 28/5/2008 Oxford University Astor Fund award for academic visits to the USA (MIT and TexasTech, £425 funding)

Extracurricular activities

Contact details

Office: Coates Building, Room B75

Mailing address:

Dr Davide De Focatiis
Faculty of Engineering
University Park
University of Nottingham
Nottingham NG7 2RD
United Kingdom

Telephone: (internal 14097)

Fax: +44 115 9514115

Email: davide.defocatiis@nottingham.ac.uk

Web pages

departmental home page
personal home page
google scholar
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