In this section you can find out about the past and present members of the research group.
The Polymer Engineering group in January 2020.Current members
Dr Davide De Focatiis, head of the group
Davide is Associate Professor in Polymer Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Nottingham since 2009. He is the head of the Polymer Engineering Research Group, an enthusiastic team of researchers and students dedicated to the investigation of physical and mechanical properties of polymers and elastomers. Davide is an Engineering graduate of the University of Cambridge, and read for this DPhil (PhD) at the University of Oxford. In his spare time he enjoys woodwork, playing tennis, learning about science and travelling to remote places.
Postdoctoral researchers
Dr Jesus Molinar-Diaz
Jesus joined the group in 2023, working on the processing of PEEK-carbon fibre composites. He obtained his PhD from the University of Nottingham, working with the Micro and Nanocentre and with Prof. Paul Brown.
Dr Andrew Parsons
Andy has worked in the group since 2014, on degradable polymer nanocomposites, and most recently on peeling of thermoplastic composites. He obtained his PhD from the Chemistry department at the University of Nottingham and has worked on materials ever since in a wide range of projects including degradable phosphate glass fibres and thermoplastics.
PhD students
Joe Chu
Joe is a graduate in maths and physics and joined us in February 2025 from Kinetic to study for a PhD on the modelling of impact deformation and damage in amorphous polymers. He is co-supervised by Drs Gabriele Albertini and Mikhail Matveev, and is working in collaboration with the University of Oxford.
Michael O'Shea
Michael started his part-time PhD in April 2024, working on the geometry of tensile fabric structures. Michael is already a lecturer at the Limerick Institute of Technology, and he is co-supervised by Dr Paolo Beccarelli.
Monika Lingemann
Monika started her PhD in September 2023 working on demanufacturing of thermoplastic composites. She is co-supervised by Dr Gabriele Albertini and Dr Lee Harper.
Jack Holyoak
Jack started his part-time EngD in 2021 as part of the Industrial Doctorate Centre (IDC) in Composites Manufacture. He is co-supervised by Dr Lee Harper and SHD Composite Materials.
Hannah Mason
Hannah started her PhD in 2021 as part of the first cohort of CDT students on the theme Plastics from Plants, researching cellulose films made from algae. She is co-supervised by Prof. Gleb Yakubov, Dr Joshua Reed and Dr Ellen Nisbet.
Amy Naylor Randles
Amy started her PhD in 2021 as part of the first cohort of CDT students on the theme Plastics from Plants, researching novel bio-based gelators. She is co-supervised by Prof. Derek Irvine.
Xiao Wang
Xiao started her PhD in 2020, working on polymer lubricants for electric vehicles. She is co-supervised by Prof. Derek Irvine, Dr David Scurr and Dr Yinfeng He and is based in the Additive Manufacturing Research Group.
Final year project students
None at present as as Davide is on study leave (sabbatical).
Undergraduate summer students, MSc students and visitors
None at present.
Former members
Postdoctoral researchers
2021-2024 Dr Adam Joesbury
Adam worked in the group between 2021-2024, coordinating our efforts in running a 12-partner round robin exercise on tack testing. His main research interests are in composite manufacturing. He is now a Lecturer in Aerospace Design at the University of Leicester.
2023-2024 Dr Lucinda Mulko
Lucinda joined the group in 2023, working on rheology and chain extension of biopolymers in collaboration with Biome Bioplastics. She obtained her PhD from Argentina, and worked in Spain and Germany before coming to Nottingham. She is now working in industry on polymer processing.
2013-2021 Dr Gabriel Choong
Gabriel joined the group in April 2010 as a PhD student, awarded in 2013, and worked as a Research Fellow between 2013-2021. His research focused on processing of degradable polymers and nanocomposites for medical implant applications, nanocomposites, tack testing and many other topics. His PhD research was concerned with the effects of compounding processing conditions on the rheology, microstructure, mechanical and electrical properties of CNT-filled nanocomposites. He graduated in Mechanical Engineering in 2009 at the University of Nottingham. He comes from Malaysia, and in his spare time, he revels in hiking, jogging and travelling to appreciate different cuisines and architecture. He is now an engineer at Vestas working on composite wind turbines.
2016 Dr Jessica Butterworth
Jess joined the group in February 2016 and is project manager for the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition on Plastics Inside Us taking place in July at the Royal Society in London. She is writing up her PhD in the Photonic Glasses group and is also a departmental teaching assistant.
2013-2015 Sam Kelly
Sam joined the group in autumn of 2013 as an MEng Mechanical Engineering final year project student, and developed a prototype mechanism for biaxial testing of elastomers. He has now rejoined the group as a researcher, working for one year towards an Impact Accelerator project aimed at patenting and commercialising the device.
2012-2013 Dr Olga Smerdova
Olga joined the group in July 2012 to work as a postdoctoral research assistant on the EPSRC project Solid-state Property Predictions of Bimodal Blends and Polydisperse Oriented Polymers (BiBOP). She graduated at the Bauman Moscow State Technical University (Russia) as a space rocket engineer in 2008. Until 2012, she was doing her PhD study in the tribology laboratory (LTDS) at the Ecole Centrale de Lyon (France). Her PhD work was concerned with experimental and analytical study of friction-induced dissipation in polymer composites. Her research interests cover mechanics and physics of polymers and polymer composites. Besides the research work, she enjoys reading, listening music, watching football and discovering countries, cultures, and beautiful places in the nature. She was briefly a Research Fellow at the University of Cambridge, and is now a lecturer in Institut Pprime, in Poitiers, France.
2012-2013 - Dr Natasha Birkin
Natasha joined the group in November 2012 as part of a Bridging the Gaps collaboration between Engineering, Chemistry and the Medical School. She researched supercritical polymer foams for medical implant applications. Natasha graduated in Chemistry in 2008 at the University of Nottingham, and in 2012 received her doctorate in Polymer Chemistry. The focus of her PhD research was the design and synthesis of novel hydrocarbon stabilisers for dispersion polymerisation in supercritical CO2. When not spending time on research, Natasha enjoys swimming, listening to music and reading.
PhD students
2019-2024 Dr Grace Owen
Grace joined the group as a PhD student in October 2019. She was an MEng graduate of the University of Nottingham, and her PhD project was a Dutch Polymer Institute funded studentship on the modelling of the high strain rate behaviour of polymers. She collaborated with the group of Prof. Clive Siviour in Oxford who are undertaking the experimental aspects of the work. She is now working in industry for Trelleborg.
2019-2022 Dr Roslim Ramli
Roslim began his PhD in 2019 working at the Malaysia campus. His research was focused on the development of new latex foams for consumer applications such as pillows and automotive cushions. He is supervised by Dr Ai-Bao Chai, Dr Jee Hou Ho, Dr Shamsul Kamaruddin and Dr Davide De Focatiis. He graduated in 2022 and is now working for the Malaysian Rubber Board.
2017-2022 Dr Matthew Elsmore
Matt joined the group as a PhD student in October 2017. He was an MEng graduate of the University of Nottingham, and worked in collaboration with the Chemistry department on the characterisation of novel polymer materials derived from various waste by-products. He graduated in 2022 and is now working in rail consulting.
2017-2021 Dr Julija Kazakeviciute
Julija started her PhD in September 2017 and worked on the development of a test method for determining the mechanical properties of small metallic specimens. She was supervised by Dr Chris Hyde, Dr James Rouse and Dr Davide De Focatiis. She is now an engineer at Militec Food Systems.
2017-2021 Dr Halar Memon
Halar began his PhD in 2017 and his research is focused on the development of new polymer-based anti-icing and de-icing coatings, primarily for the aerospace industry. He is supervised by Dr Xianghui Hoi, Prof. Kwing-so Choi, Dr Davide De Focatiis and Dr Junpeng Liu. He is now a Special Process Technologist at ITP Aero.
2016-2022 Dr Daniel Gomez Lizcano
Daniel started his PhD in January 2016, working in the department of Architecture and the Built Environment. He was co-supervised by Dr Paolo Beccarelli and Dr Davide De Focatiis, and his project concerns the application of deployable mechanisms to tent structures. He is now a practicing architect and lecturer in Colombia.
2016-2020 Dr Vinothan Annarasa
Vinnie joined the group as a PhD student in October 2016. He is an MEng graduate of the University of Nottingham, and his project is concerned with the role of the Mullins effect on time-dependent properties of elastomers. He collaborated with Greene & Tweed and Trelleborg Industrial AVS. He is now a civil servant.
2016-2020 Zaid Alhulaybi
Zaid joined the group in October 2016 as a PhD student working on composite membranes. He graduated from King Faisal University as a Chemical Engineer in 2014, and finished his Master’s degree in chemical engineering at the University of Nottingham in 2016. His research developed novel, cheap and efficient mixed matric composite membranes for water remediation, focusing on how processing/fabricating conditions and methodologies can effect on the membrane structure and separation performance. Zaid was supervised by Dr Begum Tokay and Dr Davide De Focatiis. He is now a lecturer in Saudi Arabia.
2013-2018 Dr Magdalena Tomczynska
Magda joined the group as a PhD student in October 2013. She graduated at the Poznan University of Technology in Poland in 2006 as a Chemical Engineer and finished her Master’s degree in Polymer Technology. Recently she worked in Hewlett-Packard Labs in Bristol as a research engineer in the Next Generation Displays Group where she was involved in materials formulation and thin films deposition. Her PhD research is concerned with the optimisation of the process conditions for compounding and injection moulding of biodegradable resorbable polylactic acid nanocomposites, characterisation of their macroscopic properties, and dispersion analysis. In her spare time she enjoys reading, cooking, studying new languages, swimming and yoga. Magda was co-supervised by Dr Andy Parsons and Prof. David Grant. She is now a scientific technician at Nottingham Trent University.
2014-2018 Dr Andrea Sanchez Valencia
Andrea joined the group as a PhD student in February 2014. She graduated as an Industrial Engineer from the Technological and Higher Studies Institute of Monterrey in Guadalajara, Mexico in 2008. In 2010 she graduated from her MSc studies in Advanced Materials at the University of Nottingham, writing her dissertation in the analysis of strain effects on the electrical properties of conductive elastomers for kinaesthetic applications. Following her graduation she went to Cambridge to work for over two years in Plastic Logic as an associate research engineer, mainly looking at the distortion of plastic substrates and the influence of thin-film processing in polymeric substrates. Her PhD was focused in analysing the mechanical and manufacturing properties of glassy polymers. During her spare time Andrea enjoys excersicing, travelling, reading and watching films. Andrea was co-supervised by Dr Richard Graham from the Mathematics department. Shee is now working in the plastics industry in Sweden.
2013-2018 Dr Michael Ward
Mike joined the group as a PhD student in October 2013. He graduated from Loughborough University as a Materials Engineer specialising in Polymers, where received an award for his final year project on the study of the crystallisation and melting behaviour of nylon-12 nanocomposites. He also undertook a one year industry placement at BMW where he worked within the technical laboratory specialising in metallurgy. His PhD research is concerned with the material characterisation of polylactic acid during degradation, focusing on the role of stereoisomers on degradation, and on predicting mechanical and structural evolution of properties during degradation. Away from academia Michael likes to keep active by regularly participating in sports such as cycling, rock climbing and rugby. Mike was co-supervised by Dr Andy Parsons and Prof. David Grant, and obtained his PhD in 2018. He is now Qualification Engineering Regional Lead at Syensqo.
2013-2017 Dr David Corbridge
David joined the group as a PhD student in June 2013. He graduated in 2012 with a Masters in Manufacturing Engineering and Management. Following graduation, he obtained a job as a graduate manufacturing engineering within Atkins Ltd, and during that time was based at Rolls-Royce on a project related to Technology Readiness Level progression; David left Atkins at the end of May 2013. His PhD was concerned with carbon fibre composites, and he is researching the manufacture of carbon fibre components ontained by combining two different fibre lengths of sheet moulding compounds. The ambition was to create a demonstrator component that displays the benefits of both moulding compounds. David was co-supervised by Prof. Nick Warrior and Dr Lee Harper. He is now R&T Lead at Safran Landing Systems.
2012-2016 Dr Vanessa Fernandes
Vanessa joined the group as a PhD student in September 2012 and was the recipient of a Dean of Engineering scholarship, obtaining her PhD in February 2016. She now works for Amec Foster Wheeler as a Polymer Scientist giving support in polymer science and engineering in nuclear generation applications, particularly in the field of equipment qualification. She graduated at the University Simon Bolivar in Venezuela as a Materials Engineer specializing in Polymers. In February 2012 she finished her Masters degree in Mechanical Engineering, also in The University Simon Bolivar, focusing on the mechanical and rheological properties of materials. Her research interests covered the mechanics and physics of elastomers. Her PhD research project was focused on the study of the Mullins effect in filled elastomers. She enjoys travelling, cooking and listening to music during her spare time. Vanessa was co-supervised by Dr Derek Irvine. She is now Product Development Manager in the Materials Team at Fisher & Paykel Healthcare in New Zealand.
2010-2013 Dr Gabriel Choong
Gabriel joined the group in April 2010 as a PhD student, awarded in 2013, and was later a Research Fellow. His PhD research was concerned with the effects of compounding processing conditions on the rheology, microstructure, mechanical and electrical properties of CNT-filled nanocomposites. He graduated in Mechanical Engineering in 2009 at the University of Nottingham. He is now an engineer at Vestas working on wind turbines.
MSc students
2020 - Fengkai Liu
Fengkai joined the group as an MSc student in the summer of 2020, and worked on entropy elasticity of rubbers.
2020 - Mihail Jelevic
Mihail joined the group as an MSc student in the summer of 2020, and worked on prediction of stiffness in polymer nanocomposites.
2019 - Kapilan Ravinthran
Kapilan joined the group in the summer of 2019 as an MSc student, and worked on the viscoelastic response of polylactic acid polymer nanocomposites filled with nanohydroxyapatite.
2018 - Mohammed Rahmeh
Moe joined the group in the summer of 2018 as an MSc student. He has explored the potential of using multi-chain numerical models with simple damage laws to model the Mullins effect and its anisotropy.
2018 - Neeraj Malik
Neeraj joined the group in the summer of 2018 to carry out a numerical study of craze formation using finite elements as part of his MSc dissertation.
2017 - Dorsan De Radigues
Dorsan joined the group in the summer of 2017 as an MSc student. His project is concerned with computational modelling of polydisperse polymers and the coupling of rheological constitutive equations with a glass-rubber constitutive model for polymers.
2015 - Charlotte Alford
Charlotte joined the group in summer 2015 as a Masters student in Mechanical Engineering. Her project concerns the use of a laser cutter as a method of producing test specimens for mechanical testing. Charlotte compared the laser to other techniques such as moulding and stamping, and attempted to determine the effect of the heat-affected zone on specimen properties.
2015 - Andreas Kyriacou
Andreas joined the group in summer 2015 as a Masters student in Mechanical Engineering. His project is a study of the effect of humidity on the bounce of tennis balls and the effect of drying protocols. This involves the measurement of the coefficient of restitution and weight of wet ball specimens subjected to different drying procedures in an effort to restore the ball's properties as quickly as possible.
2013 - Zhuo Wang
Zhuo joined the group in September 2014 to undertake his MSc dissertation on the effects of moulding parameters on the optical and mechanical properties of polymers.
2012 - Benjamin Carroll
Ben joined the group in the spring of 2012 to undertake his MSc dissertation on solvent crazing in polycarbonate for aerospace applications. Ben comes from from Warrington in the northwest of England, and graduated with a BEng in Chemical Engineering from Nottingham University. He studied for an MSc in Chemical Engineering. In his spare time he represents the Chemical Engineering department in the football team, he enjoys keeping fit, going to the gym and listening to music. His favourite sports are football and skiing.
2011 - Shuming Piao
Shuming joined the group in the summer of 2011 to undertake his MSc thesis. He worked on experimental measurements of birefringence arising during both glassy and rubbery stretching of polystyrene.
2010 - Shehu Muhammad Mala
Shehu joined the group in the summer of 2010 as a Masters student. His MSc project aimed to understand the effects of time and orientation on the environmental stress craze kinetics in polystyrene. Shehu was born in the northern part of Nigeria and graduated with BEng in Civil Engineering from the Federal University of technology Minna, Nigeria. He came to Nottingham as one of the few Nigerians selected every year for postgraduate studies in the UK, under a government scholarship scheme. In his spare time, he reads anything that comes his way, and listens to the news a lot, especially on political issues. He also watches movies and documentary programmes on TV, enjoys travelling, both in Nigeria and beyond.
2010 - Andrea Sanchez Valencia
Andrea joined the group in the summer of 2010 as a Masters student. Her project was related to the electrical and electromechanical evaluation of conductive elastomers for kinaesthetic systems applications. Andrea comes from Zapopan, a city near Guadalajara, in the middle west of México. She came to the University of Nottingham to study for an MSc in Advanced Materials. In her spare time, Andrea enjoys reading, watching films and playing softball. She then joined the group as a PhD student, graduating in 2018.
Final year project students
2023-2024 Barney Deller
Barney joined the group in 2023 working on an MEng project concerned with rheological techniques for monitoring the state of deodorant stick materials.
2023-2024 Emily Ooi
Emily joined the group in 2023 working on an MEng project focused on a soft 4-point bend test for plant stems.
2023-2024 Amil Patel
Amil joined the group in 2023 working on an MEng project concerned with the hyperelastic modelling of membranes for diaphragm forming.
2023-2024 Zakaria Amrane
Zak joined the group in 2023 working on a BEng project concerned with understanding folding in membranes.
2023-2024 Daniel Schorah
Daniel joined the group in 2023 working on a BEng project concerned with drying and swelling of gels.
2022-2023 William Lloyd
William joined the group in 2022 for his MEng final year project.
2022-2023 Nick Triner
Nick joined the group in 2022 for his MEng final year project.
2021-2022 Will Fantham
Will joined the group in 2021 to work on tear strength of membranes for space applications as part of his final year MEng project.
2021-2022 Mia Sinclair
Mia joined the group in 2021 to work on a study of Poisson's ratio as part of her final year MEng project.
2021-2022 Thomas Oliver
Tom jTom joined the group in 2021 to work on friction of catheters as part of his final year BEng project.
2021-2022 Thomas Johnstone
Tom joined the group in 2021 to work on the analysis of mechancal testing grips as part of his final year BEng project.
2021-2022 Oscar Dean
Oscar joined the group in 2021 to work on the strength of knots in racket sports as part of his final year BEng project.
2021-2022 Nur Izzatul Sahirah Binti Haji Ismail
Izzatul joined the group in 2021 to work on folding mechanisms for medical applications as part of her final year BEng project.
2021-2022 Waratchaya Sanguansakphakdi
Wara joined the group in 2021 to work on permeability of membranes as part of her final year BEng project.
2020-2021 Andrew Victor
Andrew joined the group in 2020 to work on a BEng final year project investigation of the different types of clamping arrangements used in tensile tests, and their benefits and limitations.
2020-2021 Petros Dimakopoulos
Petros joined the group in 2020 for his BEng final year project. He is investigating the excess plastics generated by the Covid-19 pandemic and routes to recycling and recovery.
2019-2020 Samiullah Muhammad
Sami joined the group in September 2019 to undertake his final year MEng project studying the effect of pre-stretching on the tear properties of rubbers.
2019-2020 Parin Vaghjiani
Parin joined the group in September 2019 to undertake his final year MEng project on the finite element modelling of strain inhomogeneities in biaxial tests.
2019-2020 Theodoros Konstantinou
Theodoros joined the group in September 2019 to undertake his final year MEng project on the development of a miniaturised test for moisture permeability, focused on supporting the development of novel bio-friendly packaging films.
2019-2020 Andreas Philastidis
Andreas joined the group in September 2019 to undertake his final year BEng project on the application of pin-jointed mechanisms to deployable roof structures.
2018-2019 Grace Owen
Grace joined the group in 2018 to undertake her MEng final year dissertation on a study of the onset of the loss of transparency in highly stretched films of ETFE. She is now a PhD student in the group.
2018-2019 Pornpun Suebpa
Pornpun joined the group in 2018 to undertake her BEng final year dissertation on the mechanical properties of the mouldable elastomer Sugru in tension and compression.
2018-2019 Wing Lam Chan
Wing joined the group in September 2018 to undertake her BEng final year project on a modelling study of the dependence of stress relaxation on the deformation history in filled rubbers.
2018-2019 Asad Abid
Asad joined the group in September 2018 to undertake his final year BEng project on a study of the mechanical properties of nanotube-filled thermoplastic elastomers.
2018-2019 Shaker Parwas
Shaker joined the group in September 2018 to undertake his final year BEng project on a study of the electrical properties of nanotube-filled thermoplastic elastomers.
2017-2018 Matthew Mansfield
Matt is in his final year of the MEng Manufacturing Engineering degree at Nottingham, and has worked on a project in collaboration with Photocentric, a company that manufactures light-curable 3d-printing resins and equipment. His project focused on evaluating the performance of a novel high temperature resin for the production of low-volume injection-moulding tooling. He will be joining Bombardier in Derby in September on their graduate scheme.He was awarded best MEng project in Manufacturing Engineering and the Michael Akers Manufacturing Project Award with a £500 prize!
2017-2018 Fadhil Bin Ghazali
Fadhil joined the group in his final year of his MEng Mechanical Engineering degree to undertake a project studying the mechanical, optical and scratch-resistant properties of silicone coatings.
2017-2018 Sowida Aruni
Sowida joined the group in the final year of her BEng Mechanical Engineering degree. Her project investigated a new method for the determination of the thermal properties of polymers focused on identifying the heat of fusion in polylactic acid.
2017-2018 Wongsakorn Siriphanporn
Wongsakorn joined the polymer engineering group as part of his final year research project. He looked into determining the large strain properties of Sugru in both uniaxial and biaxial tension, and fitting a model to the data.
2016-2017 Matthew Elsmore
Matt joined the group as part of his final year of the MEng Mechanical Engineering course at Nottingham and worked with Sugru for his individual project, testing the cure behaviour of Sugru - a hand-mouldable silicone elastomer putty that can be used to join, fix and coat household items. His research investigated the effects of temperature, humidity and exposed surface area on the rate of cure, with experiments using disc and bar sample subjected to oscillatory torsion using a rheometer and an environmentally controlled chamber. These tests examined changes in storage modulus with time, identifying the degree of curing throughout and hence providing results that the company can use to predict time to cure in different countries, as dictated by their climate. He is now a PhD student in the group.
2016-2017 Thomas Dodsworth
Tom joined the group in autumn 2016 as a MEng Mechanical Engineering final year project student. His project involves the analysis and improvement of an alternative testing method for peeling adhesive tapes, looking at factors such as application force and peel rate, focusing on the effects of peel angle to overall adhesive strength. The test rig used is a modification to that previously used for testing prepreg tack.
2016-2017 Suttida Wittayapichet
Suttida joined the group in autumn 2016 as a BEng Mechanical Engineering final year project student. Her project investigates the tear behaviour of rubber, exploring different test methods such as the trouser test and the notched tension test.
2016-2017 Samuel Shea
Sam joined the group in autumn 2016 as a BEng Mechanical Engineering final year project student. He is investigating the effects of surface roughness on the bacterial attachment of different polymer surfaces developed by collaborators in the Centre for Biomolecular Sciences.
2016-2017 Ghada Hamza
Ghada joined the group in autumn 2016 as a BEng Mechanical Engineering final year project student. Her project investigates the effects of carbon nanotubes on the thermal and electrical properties of CNT-polyurethane nanocomposite elastomers.
2015-2016 Vinothan Annarasa
Vinnie joined the group in autumn 2015 as a MEng Mechanical Engineering final year project student. His project is titled Modelling of Elastomers, and is a collaborative effort between the University of Nottingham and Greene, Tweed. It involves the analysis of the mechanical and thermal properties of two new compounds developed by GT. Mechanical testing includes uniaxial, biaxial and hardness testing. Thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry are used to obtain thermal characteristics. The project is unique as it utilises the novel biaxial attachment developed at UoN. A computational model, utilising the data collected via mechanical testing, will be developed in order to predict the material behaviour under various stress states. He is now a PhD student in the group.
2015-2016 Nishchal Gupta
Nish joined the group in autumn of 2015 as an MEng Mechanical Engineering final year project student. His project continued to explore the effects of biaxial pre-drawing on ETFE film to improve its mechanical properties as a base film for use in grafted hydrogen fuel cell membranes. Outside of his studies Nish enjoys playing squash and globetrotting.
2014-2015 David Isles
David joined the group in autumn of 2014 as an MEng Mechanical Engineering final year project student. His project involves exploring the effects of biaxial pre-drawing on ETFE film to improve its mechanical properties as a base film for use in grafted hydrogen fuel cell membranes. Outside of his studies David enjoys model making and playing tennis.
2014-2015 Matthew Corby
Matthew joined the group in Autumn 2014 as an MEng final year project student. His project is focussed on healing the Mullins effect in rubber, specifically on the use of time at elevated temperature in order to reverse the effect whilst limiting the damage to the molecular structure.
2014-2015 Oladayo (Dami) Edun
Dami joined the group in Autumn 2014 as an MEng final year project student. His project involves exploring the effects of mixed recycling of the two main polymers found in water bottles (PET and HDPE). He is analysing their potential to blend by extrusion and through a compatibilizer, and comparing their mechanical and thermal properties, suggesting possible uses for the recycled blend. Outside of his studies, Dami represents the university’s men’s football 2nd team, who have been unbeaten all season and reached a cup final."
2014-2015 Thanapon Srichawengsap
Thanapon joined the group in 2014 as a BEng Mechanical Engineering final year project student. His project is investigating stress relaxation in thermoplastic polyurethane elastomers, unfilled and filled with multi-walled carbon nanotubes. These materials are candidates for conductive seals and gaskets, and understanding how nanotubes influence this is important. He comes from Thailand, where he is planning to return after a Master's degree in the UK. He spends most of his free time playing sports, and his favorite is basketball.
2013-2014 Chaiwat Prungsukarn
Chaiwat joined the group in autumn of 2013 as a Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical Engineering final year project student. His project is revisiting the traditional design of paper bag in terms of the different types of fold junctions. He is looking into applying the triangulated cylinder pattern to this classic container. Chaiwat is from Thailand, and transferred from Thammasat University's Twinning Engineering Program to Nottingham University. Away from his studies he enjoys reading books in various fields, watching television series, movies, and cartoons, and playing badminton.
2013-2014 Sam Kelly
Sam joined the group in autumn of 2013 as an MEng Mechanical Engineering final year project student. His project consists of the development of a mechanism to carry out biaxial testing of elastomers in uniaxial testing machines. This is done using a pin-jointed mechanism, and involves the design of the material grips as well as the attachment to the machine. He then worked as a research assistant in the group for a further year.
2013-2014 Manuel De Heredia
Manuel joined the group in autumn of 2013 as an MEng Mechanical Engineering final year project student. His project is seeking to identify non-destructive ways of determining information on the deformation history of rubber components, such as electrical measurements and hardness tests. The aim is to relate changes that can be measured by non-destructive means to the Mullins effect and to the changes to the constitutive response of the rubber.
2011-2012 - Paolo Parolin
Paolo joined the group in November 2011 as a visiting student in his final year. He comes from Bassano del Grappa, and is based at the University of Trento. He studied processes of crazing in 3-point bending creep on miniature specimens of PLA, exploring the role of temperature and of water, and validated his experiments on larger specimens.
2011-2012 - Ama Frimpong
Ama joined the group in the summer of 2011 as a High Fliers summer intern student. Ama's project was centered on the investigation of the effect of degradation on the creep response of PLA, with applications in medical implants, in collaboration with Dr Andy Parsons. Ama is now continuing her studies focusing her final year project on the effects of degradation and crystallisation time-temperature superposition in PLA. Ama is studying for a BEng in Biomedical Engineering. She enjoys reading, swimming and plays the guitar. She aims to gather courage soon to skydive and rock climb.
2010-2011 Lim Chun Hsion
Edwin Chun joined the group in the autumn of 2010 to work on his undergraduate research project. The work was concerned with the effect of thermal history on the thermal and electrical properties of carbon nanotube-filled polyurethane elastomers. He continued his research over the summer of 2011 as a summer intern. He was involved in the student exchange programme, coming to the UK for his third year of study, and will complete his final year back in University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus for his MEng degree in Chemical Engineering. He is very active in volleyball games.
Summer interns and visitors
2023 Martin Etamadi
Martin joined us in the summer of 2023 from VirginiaTech for a short research project investigating the balace between frictional sliding and flow of prepregs. This is a collaboration between Dr Davide De Focatiis at Nottingham, and Prof. David Dillard and Dr Michael Bortner at VirginiaTech.
2023 John Paradise
John joined us in the summer of 2023 from VirginiaTech for a short research project investigating the effect of the angle on the tack of prepreg-prepreg bonds. This is a collaboration between Dr Davide De Focatiis at Nottingham, and Prof. David Dillard and Dr Michael Bortner at VirginiaTech.
2019-2020 Yuzhen Tang
Yuzhen joined the group in October 2019 from Harbin Institute of Technology for a one-year visit funded by a Chinese government scholarship. He worked on practical solutions for the deployment of large films in satellite applications.
2019-2020 Shuhei Tamaoki
Shuhei joined the group in October 2019 for a 3-month visit from Osaka University, Japan, where he was studying for an MSc degree. After having carried out dielectric relaxation measurements in Japan on several polycarbonate polymers with varying chemistries, he studied their crazing and fracture behaviour here in Nottingham.
2019-2020 Margherita Bottene
Margherita joined the group in November 2019 for a 3-month studentship from INSA, Lyon, France. She carried out a study of miniaturised non-contact strain measurement for use with our small Linkam tensile tester.
2018-2019 Arit Das
Arit joined us in the summers of 2018 and 2019 from VirginiaTech for a short research project investigating the balace between frictional sliding and flow of prepregs. This is a collaboration between Dr Davide De Focatiis at Nottingham, and Prof. David Dillard and Dr Michael Bortner at VirginiaTech.
2018 Julie Tricot
Julie joined the group in 2018 from Polytech Grenoble, France, to undertake a research project studying the effect of different freezing, drying and freese-drying methods to nanoparticle dispersion for medical nanocomposites.
2017 Kathleen Chan
Kathleen joined the group in July 2017 for a period of 7 weeks as an intern and visiting student from Virginia Tech. Kathleen’s research in Nottingham was focused on studying the frictional and viscoelastic effects involved in the composite forming process and in partially staged composite prepregs, with the support of materials from Hexcel. Kathleen was co-supervised by Prof. David Dillard and Dr Mike Bortner from Virginia Tech.
2017 Maria Sansa Bernat
Maria joined the group in May 2017 for a period of 4 months from INP Ensiacet, France, to contribute to a study of properties of PLA nanocomposites during degradation. Maria comes from the small country of Andorra.
2016 Céleste Marquand
Céleste joined the group for a summer internship in 2016. She is currently a fourth-year student in the field of Material Sciences at Polytech Nantes, the Graduate School of Engineering of the University of Nantes in France. She intends to specialise in the domain of Polymer and Composites materials next year. Her project consists in producing Ag/ZnO-doped Metal Organic Frameworks biopolymer films and characterise the mechanical properties of the films. When she is not in the lab, Céleste enjoys watching movies and series, discovering other countries, cultures and playing volleyball.
2015 Alessia Canciani
Alessia joined the group in February of 2015 for an internship. She is a student on the last year of her Masters in Materials and Process Engineering at the University of Trieste, Italy. Alessia’s research here in Nottingham involves setting up and validating a new miniature bending tester aimed specifically at the study of miniaturized specimens of PLA nanocomposites during degradation.
2015 Thaïs Armagnat
Thaïs joined the group in the summer 2015 for an internship. She comes from SeaTech, an Engineering school in Toulon, France, where she studies Materials. Her project here in Nottingham consists in trying to obtain alternative time-temperature superposition parameters directly on prepregs and compare them with data obtained on the resin from rheometry and from tack measurements. She enjoys sailing in her spare times and competing all over France to travel and discover new places where the wind is always different.
2015-2016 Ivan Vu
Ivan joined the group in the summer of 2015 and 2016 as an intern and visiting student from Virginia Tech. He is a graduate student on the final year of his Masters in Engineering Mechanics. Ivan’s research in Nottingham is focused on studying the frictional effects involve in the composite forming process. In his spare time, he enjoys listening to music, watching football, and traveling.
2015 Matthew Elsmore
Matt joined the group in the summer of 2015 as a 2nd year MEng Mechanical Engineering student participating in the Engineering Research Project Scheme. His project is aimed at researching suitable elastomers for use in the diaphragm vacuum forming process, focusing mainly on the use of uniaxial and biaxial tensile testing to examine mechanical behaviour. He is conducting further investigation into pre-treatment methods such as ‘scragging’ and ways in which the virgin rubber sheets may be altered to provide better quality surface finishes on formed products in addition to increasing diaphragm longevity.
2015 Yuen-ling Kong
Yuen-ling joined the group in the summer of 2015 for an internship between her 2nd and 3rd year of a Mechanical Engineering degree at the University of Nottingham. Her project involves modelling the constitutive response of elastomers from uniaxial, equibiaxial and constant width tensile testing using various types of hyperelastic models and finding the optimum model for different materials.
2014 Piotr Zacharzewski
Peter joined the group in 2014 as a summer intern, between his 3rd and 4th year of a Mechanical Engineering degree at University of Nottingham. Peter is trying to devise a simple composite material with similar kinematic properties to amniotic tissue, which surrounds and carries the foetus. He is a keen runner and regularly takes part in races up to half marathon.
2014 Anne-Lise Brisse
Anne-Lise Brisse joined the group in the summer of 2014 for an internship. She comes from the Polytechnic University of Nantes, France, where she is studying for a Masters in Materials Science at the graduate school of engineering. Here in Nottingham she carried out a study of the mechanical properties of PLA subjected to constant rate bending at different temperatures and at different stages of degradation.
2014 Melanie Durand
Melanie joined the group in July 2014 as a summer student. She is a post-graduate at ENSTA Bretagne, an Engineering Institute in France, where she specialises in Modelling of Materials and Structures. Hew project investigated the Mullins effect in relaxation of a range of filled elastomers, in close collaboration with Vanessa. In her spare time, Melanie enjoys sailing, reading and listening to music.
2012 Renaud Perrin-Terrin
Renaud joined the group in the summer of 2012 and is a visiting student from Brest, France. He will obtain his master's degree in materials modeling at Ensta Bretagne in 2013. He worked on the development of a technique for non-contact strain measurement in elastomers. In his spare time he enjoys climbing, hiking and reading books.
2012 Thana Chotchuangchutchav
Thana joined the group in summer 2012 as a summer intern, and studied the electrical and mechanical properties of compression and injection moulded polycarbonate nanocomposites. He was an undergraduate at Imperial College, where he was supported in his studies in the UK by a grant from the Thai Government, and intends to continue studying for a PhD at the Plastic-Electronic Doctoral training center at Imperial College in September 2012. During his leisure time, he reads novels and plays chess, badminton and table tennis.
2012 Emily Elsey
Emily joined the group in summer 2012 as a summer intern, and is a Chemistry undergraduate about to start her 3rd year. She is working towards a MSci in Chemistry at the University of Nottingham. She researched the synthesis and properties of hyperbranched PLA. Her project is funded by BP, and she is co-supervised by Dr Derek Irvine. In her spare time she enjoys keeping fit by going to the gym, jogging, swimming, skiing and travelling to new places. Emily's poster won the BP prize for best poster.
2012 Philip Corser
Philip joined the group in the summer of 2012 as a summer intern. He is a Mechanical Engineering undergraduate and investigated the hardness and the thermal properties of polymer films used to line bearings. The project is funded by Mahle and is co-supervised by Dr Richard Brooks. Philip enjoys keeping fit, playing golf and football.
2011 Sarah Bee
Sarah joined the group in the summer of 2011 as a High Fliers summer intern student. She worked on the characterisation of novel hyperbranched polymers of divinyl benzene, in collaboration with the group of Dr Derek Irvine. Sarah is studying for an MEng degree in Chemical Engineering.
2010 Gemma Cope
Gemma joined the group in the summer of 2010 as a High Fliers summer intern student. Her project was concerned with the properties of PLA during hydrolitic degradation, particularly molecular weight and crystallinity. Gemma comes from Essex, and is studying for an MEng in Mechanical Engineering. In her spare time, Gemma enjoys reading, drawing and cycling.
2009 Charlie Martin
Charlie worked in the group from June to September 2009 as part of a High Flyers Summer Internship. He helped to design an experimental technique to measure craze initiation in a medical grade of PLA designed to degrade in water. He is now studying for a PhD with the Polymer Composites Group at Nottingham.
2009 David Hull
David worked in the group from June to September 2009 as part of a High Flyers Summer Internship. He performed electromechanical tests on carbon nanotube-filled elastomers to assess their potential as strain sensors. He comes from a little town called Bedford down just north of Luton, and is in his final year of the BEng in Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the University of Nottingham. Outside of studying and work he enjoys going to the gym, playing rugby, reading and watching films.
Older group photos
The Polymer Engineering group in 2018.
The Polymer Engineering group in Aug 2014.
The Polymer Engineering group in Feb 2014.
The Polymer Engineering group in December 2012.