Meeting Free

Elastomer Industry & Academia Networking

Name: Elastomer Industry & Academia Networking
Start: 2025-12-19T13:30:00
End: 2025-12-19T18:00:00
Location: IOM3 London (297 Euston Road, London NW1 3AD, UK)

1.30pm – 6pm 19 December 2025 In person, London, IOM3 London (297 Euston Road, London NW1 3AD, UK)

If you would like to participate actively in this event as a speaker, please reach out to Mokarram Hossain & Khai Nguyen.

Join us for the next IOM3 Elastomer Group Christmas Networking Event. This event will help to connect industry with academia to tackle a wide range of the current challenges faced by the rubber industry. We encourage anyone interested in the discovering the latest advances in elastomer engineering and connect with the industry leaders are invited to join us.

This in person only networking event will feature 22 talks of up to five minutes each from representatives from both academia and industry, addressing the pressing needs and latest solutions in the elastomers field. The event will conclude with a festive drinks reception, providing all delegates with important networking opportunities.

Key takeaways:

Find out the current challenges that the rubber industry is facing
Opportunities to suggest solutions to those challenges
Connect with the key stakeholders and companies in the rubber industry
Meet with the key academic experts in elastomer materials

Please login or create your My IOM3 Account to access the slides from this event.

Agenda:

13:00	Registration
13:30	Prof James Busfield CEng FIMMM, Chair of the IOM3 Elastomer Group Welcome Address
13:35	Session 1 (13:30 - 14:30) Challenges in Respiratory Protection Stephen Millington, Chief Scientist, Avon Protection Challenges for system critical components in the mobility industry Eduardo Yanes Nunez, Manager Material Development, Datwyler Group Challenges facing natural rubber in the mining sector Douglas Watson, Programme Manager, Weir Group Creep in elastomeric foam materials Eleanor Howland, Application Engineer, Zotefoams The Challenge of Low Temperature Single Step Mixing of Sponge Compound with Modulated Cooling David Kiroski, Process Engineer, HF Mixing Robust mesh-free simulation for highly deformable materials Paulo R. Refachinho de Campos, Freelancer, Swansea University Piezoresistivity of rubber for the development of smart bearings Enrico Tubaldi, Reader, University of Strathclyde Elastomer coatings for erosion resistance Wei Tan, Reader, QMUL Dynamic Pressure-Sensitive Adhesion in Liquid Crystal Elastomers Mohand Saed, Senior Research Fellow, University of Cambridge Mechano-chromic rubber sensors James Busfield, Professor, QMUL Biaxial fatigue characterisation of soft materials Mokarram Hossain, Professor, Swansea University Thermal and Microscopic Analysis of Recovered Carbon Black Material Matthew Thornton, Commercial Manager, The Bridge
14:30	Coffee Break (14:30 - 15:00)
15:00	Session 2 (15:00 - 16:00) Instabilities in Soft Matter: From Failure to Function Rainer Groh, Senior Lecture, University of Bristol Sustainable Materials and Elastomer Consultancy Services Stephen Millington, Chief Scientist, Avon Protection Driven by change: How the global tyre industry is shifting to sustainable materials Gary S. Crutchley, Director of Materials Testing Operations and Consultancy, Smithers Sustainable and High-Quality Natural Rubber Production from Dandelion Roots Ofir Meir, CEO, QuberTech Presentation Title TBC Joseph Hallet, Technical Lead, Birla Carbon Recycling for Silicone elastomer composites Mark Wilkinson, Technical Manager, Fenner Precision Exploiting labile crosslinks to recycle NR compounds Thomas Griggs, Post Doctoral Researcher, QMUL Dynamic crosslinking chemistry for elastomer sustainability and effective thermal management Chaoying Wan Professor Warwick University Can we produce a 100% fully sustainable rubber compound already today? Anke Blume, Professor, University of Twente How to deal with PFAS if you still need to keep using it? Khai Nguyen, Product Development Team Leader, Puraffinity
16:00	Networking Drinks Reception
18:00	Close of event

Overview of topics in the programme:

Experimental challenges of working with elastomers
Sustainability and circular economy for elastomers
Modelling challenges with elastomers
Self-healing strategies for elastomers
Elastomers used in extreme conditions
Smart applications of elastomers (such as stretchable sensors or actuators)

If you would like to participate actively in this event as a speaker, please reach out to Mokarram Hossain & Khai Nguyen.

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