RubberCon 2023

James Busfield

Head of the Soft Matter Group, QMUL

James has been the Head of the Soft Matter Group at QMUL since 1994. He was made a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2020 and a National Teaching Fellow in 2009. He has also been recognised for his research by the award of the George Stafford Whitby Award (awarded to outstanding international teachers of polymer science and recognising innovative research by the ACS ) in 2021, the Colwyn Medal (the premier medal for rubber research awarded by the IOM3) in 2009 and the Sparks-Thomas Award (recognising outstanding contributions and innovations in the field of elastomers by the ACS) in 2010. Before 1994, James designed suspension components for an automotive industry supply company, designing systems for companies such as Jaguar, Volvo and Mercedes

: https://www.sems.qmul.ac.uk/staff/j.busfield
: james-busfield-a8b1931b
: @jamesbusfield

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Martyn Bennett

Director, Midsomer Science

Martyn Bennett graduated in Physics and Materials and joined Avon Rubber PLC in 1987. He worked on a range of programmes and projects, becoming senior research scientist and then manager of their Materials Development Centre in 1998 and then forming ARTIS, the consultancy wing of Avon in 2007. Having formed the sustainable materials group to look at sustainability issues in rubber, Martyn finally left Avon in 2020, and now operates as an independent consultant on rubber materials.

Dr Abilash Nair

Materials Development Manager, Dunlop Aircraft Tyres Ltd.

Dr Abilash Nair is currently working as Materials Development Manager at Dunlop Aircraft tyres Ltd, Birmingham, UK. Abilash joined Dunlop Aircraft Tyres in 2011 and is responsible for the rubber compound and fabric development for the manufacture of next-generation light-weight aircraft tyres. He has over 15 years of experience in material development, rubber & latex compounding, polymer blends & composites, plastics and fibre technologies by working with leading tyre and rubber industries in India as well as UK. He has also expertise in process and structural health monitoring of advanced fibre reinforced composites using optical fibre sensors.

Abilash has a Bachelor of Technology in polymer engineering from Mahatma Gandhi University, Kerala, India, MSc in polymer science and engineering from London Metropolitan University, UK and PhD from the University of Birmingham, UK. He is a Chartered engineer, Chartered scientist, Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining and Honorary Research Fellow of the University of Birmingham.

: dr-abilash-kumar-nair-ceng-csci-fimmm-b9965112

Bob Ellis

Process Engineering Manager, Avon Protection

Bob has spent over 40 years working in the rubber industry in a variety of roles associated with rubber technology/engineering, compound design, rubber processing, bonding, R&D and product and process engineering. Bob also has experience of programme management, technology transfer and leadership of engineering teams. His work has included several industry-academia collaborations with subsequent contributions to published research papers. He has wide international industrial experience, notably in Europe, Asia, and the Far East.

This has primarily been within the automotive industry, with specific interest and experience in dynamic behaviour and fatigue properties of rubber. His more recent involvement has been with protection-based rubber products for the military and first responder sectors, where Bob is currently the Process Engineering Manager at Avon Protection in Wiltshire UK.

His academic and post nominals include Graduate of the Plastics & Rubber Institute (Grad.PRI),

M.Sc in Engineering Business Management (Warwick -WMG).

He is also a Chartered Scientist (CSci) and a Fellow of the IOM3 (FIMMM).

Bob has been a member of the Elastomer Group (formerly RIEG) committee since 2014.

: robert-ellis-80864317

David Cawthra

Director, Rubber Heart Ltd

David has more than 20 years of experience in business development, marketing & PR, international exhibition organising and sales within the global rubber industry.

David is one of the two Founders and Directors of Rubber Heart, a UK-based specialist marketing & PR company (established in 2020) which offers companies and organisations in the rubber industry and suppliers to that industry marketing and sales support with a strong focus on the technical side. Rubber Heart was appointed as Rubber Division, ACS European Representative in 2020. 

After obtaining his degree in Communication Studies – Advertising & Marketing, David worked as one of the marketing and promotion project leaders at Rubber Consultants/Tun Abdul Razak Research Centre R&D and testing facility (UK) where for almost 20 years he worked in a small team that was responsible for planning, managing and implementing the company’s marketing & sales programmes.

Throughout his career David has built up great partnerships with other international organisations, associations, institutes, academia, commercial companies and the press.

David was on the IRC 2019, London Organising Committee, has been a committee member of IOM3 Rubber in Engineering since March 2019 and the Rubber Division, ACS Marketing Committee and Strategic Education Committee since April 2020.

: www.therubberheart.com
: davidcawthra
: @DavidCawthra

Jaymini Patel

Technical & Quality Officer, TARRC (MRB UK)

Jaymini joined TARRC in January 1990 after completing a degree in Material Science and Technology at Brunel University, specialising in Ceramic blends. She has worked in the Advanced Materials and Product Development Unit ever since, initially working in the field of dynamically vulcanized natural rubber (NR) and epoxidized natural rubber (ENR) based thermoplastic vulcanizates (TPVs) and since 2007 on silica filled ‘Green’ tyre tread compounds based on EKOPRENA^TM (ENR-25) for both passenger and bus tyres.  

Jaymini is very honoured to have worked with so many renowned scientists and engineers in the field of rubber technology. It has also been a privilege to be a member of team of scientists working on development of improved processing and understanding of rubber filler interaction of silica filled ENR-25 tyre tread (‘Green tyre tread) compounds.

The research work on TPEs/TPVs and tyre treads compounds has led to several patents, papers published and presented at international conferences.

She is grateful to TARRC for giving her the opportunity to work on projects based on materials using sustainable polymers.  

: www.rubberconsultants.com
: jaymini-patel-82878934

Joseph Hallett

Technical Service Manager, Birla Carbon

Dr Hallett has worked in the polymer industry for over 25 years in a number of roles including product design, research and development and management including 15 years with Birla Carbon. He is currently responsible for supporting Birla Carbons Tyre Customers in the EMEA region.

Stephen Millington BSc FIMMM

Development Scientist, ARTIS

Steve joined ARTIS in 2011 and has nearly 40 years’ experience of working with a broad range of materials, including adhesives, sealants, textiles, rubbers, paper and board, fibre reinforcements, and composite materials. He began his career with the Ministry of Defence at Woolwich Arsenal before moving to DERA at Farnborough and, eventually, to QinetiQ. At ARTIS Steve has primary responsibility for coordinating support to development projects within Avon Protection (ARTIS’ parent company), covering both product and compound development. He also supplies in-service product support to Avon across a range of non-metallic materials and processes, as well as to external customers from a variety of industry sectors. In addition, Steve is responsible for ARTIS’ quality management system and its compliance to ISO 9001.

Steve is a Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (FIMMM) and, as well as being a board member of the IOM3 Elastomers Group, he is also a board member, and immediate past-Chair, of the IOM3 Society for Adhesion and Adhesives and a member of the NPL Industrial Advisory Group for composites, adhesives and polymers.

: stephen-millington-73b69029

Dr Khai Duong Quang Nguyen

Senior Product Development Scientist, Puraffinity Ltd.

Khai Nguyen has been working across different industry sectors with experiences in a broad range of materials and applications including elastomers, consumer products, biomedical devices, additive manufacturing, advanced composites and, recently, water treatment adsorbents. He obtained his MSc and PhD on the topics of polymer chemistry and composites with a strong focus on cross-linking chemistries of silicone elastomer and its applications. He has involved with several industry-academia collaborations with subsequent success of product launch and filled patents. Khai is chartered chemist (CChem) and member of the IOM3 Elastomer Group (formerly RIEG) committee since 2019.

: khai-d-q-nguyen-41434747

Professor Maria Rosaria Marsico

Associate Professor of Structural Dynamics, University of Exeter

Maria Rosaria Marsico is Associate Professor of Structural Dynamics at the University of Exeter. Her research expertise is vibration isolation of structures using elastomeric devices. She investigates the use of innovative materials to reinforce elastomers and enhance the vibration isolation properties.

She was awarded the prestigious Junior Research Prize from the European Association for Structural Dynamics (2020) for her transformative research exploiting the properties of graphene for seismic isolation of structures [Adv. Eng. Mat. 2020] and her research has been selected among the top 100 entries at CREATE the FUTURE 2020. She was awarded the Highest Honour by the Italian Regional Council for personalities who have distinguished themselves for merits achieved in scientific fields (2020) and she holds the prestigious Principal Fellowship of the UK Higher Education Academy.

: maria-rosaria-marsico-50a52555
: @mr_marsico

Dr Matthew Thornton

Commercial Manager, The Bridge, University of Lincoln

Dr Matthew Thornton

Commercial Manager – The Bridge, University of Lincoln

Matthew is the Commercial Manager for The Bridge at The University of Lincoln, responsible for linking engineering and materials science businesses across the East Midlands and beyond both with each other and with experts at the University of Lincoln to undertake world-leading, collaborative research and development in advanced materials science and engineering.

Prior to joining the University of Lincoln as the Commercial Manager for The Bridge, Matthew was the Chief Innovation Officer for Polymateria Ltd based in London, where he was responsible for new product development in partnership with commercial customers to ensure that the companies research is commercially focussed and meets the requirements of our customers to deliver value for the business in the short, medium, and long-term, with a focus on strategic direction and innovation.

Matthew has a BSc (Hons) in Chemistry with Chemical Engineering from the University of Huddersfield, UK (2001) and a PhD in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Nottingham, UK (2005). Following his studies Matthew spent 18 months as a KTP Associate at the University of Reading, researching novel materials for the removal of mercury from crematoria flue gases, before spending 7 years at the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining as both a Materials Advisor and the Polymer Sector Leader for the Materials Knowledge Transfer Network.

He joined NetComposites Ltd in August 2013 as a Project Manager and was responsible for the management of several UK Government and EU funded collaborative research and development projects. In April 2016, Matthew joined Haydale Composite Solutions as UK Site and Innovation Director and was responsible for both the Haydale Group Innovation Department and the Resins, Polymers and Composites Business Unit.

Matthew is a Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining, a Chartered Environmentalist, he has a Postgraduate Diploma in Business Administration from the Open University, UK (2022), and is the Secretary-General for the International Rubber Conference Organisation.

Link: https://www.thebridge-lincoln.org/

: drmjthornton

Merryn Hobbs

Research and Development Technologist, Trelleborg Antivibration Solutions

Merryn graduated with an MChem from Nottingham Trent University and has since been working in the research and development of materials for Trelleborg AVS. She recently completed a Masters by Research in fire studies from University of Central Lancashire, exploring the fire properties of compounds for specific applications. She has detailed knowledge and experience in areas including chemical analysis of rubber materials and the formulation of rubber compounds for particular purposes. She has been a member of the IOM3 Elastomer Group (formerly RIEG) committee since 2019.

: merryn-hobbs-537438b2
: @HobbsMerryn

James Lee

Events Organiser, IOM3

No bio provided

Professor Anke Blume

University Professor, University of Twente

Anke studied chemistry at the university of Hanover / Germany from October 1988 until July 1993. In the last year of her study, she came in the first contact with rubber during her master thesis. Consequently, she carried out her PhD thesis at the “German Institute for Rubber Technology” (DIK) which she finished mid of November 1995. After nine months post-doc time at the DIK, Anke started in September 1996 as a member of the product development group silica in the Applied Technology department of Degussa AG. She worked there in different positions, always related to the development of silica and silane for the use in rubber. Degussa changed several times the name, currently it is “Evonik Resource Efficiency GmbH”. Since August 2011, Anke has the position as an “IP Manager silica and silane for rubber applications”. In October 2013, she reduced her working time at Evonik and started at the university of Twente / The Netherlands as the head of the chair “Elastomer Technology and Engineering” (ETE).

: blume-ctw-26bb95a1

Erick Sharp

President & CEO, ACE Products & Consulting

Erick Sharp founded ACE Products & Consulting in January 2015 to provide independent rubber and silicone lab testing, development and training services for the global rubber industry. With ACE, Erick assisted in the launch of several new product lines in the rubber and silicone field. He has also acted as a contract technical and executive management support for many growing companies in the industry. Since starting ACE, the company has quadrupled its footprint, increased its accredited scope by 300% and increased overall capabilities by 600%. Erick has a degree in Industrial Engineering and has been in the rubber industry for nearly twenty years and is looking forward to twenty more. He has presented at numerous industry conferences across the globe. Erick resides in Uniontown, OH with his wife and two boys.

: ericksharp
: @Erick_Sharp

Professor Jorge Lacayo-Pineda

Head of Expert Field for Materials Evaluation, Continental Tires

Prof. Dr Jorge Lacayo-Pineda is head of the expert field for materials evaluation at Continental Tires and has held different executive positions in the materials labs of Continental since 1998. He is an honorary professor at Leibniz University of Hannover and a visiting professor at Qingdao University of Science & Technology. He is chair of ASTM Sub-Committees D11.20 Rubber Compounding Materials & Processes and D36.70 Rubber Testing of rCB, vice chair of ASTM Committee D24 Carbon Black, convener of ISO Working Group TC45/SC2/WG5 Chemical Tests of Rubber, and a member of the Board Council of the German Rubber Society.

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Dr Kannika Sahakaro

Associate Professor, Prince of Songkla University

Kannika studied Rubber Technology at Prince of Songkla University (PSU), Thailand, and had experience working in the rubber industry for 1 year after her BSc. She joined PSU as a lecturer before taking leave to pursue her further study. She obtained MSc degree in Polymer Science and Technology from University of Manchester in 1998 and PhD degree from University of Leeds (UK) in 2002. From 2004-2005, she worked as a Post-doc at University of Twente (UT), the Netherlands. From 2008 to 2020, in addition to her work at PSU, she also spent 1-3 months per year as a visiting scientist at UT. In 2021, she started a new role as Dean for the faculty at PSU but is still actively involved in both teaching and research on rubber-related subjects and projects. She has been an active board member of the Polymer Society of Thailand (PST) since 2013. She also contributes to academic outreach for the Thai rubber industry through the “Coaching Project” aiming to develop their human resources via product or process development using a team learning approach and research methods.

: kannika-sahakaro-306309a
: @KSahakaro

Dr Keizo Akutagawa

Visiting Professor, Queen Mary University of London

Dr Keizo Akutagawa has worked at the Japanese tyre industry more than 30 years in a variety of roles as a research fellow and manager. Following the retirement, he is currently a Visiting Professor in the School of Engineering & Materials Science at Queen Mary University of London in 2020, having a place working at the UK automotive industry.  He was a board member and editorial board of the Society of Rubber Industry, Japan (SRIJ). His research interests are rubber science and tyre mechanics. He was awarded the 59th Rubber Technology Achievement Award by SRIJ in 2021.

: keizo-akutagawa-2a936373

Professor Leif Kari

Vice President, KTH Royal Institute of Technology

Leif Kari is professor of Engineering Acoustics at the Department of Engineering Mechanics, KTH Royal Institute of Technology. He has 30 years' research experience in consitutive modelling, active, semi-active and passive vibration damping and isolation. Since 2019 he is also Vice President at KTH with a special responsibility for education.

: https://www.kth.se/en/sci/2.14290/ave/avd/mwl/contact/professor-leif-kari-dr-sci-tech-1.64774
: leif-kari-b079b12

Dr Lewis Tunnicliffe

Product Design and Development Manager, Birla Carbon

Dr. Lewis Tunnicliffe is Product Design and Development Manager for rubber product development at Birla Carbon. His work involves the development of new raw materials for the rubber industry and the generation of industrially relevant understandings of structure-property relationships for viscoelastic and fracture effects in particle reinforced rubbers. He leads a team of scientists within Birla Carbon R&D. Dr. Tunnicliffe received a masters and Ph.D in materials science from the rubber research group at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL). Dr. Tunnicliffe then worked as an industrially sponsored post-doctoral research associate at QMUL before joining Birla Carbon. His research interests include rheology, viscoelasticity particulate reinforcement and fracture of rubber materials.

Dr Toshio Tada

General Manager, Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd

Toshio Tada is a general manager at Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd in Japan, with over a decade of experience on material testing covering friction, wear, fracture ageing and reinforcement analysis of rubber compounds used for tires.

Dr Ulrich Giese

Professor | Managing Director, Deutsches Institut für Kautschuktechnologie e. V. | DIK Prüfgesellgeschaft mbH

Ulrich Giese received his PHD in chemistry from the University of Paderborn/Germany in 1988. He started in 1989 working in rubber research and chemistry at the German Institute of Rubber Technology (DIK e. V.). Currently he is Managing Director of DIK e. V. and of “DIK Testing Laboratory” founded in 2017 with overall 40 scientists and 35 technicians. Furthermore U. Giese developed the DIK activities in teaching and education. Since 2010 U. Giese is a distinguished professor at the Leibniz University of Hannover (faculty of natural science: resp.: “Applicated Polymer Chemistry”.) Since 2013 he is editor of the scientific part of the international Rubber Journal “Kautschuk Gummi Kunststoffe”.

: deutsches-institut-für-kautschuktechnologie-e-v

Professor Liqun Zhang

No bio provided

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Ramakrishnan S

Apollo Tyres

No bio provided