The IOM3 Elastomer Group, formerly known as the Rubber In Engineering Group (RIEG), organises regular webinars, technical discussion meetings and conferences to develop a broader understanding of the behaviour of elastomers and elastomer composites. The group examines how to use elastomers in engineering design, ensure that their properties are successfully exploited and promotes the use of sustainable elastomers for use in the circular economy.
James Busfield
James has been the Head of the Soft Matter Group at Queen Mary University of London since 1994. His research group is currently the largest elastomer materials group in the UK. He was made a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2020 and a National Teaching Fellow in 2009. He has been in a leadership role of the IOM3 Elastomer Group for more than 25 years, with whom he has organised nearly 100 discussion meetings and conferences of interest to the rubber community. He is the associate editor of the IOM3 Journal "Plastics, Rubber and Composites: Macromolecular Engineering" and is on the leadership team of the IOM3 Polymer Group and Elastomer Group.
Davide De Focatiis
Dr Davide De Focatiis is Associate Professor in the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Nottingham. His research expertise is in the development of novel characterisation methods and constitutive models for polymers, elastomers, composites and biological tissues. He has been awarded >£4m in research funding, and has published over 60 refereed journal articles and book chapters, and over 80 conference papers, as well as one patent. He has developed a novel mechanism for the biaxial testing of elastomers, and has a special interest in elastomer testing for constitutive modellling. He has been on the leadership team of the Elastomer group since 2009, and also sits on the leadership team of the Materials Characterisation and Properties group
Sally Beken
With a Ph.D in Polymer Science from the University of Birmingham Sally has over 35 years’ experience in research, innovation, and collaboration. Working in the medical sector she reformulated elastomeric seals patented for use in asthma inhalers which led to mitigating aerosol depletion of the ozone layer.
She’s passionate about zero waste particularly with respect to plastics and polymers and in 2018 founded and the UK Circular Plastics Network. As Plastics Innovation Lead at Innovate UK she helped shape the Sustainable Smart Plastic Packaging Challenge, a £60m fund to shape and support the innovative UK materials, packaging and waste communities to reduce persistent plastic waste in the environment.
In 2023 she was made an Honorary Professor at Brunel University having supported them for over 20years. She also holds strategic advisory rolesr for growing start-ups such as innovative packaging company Magical Mushroom Co, behaviour change specialists Peasy and novel depolymerisation company Sylatech.
Roly Whear
Member of the Elastomer Group of the IOM3 since 2001 involved in organising events and conferences. Technical Specialist at Jaguar Land Rover responsible for Anti Vibration Mounting Systems and elastomeric suspension components
Dr Mokarram Hossain
Dr Hossain’s research interests lie in the wide and interdisciplinary areas of soft polymeric and active multifunctional materials (electro-active polymers, magneto-active polymers, light-activated polymers, active hydrogels etc), ranging from material synthesis, experimental study (e.g. multi-axial and multi-field fatigue fracture study of soft polymers) to computational modelling. He is active in field of clean energy harvesting using soft polymers. He received significant amount of research grants both from UKRI and industries in the field of soft polymers.
Stephen Millington FIMMM
Steve has over 40 years’ experience of working with a broad range of non-metallics materials and began his career with MOD at Woolwich Arsenal before moving to DERA at Farnborough and, eventually, to QinetiQ. He joined Avon Protection in 2011 and has been leading the Materials Innovation team since November 2022. The team supplies internal non-metallic materials and processes support to Avon, covering the complete product cycle from conception to end-of-life and disposal, as well as undertaking test, analysis, and consultancy work for external customers from a variety of industry sectors.
Michael Clayton FIMMM FAPRI
A Chemical Engineering graduate, Michael has over 20 years in the rubber industry including GM and Executive roles. He served 13 years as Chairman of the Australasian Plastics and Rubber Institute and is the current Executive Chairman of the International Rubber Conference Organisation.
Robert Ellis M.Sc, GRAD.PRI, C.Sci, FIMMM
40+ years in industry in numerous roles involving manufacturing, R&D, materials engineering & rubber compounding. Currently Senior Process Engineer at Avon Protection, responsible for the design & optimisation of rubber manufacturing processes for military & civilian protection products.
Industrial representative on the Elastomer Group committee member since 2014
Avon Protection are sponsors of Elastomer Group activities.
Dr. Khai D Q Nguyen
| Dr. Khai D Q Nguyen is a Product Development Team Leader at Puraffinity, who is developing smart materials for addressing the emerging challenges of removing PFAS species. He joined the IOM3 Elastomer Group leadership team in 2019 to help organise regular technical discussion meetings and conferences in the field of rubber and elastomers, and networking events to promote the connection between industry and academic organisations. |
Merryn Hobbs
Merryn is the Materials Innovation Manager for Trelleborg AVS, having previously worked there in R&D, gaining knowledge and experience in the analysis and formulation of rubber materials. She has been a member of the IOM3 Elastomer Group committee since 2019 and has been apart of organizing ATDMs and conferences.
Dr. Matthew Thornton MBA BSc (Hons) CEnv FIMMM
Commercial Manager at the Bridge at the University of Lincoln, the Secretary-General for the International Rubber Conference Organisation, a Chartered Environmentalist and a Fellow of the IOM3. For the IOM3, I am a Member of The Elastomer Group, The Polymer Group and the East Midlands Materials Society. Prior to joining the University of Lincoln I spent more than 15 years working in industry in the advanced materials and engineering sector in innovation and R&D roles. I have a BSc (Hons) in Chemistry with Chemical Engineering, a PhD in Materials Science and Engineering and and MBA.
Christian Nwosu
Christian is a final year PhD student in Nanomaterials at the University of Manchester, UK. His research thesis is focused on the Design, Formulations and Analysis of Graphene Materials and their Elastomer Nanocomposites. Prior to his ongoing PhD study, Chris obtained his BSc in Physics (graduating at the top of his class). And later obtained an MSc in Applied Nanotechnology from Cranfield University, UK. In addition to his ongoing research, Chris is highly skilled in Graphene Materials processing/characterisations, SEM/AFM microscopy, Raman/XRD/FTIR analysis, Mechanical and Thermal analysis.
Dr Abilash Nair CEng CSci FIMMM
Dr Abilash Nair is currently working as Materials Development Manager at Dunlop Aircraft tyres Ltd, Birmingham, UK. He has expertise in developing innovative and sustainable materials for light-weight aircraft tyres, rubber & latex compounding, polymer blends & composites, plastics and fibre technologies.
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 and Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining. He has been a member of the IOM3 Elastomer Group leadership team since 2019.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-abilash-kumar-nair-ceng-csci-fimmm-b9965112/
David Cawthra
David has more than 25 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.
Dr Joseph Hallett FIMMM CEng
Dr Hallett has worked in the polymer industry for over 25 years in a number of roles including product design, research and development and customer technical support. He has worked for a total of 17 years with Birla Carbon and since re-joining the company in 2019, has been part of the team developing its Continua™ range of sustainable carbonaceous materials and is now the global technical lead for this product group. He is an active member of ASTM D36 working with the wider industry in developing standard for ‘recovered’ carbon black.
Mark Wilkinson
Technical Manager at Fenner Precision, with over 18 years of experience in the rubber goods manufacturing industry. Throughout my career, I have worked across diverse roles in technical operations and quality management, focusing on advancing materials and processes in elastomer applications. I am passionate about driving innovation, maintaining high-quality standards, and contributing to the continued development of the elastomer industry.
Dr Frank Abraham
Dr Frank Abraham is the Head Building Engineering, within the School of Mechanical Engineering, at the Technological University Dublin, Ireland.
He has been involved in Elastomer research since 1999, when he joined the German Institute of Rubber Technology, DIK, Hannover.
His research interests include sustainable engineering (design), renewable energy & heating systems technology, including building automation, Industry 4.0, innovation, design of testing facilities for products, including human implants, prostheses and materials, automotive & tyre technology, fracture mechanics, fatigue life testing and simulation.
He has been on the committee member of the IOM3 Elastomer Group since 2009.
Rowan Carstensen
For two and a half years Rowan has been the Operations Manager at Prodrive Composites. Here he has led productivity and cultural turn-arounds and investment into automation to continue driving sustainable products. He has recently completed a part-time MBA at Imperial College London to broaden his knowledge and position himself to make tangible, strategic impacts in the transport sector.
Talking about why he applied for the role, Rowan said, ‘The UK’s sustainability ambitions and drive for an increasingly productive economy will require a synchronised approach in the transport sector. The role IOM3 can play is significant. I look forward to understanding the demands, challenges and opportunities of each Technical Community, combining their knowledge base and guiding them toward a holistic and advantageous position to grow the UK transport sector’.
Rowan oversees the IOM3 Adhesion & Adhesives Group, Composites Group, and Elastomer Group.
Vincent Coveney
With 40 years’ experience in research and applications with elastomers, in university, research laboratory, and industrial settings, Vincent is a member of the leadership team of the IOM3 Elastomer Group, a Scientific Advisor to Rockatek, and a Visiting Professor at University of the West of England, Bristol.
Tom Bennett
Tom has nearly a decade of experience at the intersection of polymers, rubbers, advanced materials, chemical distribution, and chemical engineering. He works with suppliers, manufacturers, and customers across the rubber industry and beyond to manage sales and generate new business through a consultative approach. PhD-qualified and PRINCE2-certified, Tom specialises in identifying client needs, developing fit-for-purpose solutions, and delivering projects from concept to commercialisation across global markets. Tom lives in Manchester and is passionate about entrepreneurship. In his spare time he can usually be found with a tennis racket in hand, watching sports, or out exploring the countryside. Tom is also an active Manchester Polymer Group (MPG) committee member and a member of the IOM3 and RSC.
