Speakers

Colonel (Retired) Dan Anders-Brown MA CEng FIMechE CMgr MCMI 

Dan Anders-Brown was commissioned into the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers in April 1999 and spent the following 30 years in engineering and technology development roles, ending his time as the Deputy Head of DE&S’ Future Capability Group, and acting as the SRO for High Value Manufacturing. He specialised in advanced materials, additive manufacturing, robotics and artificial intelligence.  

Dan left the Army in 2023, and joined QinetiQ immediately as the Head of Growth for Future Technology, Advanced Materials, Electrification and IP where he oversees a considerable portfolio of technology. 

Dr Gyen Ming Angel is the Managing Director at Prosemino, the first lab-based venture studio focused on climate and energy startups.

Prosemino co-founds, invests in and builds climate & energy tech startups, taking them from concept through to seed investment in its labs in Canada Water, London. Its portfolio includes Sention Technologies (advanced battery diagnostics) and Redoxion (li-ion battery materials), alongside ventures in hydrogen electrolysers, supercapacitors, methane mitigation and beyond.

Balancing the roles of investor and builder, Gyen works closely with scientists and entrepreneurs to translate breakthrough research into scalable businesses. He oversees Prosemino’s venture team, supporting portfolio companies in technical development, commercial strategy, IP, and fundraising. Prior to Prosemino, he worked with startups across feasibility studies, product development, and early growth. He holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering from University College London, where he focused on nanomaterials for energy storage and conversion applications.

Professor Javaid Butt is a renowned expert in advanced manufacturing, specialising in the interdisciplinary domains of additive manufacturing, digital twins, smart manufacturing, and Industry 4.0. With a robust portfolio of externally funded projects, his work focuses on developing sustainable production systems through the integration of physics-informed simulations, machine learning, automation, and circular materials approaches. Working closely with industrial partners, he delivers impactful research that translates into practical manufacturing solutions, including new products, services, and technology demonstrators. His expertise spans advanced manufacturing, composites, and sustainable materials, with a strong focus on applying research to improve industrial performance, innovation, and resource efficiency. 

Mr. Barkan founded The Graphene Council in 2013 which recently expanded to become the Advanced Carbons Council (ACC). This global trade association connects producers, end-users, and commercial professionals that have an interest in the research, development and application of all advanced carbon materials.

For more than 30 years, Terrance Barkan CAE has been building trade and professional associations on a global basis.

The Advanced Carbons Council currently reached more than 40,000 materials professionals and experts from around the world making it the largest community for people with an interest in materials that includes graphene, carbon nano tubes (CNTs), carbon fiber and other novel forms of carbon. The ACC produces weekly intelligence briefing newsletters, contributes to global standards bodies and administers Verified Producer™ programs.

Under the leadership of Mr. Barkan, the Advanced Carbons Council has become the leading global organization promoting the adoption and integration of enhanced and advanced carbon materials solutions.

Charlie is the Technical Sales Manager for 3DCeram, and the Area Sales Manager for the UK & Ireland as well as Australia and New Zealand, having previously worked as a Research & Development Engineer at the company.

Soon after joining 3DCeram following his master’s degree in the science and engineering of materials obtained from the University of Limoges, Charlie worked on the development of new materials, new machines, and printing of benchmark parts to showcase 3DCeram’s SLA capabilities. Now he’s turned his attention to working with customers on developing their projects and adopting AM for their own benefit.

As the Aerospace, Defence & Nuclear Product Marketing Manager, Enya’s role looks at recognising new opportunities and implementing strategies to exploit Lucideon’s capabilities. Enya’s technology focuses include ceramic matrix composites, ceramic additive manufacturing, and ceramic processing.

Furthermore, Enya completed her MEng Aeronautical Engineering degree in 2022. With her technical background and commercial understanding, she ensures market needs are addressed, and new innovative and disruptive opportunities are identified.

Dr Jafar Daji is Technical Manager at Parkinson Spencer Refractories Ltd (PSR). He joined PSR in 2009 after working as a Materials Scientist and Project Manager at Morgan Advanced Materials in Swansea. He obtained a PhD in Materials Science from the University of Leeds subsequently continuing there as a postdoctoral research fellow before moving into industry. 

His professional interests include high temperature materials (particularly refractories and ceramics for glass and other demanding applications), materials technology, process improvement, and decarbonisation. 

He is a member of the Society of Glass Technology.  

He serves on the External Advisory Board for the Department of Materials at the University of Manchester.  

I began my career as a factory apprentice working across all areas of a PCB factory. Over the next 12 years, I progressed through technical, production, and general management roles before founding my own PCB company in 1989. 

I sold in 2019 after growing to become a multi-site PCB business serving all technologies with revenues over $20m.  

Today, I am CEO of Jiva Materials, a start-up backed by investments. We have developed a biodegradable PCB substrate to reduce CO2 emissions and solve end-of-life recycling challenges. 

Other roles include Chairman of the Institute of Circuit Technology, mentor at University of Bath, School Governor, various NED roles, member of the European Institute of Printed Circuits and a regular conference speaker. 

I am passionate about work and value being part of a fast-changing industry. 

Eimear O’Carroll is the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and co-founder of Lios. 

Trained as a physicist at The University of Edinburgh, Eimear co-invented Lios’ innovative noise reduction technologies. 

In her role as CTO, Eimear is the bridge between Lios’ customers and the product development team. Experienced in current industry requirements and upcoming regulatory and industrial changes, Eimear identifies commonalities in requirements from different industries and then examines how SoundBounce can solve those challenges. 

Eimear has previously spoken on the topic of advanced materials and their role in creating a sustainable future. She has been invited to share her insights at global events such as the International Automotive Show (IAA) in Germany and JEC World on the Women in Composites showcase. Her passion for creating better advanced materials and her unwavering commitment to innovation makes her a valuable asset to the industry and a leader in her field. 

linkedin.com/in/eimearocarroll 

David Elson is Head of Materials and Manufacturing at Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency. He leads a multidisciplinary team of specialists supporting UK businesses to innovate and scale, strengthening the resilience, sustainability, and competitiveness of British industry. The team works closely with the High Value Manufacturing Catapult to help companies design, develop, and deliver impactful innovation, and also hosts the UK National Contact Point for Horizon Europe Cluster 4: Industry. Innovate UK’s engagement with the sector is guided by the Materials and Manufacturing Vision 2050. 

Jason Farrell has worked in the UK nuclear sector for around 20 years, in industrial, consultancy and academic roles. His main technical area of interest is nuclear fuels and materials, while he has also worked on other topics in nuclear generation, decommissioning and radioactive waste management. For the past two years he has been working with Lucideon (AMRICC) and a selection of UK universities (Sheffield, Nottingham, Royce at Manchester) on a major experimental project relating to immobilisation of actinide materials in a zirconolite-based wasteform. This work involved the first use of AMRICC’s new Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP) system. 

Jennifer Ferguson is the Applications Manager of the Spectroscopy Products division at Renishaw plc. Jennifer is experienced in the characterisation of materials with Raman spectroscopy. She completed a PhD in biophysics at the University of York which specialised in the investigation of graphene as an antimicrobial agent using Raman spectroscopy. Jennifer has applied her knowledge to a wide range of application areas, including batteries and microplastics. 

Caroline France is an experienced policy professional at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. She currently leads the Advanced Materials and Robotics & Autonomous Systems policy teams, looking at how government can best support the sectors and wider innovation ecosystem for these important technology areas. Caroline has previously worked on policy for Quantum Technologies and Digital Identity, amongst other areas. She is currently part-time studying for an Executive Masters in Public Policy at the London School of Economics.    

Dr. Andreas Frehn is Materion’s Director of Technology and Innovation and Technical Marketing for Europe and the Middle East. He studied metallurgy and material science at RWTH Aachen University in Germany and later got his PhD on the subject of formability of modern austenitic stainless steels. Dr. Frehn has worked in materials development and applications throughout his career. Prior to Materion, he was the Head of Global Materials Technology at Benteler Automotive in Germany. With Materion since 2020, Dr. Frehn is responsible for ongoing research and development on various topics and applications. Connect with him on LinkedIn, where you can also find a list of his presentations and publications. 

Patrick Frey completed his master’s degree in mechanical engineering and mechatronics at the Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences in the field of technology, followed by a career in engineering at BASF SE. With a change to the Performance Materials business sector and in a new function as a simulation engineer for thermoplastics but also in the context of innovation projects as a creation engineer, he got to know the world of plastics from different perspectives. Patrick Frey completed his master’s degree in economics and management at the Technical University of Kaiserslautern. Patrick Frey is currently Segment Manager for eMobility with focus on Engineering Plastics at BASF SE in Ludwigshafen in the business sector Performance Materials

Enrique is Associate Professor in Materials Science and Engineering. Before joining UCL, he obtained a RAEng Research Fellowship at Cambridge University in 2017, where he established a large research group on Material Simulation and Advanced Manufacturing. He was a Research Associate between 2014 and 2016 also at Cambridge. Enrique obtained his PhD in Materials Science from Delft University of Technology (Netherlands) in 2013 and he has two degrees, one in Mathematics by the National Autonomous University of Mexico, and another in Mechanical Engineering by the Panamerican University (Mexico). 
 
Enrique has published over 60 peer-reviewed papers concerning different aspects of the process-microstructure-property paradigm in advanced materials. He was awarded the “2019 Metals Young Investigator Award” in recognition for his outstanding contribution to research in Metals. He has been invited as Keynote speaker at several top international conferences in Materials and Deformation, as well as presenting at more than 15 international conferences in the field. 
 
Enrique is the principal supervisor of several post-docs, PhDs and Masters students. The build of his large team has been due to his early success in attracting funding as principal investigator from UK research councils and through multiple collaborations with industry. 

Amy is Head of the Materials Science and Engineering Programme at UKAEA, seconded into the UK Government’s commercial fusion energy programme, STEP, as the Materials Development and Realisation Manager. In 2024-2025 she brought together the UK fusion materials communities to update the UK Fusion Materials Roadmap (uk-materials-roadmap-2-0.pdf). Previously, she held a Leverhulme Trust Royal Academy of Engineering Research Fellowship and led the Fusion Materials Group as an academic in Nuclear Materials Engineering at the University of Sheffield (2015-2022). She has over 23 years’ experience investigating radiation damage effects in materials, with 11 years’ developing materials specifically for fusion power production.

Gilda is the Director of Programmes at Lucideon and “Midlands Advanced Ceramics for Industry 4.0” Programme Manager. She has 16 years’ experience in product development, scale up and collaboration across a variety of high value manufacturing sectors. The “Midlands Advanced Ceramics for Industry 4.0” Programme is funded by UKRI through their flagship funding scheme “Strength in Places” and brings together 13 partners across the Advanced Ceramics sector supply chain. The aim of the programme is to bring economical and social growth for the Advanced Ceramics sector in the Midlands through the acceleration of new product development and of innovation commercialisation.

Tom Gould is the Managing Director for Verder Scientific UK, a background in Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, he has worked for Carbolite Gero, a Verder company, for 15 years and has in depth understanding of Furnace and Oven processes and technology.  As Managing Director for Verder Scientific in the UK, he looks after a team of technical experts supplying equipment for solid sample analysis and sample preparation including Milling and Sieving (Retsch), Particle Characterisation (Microtrac), Elemental Analysers (Eltra) and Materialography & Hardness (QATM).   

‘I am a Senior Research Engineer in the laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) team at GKN Aerospace, with a background in materials science and additive manufacturing. My work focuses on parameter development, process optimisation, and continuous improvement to enable robust and repeatable additive manufacturing for aerospace applications.’ 

Arya Hakimian is a Subject Matter Expert at C-Therm Technologies with nearly a decade of experience in thermal analysis and materials characterization. He holds an MSc in Chemistry and a BSc in Medicinal Chemistry from the University of New Brunswick. 

Adam Hardy is the founder of a specialist recruitment agency supporting engineering-led businesses across precision engineering, EV/battery, logistics, and defence, with 10 years’ experience helping companies build high-performing teams. 

Dr Cathryn Hickey – Chief Executive of AMRICC, and Director of Lucideon, the Advanced Materials consultancy based in North Staffordshire. Cathryn led the successful bid and is now Programme Director of the Strength in Places (SIPF) wave 2 programme entitled ‘Midlands Advanced Ceramics for Industry 4.0’ which was started in 2021.  This comprises a 5 year research programme with MICG partners as well as the development of The AMRICC Centre as a go-to facility for ceramics innovation commercialisation.  Cathryn is also leading Lucideon’s contribution to the Foundation Industries Sustainability Consortium (FISC) through its participation in the Economiser Programme.  This activity involves the implementation of data science and machine learning to key ceramics manufacturing sites to enable manufacturing process optimisation, and share learning with other foundation industries. Cathryn has a first class honours degree and PhD in Chemistry from University of Sheffield, 18 years experience in the downstream oil business and 10 years experience in vocational skills development for a variety of industries.

Brenna Howley is a UK and European Patent Attorney at Gill Jennings & Every LLP – a specialist intellectual property law firm based in London.  She is part of the Chemistry and Life Sciences group, and her work involves patent drafting, prosecution and advising on portfolio strategy. She has a particular interest in contentious matters, especially oppositions before the European Patent Office.

Brenna’s areas of specialism are predominantly in the chemical, materials, pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. She works with a diverse range of clients from start-ups, SMEs, investors and universities, to multinational corporations.

Prior to GJE, Brenna worked in-house at a biopharmaceutical company that develop CAR T-cell therapies for the treatment of cancer.

Brenna holds a BSc in Chemistry from the University of Glasgow, and a MSc in Management of Intellectual Property from Queen Mary University of London.  Her research focused on solid-state graphene oxide-metal hydride composites for hydrogen storage applications.”

Gerardo Igler is an accomplished sales professional at Lithoz, specialising in ceramic 3D printing solutions. With his extensive background in business development and customer relations, he plays a pivotal role in driving market growth and expanding Lithoz’s global presence. He specialises in identifying strategic opportunities, fostering partnerships and delivering innovative, industry-specific solutions. Gerardo is committed to advancing the adoption of cutting-edge technology through strong client engagement and effective sales strategies, and is dedicated to excellence.

Simon has 25 years plus experience in inventing and developing methods for materials characterisation. He is a world leader in creation of in situ methods, chemical imaging and software development for high throughput data processing. Following a BSc in biochemistry at Kings College, London, Simon obtained an MSc and PhD in pure and applied crystallography from Birkbeck College, London. As post-doctoral research, he co-founded Finden Ltd, a scientific consultancy and analytical services provider that specializes in high-end materials characterization known for its expertise in advanced X-ray techniques and deep learning-based data analysis.  

Dr. Xiaoping Jiang is a materials scientist and the founder of MTI Corporation. He received his Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from the Institute of Metal Research (IMR), Chinese Academy of Sciences, in 1988. He subsequently completed postdoctoral training at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 1988 to 1991. 
Dr. Jiang has published approximately 40 papers in international journals. He founded MTI Corporation in California, USA, where the company has produced advanced laboratory equipment for materials research since 1994. 

Simon Kenney is CEO of Goodfellow, a leading global supplier of materials for research and industry. With the company for nine years and appointed CEO in 2021, Simon has extensive experience honed over a long career dedicated to the materials sector, including significant international roles. His leadership at Goodfellow is characterised by a drive for innovative and progressive change, motivating teams to deliver measurable results, which has seen significant growth for the business, culminating in the successful acquisitions of Potomac, Suisse TP, and BAS, strengthening its position in the advanced materials market.

Dr Mikael Khan is Managing Director of Wolfmet, part of M&I Materials Ltd, and a recognised leader at the intersection of advanced materials, sustainability, and global commerce. Holding a doctorate from the University of Leeds, he brings over 25 years of executive experience in R&D, technology strategy, and business growth across aerospace, defence, medical, energy, and environmental sectors. Mikael is driven by a belief that advanced materials are central to building a more sustainable and resilient world and has spent his career turning that conviction into commercial reality. 

Tony Kinsella joined Lucideon in July 2004, bringing over 30 years’ experience in general management to his role. Tony is a qualified marketeer, strategist and leader and has a background in chemistry.  Tony has led Lucideon to its market-leading position as a development and commercialisation organisation (DCO), specialising in materials technology, processes, and testing.

His day-to-day role encompasses leading the Group and the Management Team and horizon scanning with a view to future proofing Lucideon alongside the CSO; and directing decisions on investments and spends.

Tony has lived and worked in the USA, Germany, South Africa, alongside the UK and brings his varied experience to his position as CEO and to his position as Director of Lucideon Group Ltd and all Lucideon companies.

Professor David Knowles joined the Henry Royce Institute as its CEO in early 2019, bringing with him a wealth of experience from senior roles in both academia and industry in the areas of materials and structural integrity. David is particularly experienced in leading the collaboration between higher education and industry, to accelerate energy sector-related research, knowledge transfer and implementation. 

David is a Fellow of the Royal Academy, a Professor of Nuclear Engineering at Bristol University and was Co-Director of the South-West Nuclear Hub and Atkins Fellow. Through his career he has lead materials research at Shell Global Solutions, served as CTO at Quest Integrity (operating throughout Australasia and SE Asia) and lectured at Cambridge University; collaborating with Rolls-Royce as Assistant Director of their Ni-alloy UTC. 

In recent years David has led industrial projects related to design and assessment of renewable energy offshore structures, oil and gas and nuclear plant. He holds and participates in several EPSRC/Innovate grants and is the PI on ‘SINDRI Prosperity Partnership’ which is developing cutting-edge digital technology for nuclear plant design and assessment. 

Dr Xuekun Lu is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Engineering and Materials Science at Queen Mary University of London. He is the awardee of the prestidious ERC Consolidator Grant and EPSRC Open Postdoc Fellowship, and leads a research group focused on advancing next-generation novel-structured energy storage materials through the integration of evidence-driven manufacturing, multiscale multimodal operando imaging, 3D image-based modelling and machine learning techniques. He has been delivering world-leading research in energy storage and conversion, signified by 70 total publications (h-index 34, citation>4000) and 16 first-authored papers including Nature Nanotechnology, Nature Communications, Energy & Environ. Sci. and Joule.  

Darren Haines is a Master’s Via research student within the SESS research group at the University of South Wales, working at the forefront of medical battery innovation. With undergraduate degrees in Biology and Electrical Engineering and as a published author in Future Batteries, he brings a strong interdisciplinary perspective to healthcare energy challenges. Darren’s current research focuses on advancing next-generation power solutions for wearable and implantable biomedical devices, exploring improvements in miniaturization, flexibility, and biocompatibility. His work aims to develop innovative battery technologies that enhance patient outcomes and help shape the future of modern healthcare. 

Louis Masters is CEO and co-founder of Hydra Manufacturing, a University of Leeds spin-out developing hybrid manufacturing processes for advanced materials, such as ceramics. Based on over 15 years of academic research, Hydra’s technology combines additive, subtractive, drying and inspection processes, creating new manufacturing opportunities. This combination of processes accelerates development cycles, facilitates a wider range of material formulations and reduces energy consumption. Their defect correction system allows defects to be repaired mid-process, ensuring each build results in a usable end product. This allows ceramic 3D printing to move beyond prototyping towards high-value functional applications.

Jonathan Phillips plays a key role in driving innovation and operational excellence within Morgan Advanced Materials. With a strong background in materials science and engineering, he specializes in the development and application of advanced materials for diverse industries. Jonathan’s expertise lies in optimizing processes, improving product performance, and fostering collaborative relationships with customers, academia, and suppliers to address complex challenges. At Morgan Advanced Materials, he is committed to leveraging cutting-edge technology to create sustainable, high-performance technical ceramic solutions that meet the evolving needs of customers across various sectors.

Lynne Porter leads the UKRI Strength in Places Fund, a £350m UKRI programme with the aim of helping areas of the UK build on existing strengths in research and innovation to deliver benefits for their local economy. There are 13 projects, including Midlands Advanced Ceramics.  Projects have focused on a self-defined area, anywhere in the UK, to bring businesses and research organisations together in partnership to generate impact.  It is the first large scale, experimental, place based research and innovation programme in the UK. 

Dr Ehsan Sabet is an associate professor of Ceramics AM at Loughborough University and the founder and CEO of Additive Manufacturing Centre of Excellence, the biggest ceramic 3D printing facility in Europe with over two hundred ceramic printers and a full material development and a characterisation facility in Derby, UK.  Ehsan has twenty years of experience in research and manufacturing in material development and 3D printing. His track record of managing multi-million pounds industrial and research projects has made impacts in the supply chain of Rolls Royce (RR), SIEMENS, Jaguar & Land Rover (JLR), JCB Compact Systems, and General Motors (GM), as well as many small and medium-sized manufacturers in the UK and Europe.

Dr. Baber Saleem is a Research Associate and SIPF Project Manager at the University of Leicester, working within the UKRI-funded Midlands Advanced Ceramics for Industry 4.0 (MICG) programme. His work focuses on digital twins, finite element modelling, and machine learning for sintering of advanced ceramics and ceramic matrix composites. He has developed ANN-enhanced digital twin frameworks integrated within ABAQUS for predicting sintering shrinkage and distortion in industrial ceramic components, collaborating with partners including Morgan Advanced Materials, Rolls-Royce, and Lucideon. His research aims to accelerate process optimisation, improve manufacturing efficiency, and reduce material waste in advanced ceramic production. 

Co-founder and CEO of High Temperature Material Systems, Danilo leads our pursuit of innovative Ceramic Matrix Composite solutions designed for a variety of high-temperature environments. 

Danilo’s career includes a role as a Research Fellow at the University of Birmingham. Senior Consultant at Ricardo Strategic Consulting and worked on numerous projects over three years, including electrification in the automotive industry and strategic insights for engineering companies entering the aerospace sector.  

Danilo spent almost a decade at Rolls-Royce. He was a Project Manager in Strategy and Future Programmes overseeing full-scale development programmes for advanced composite fan systems, lean burn combustors, and high-temperature turbine materials. 

Danilo holds an MBA from Warwick Business School and a PhD in Aerospace Materials that focused on developing Ceramic Matrix Composites for Rolls-Royce plc.

At Ploughshare, Kalyan leads the commercialisation of inventions and innovation from Dstl, the wider MOD network and the UK government in the field of Climate, Environment and Sustainability. He has recently joined Arthur D Little as a Non-executive Advisor for their London office, and is an Advisory Board member for Innegev, a start-up technology incubator organisation where he advocates for the development of sustainable technologies across a wide range of sectors. Kalyan also manages Ploughshare’s partnership and service contract with The National Oceanography Centre and The Met Office.

Following his PhD in nanotechnology from the University of Cambridge, he worked across the UK, Europe, the USA, Israel, Singapore, China, and in Southeast Asia. He has also completed a senior executive programme in Strategy and Innovation from MIT and IMD, and is a fellow at the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3).

Prior to joining Ploughshare, he headed the delivery of the CTO’s corporate venturing implementation strategy of a FTSE 250 chemical company. He developed open innovation assets, ecosystems and capabilities in various geographies to identify external projects, and built technology portfolios to support the development of future products and markets. He also worked for UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) as a Global Innovation lead. In this role, he was responsible for providing expert advice on European funding in Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials, and represented the UK at the Programme Committee and High-Level Advisory Group of the European Commission’s (EC) Directorate of Research and Innovation. He had the opportunity to work on many strategic projects with various European government agencies, industries and research organisations.

Akhil leads Climate Tech for HSBC Commercial Banking in the UK, overseeing the division’s activities with companies that are aiming to deliver decarbonisation, climate management and circular economy solutions. He has extensive experience in financing from prior roles in large corporate relationship management and corporate finance advisory, and is focused on supporting the growth of Climate Tech companies in the UK. 

Lucy is CoDirector of the Foundation Industries Sustainability Consortium (FISC), where she leads the scaleup and commercialisation of disruptive innovations across the Foundation Industries. She develops strategies that strengthen the sector’s longterm resilience while driving sustainable growth. A Materials Engineer with an MBA, Lucy is committed to delivering realworld impact and championing sustainability, equity, diversity, and inclusion. Alongside her role at FISC, Lucy is Head of Commercial at Glass Futures Limited, leading the commercial and membership teams to deliver pilotscale research and innovation for the glass sector and its wider supply chains. 

Richard Stone is Head of Digital at Capula, with over 35 years’ experience working at the intersection of industrial automation, operational technology and digital transformation. Richard supports manufacturing, energy, nuclear and high‑value engineering organisations in turning complex process and asset data into actionable insight. He leads Capula’s Smart Digital Operations approach, helping clients improve performance, resilience and compliance through practical digital solutions that bridge OT and IT in demanding, precision‑led environments such as advanced materials and ceramics manufacturing.

My name is Thomas Strohmer and I work at ATM Qness GmbH in the Sales & Product Management Hardness Testing department. Within the international field of hardness testing, I focus on the development and implementation of modern testing solutions for industrial applications. I support distributor worldwide in designing testing processes that are efficient, reliable and practical, and in continuously optimising them. By combining technical expertise, sales experience and market insight, I develop bespoke solutions that meet the requirements of global markets, promote innovation and create sustainable added value – always with a focus on quality, efficiency and user benefits. 

Fran Synnott is a Technologist at the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) within the Structures, Manufacturing and Materials team. As part of the ATI Technology team, she supports the delivery of the ATI programme, which invests in research and technology development to deliver the strategic priorities set out in the ATI’s technology strategy, Destination Zero, aimed at enabling net-zero aviation. 

Fran holds a PhD in Materials Science from the University of Sheffield. Her doctoral and postdoctoral research focused on high-temperature materials, building experience across aerospace and space-related research programmes.  

Mandar Thakare is the Associate Director of ICAM. He joined bp in Sep 2019, as the Materials Science Programme Manager in Group Research, and is responsible for the operational aspects of the ICAM partnership. He has over ten years’ experience in materials engineering, innovation strategy and new product development. Prior to joining bp, he worked as an Innovation Programme Lead at Element Six Ltd., where he supported a multi-site global team of scientists in developing and commercialising novel polycrystalline diamond products for oil and gas applications. As part of this role, he was closely involved in developing cutters for a range of O&G drilling applications across the globe, working closely with field users and drill-bit manufacturers.

He holds a BEng in Mechanical Engineering (Mumbai, India), MSc in Surface Engineering (University of Nottingham), a PhD in Tribology (University of Southampton, Schlumberger plc funded) and an MBA (Alliance Manchester Business School). Prior to Element Six Ltd., he held a post-doctoral research position at the Osney Thermofluids Lab, University of Oxford, working closely with Rolls-Royce plc on gas turbine seals. During this period, he also tutored undergraduates in Engineering Science at St. Catherine’s College, Oxford. After his PhD, he worked for Schlumberger plc, developing wear-corrosion resistant solutions for downhole directional drilling systems. During this period, he was responsible for identifying and qualifying coatings and materials solutions for Schlumberger tools deployed globally, through new suppliers and technologies. He has published journal papers, book chapters and conference papers on the subject of tribocorrosion and is a member of the IMechE Tribology Committee as well as a reviewer for journals such as Wear, Tribology International, ASME Journal of Tribology.

Viju is an experienced Chemical Engineer with over 15 years of specialized experience in the development of novel materials and sustainable technologies across consumer products, manufacturing, medtech and energy sectors. She leads PA’s Sustainable Materials Innovation and Transformation division, where she drives cutting-edge initiatives focused on biobased materials, biomaterials, and PFAS-free technologies. Her work is centred on delivering innovative solutions that support sustainability across a wide range of industries. 

  She works closely with academic institutions, industry leaders, and clients to foster breakthrough innovations in the sustainable materials space. By leveraging PA’s extensive technical network, she drives the development of cutting-edge treatment technologies that address complex sustainability challenges. 

  She plays a pivotal role in transitioning these technologies from the laboratory to commercial application, ensuring that scientific advancements and commercial viability are effectively scaled and brought to market. 

Viktor Zólyomi is a 20+ year veteran computational materials scientist (110+ papers, 10000+ citations, 40+ h-index) with 7 years’ experience leading commercial R&D projects for clients of the Hartree Centre including Lucideon, Haydale, and Unilever, along with methodology development in collaboration with IBM Research under the Hartree National Centre for Digital Innovation programme. He is the lead developer of Hartree-MaDE, the Hartree Materials Discovery Engine. His research focus is the computational discovery of configurationally disordered crystalline materials such as high entropy compounds, using modern scalable methods like machine learning interatomic potentials. 

PhD in Condensed matter theoretical physics from University of Birmingham, UK. Joined Solvay’s materials advanced materials research group. Here I worked in atomistic modelling of high-performance thermoplastics and thermosets for application to aerospace. The modelling focussed on predicting solubility of thermoplastics and reaction induced phase separation. My work broadened to include laboratory work such as, mechanical testing with IINSTRON, physical properties with DMTA, rheology, DSC. At University of Strathclyde, I worked on developing coarse grained models for crystal nucleation and growth in polymer thin films. Recently I joined materials consultancy Lucideon to lead their Data Science and Computational Modelling group.

Ben is the Deputy Director of the Battery Innovation Programme, a £452m programme to accelerate battery research and innovation. The programme focuses on developing a UK battery technology industry that is high tech, high value and high skill. It aims to make the UK a science superpower for batteries by supporting the UK’s world-class battery facilities. It is also growing innovative businesses that are developing the battery supply chains.  

The programme comprises three core elements:  

•  Business-led innovation delivered through Innovate UK 
  • Academic focused research and capability development at the Faraday Institution,  
  • Manufacturing scale-up and skills development at the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre.  

His responsibilities include supporting the Faraday Institution, programme delivery and development of the next phase of the programme.  

He originally trained as a chemist and has 20 years’ experience in sustainability, innovation and policy making.   

is currently the Deputy Challenge Director at Innovate UK for Transforming Foundation Industries. This £149m government funded programme aims to transform the UK’s foundation industries (composed of the glass, metals, cement, ceramics, chemicals and paper industries) to make them internationally competitive, secure more jobs throughout the UK, and grow the sector. He was responsible and accountable for inception, advocacy and development of the programme. He is now working closely with the Challenge Director to deliver the approved business case and delivery plan. This involves leading a team to deliver multi-million pound research and development competitions, setting up large academic institutions and partnering with private investment houses to crowd-in additional funding.   

In a previous role within Innovate UK, he was responsible for developing and implementing the advanced materials technology strategy for UK wealth creation. As a principal contact point within Innovate UK, and for UK government, provided advice and strategic position on advanced materials innovation.    

Before working at Innovate, he has nine years’ experience as a consultant focused on resource efficiency, policy, sustainable technology and innovation.  

He has a PhD in sustainable chemistry and hands on experience of innovation and commercialisation of university generated Intellectual Property.  

He has a busy home life with three young children and is active in the local community, coaching an under 11 football team and volunteering with the village Scout Group. 

Jason has over 30 years of commercial experience. Prior to joining us he was Commercial Director for Prodrive Advanced Technology where he had responsibility for business development, sales & marketing, and programme management, growing revenues through transitioning from smaller R&D projects to larger volume production programs that also included initial R&D.  

Prior to that he was Global President for Test Services at Ricardo Plc responsible for all Engineering, Commercial, Business Development, and Facilities including full P&L responsibility for the Global Test Business. Before joining Ricardo, Jason was Head of Motorsport Business at McLaren Applied Technologies, leading a team that more than doubled revenues within 3 years. Earlier in his career Jason spent 11 years in senior commercial roles at Cosworth Group specialising in combustion engine technology and electronic vehicle control architectures across both mechanical and electronic engineering domains, preceded by 9 years in medical technical instrumentation sales. Jason originally trained as an Electronics Engineer specialising in radio, and microwave technologies before transitioning into his commercial career.  

Prof. Robert Wood’s projects are aimed to create knowledge of future lubricants/contact surface interactions, system degradation and contamination and their mitigation for seawater propulsion/tidal turbine, transmission systems, leading edges of aeroengine fan blades and wind turbine blades, electric vehicles and high power density engines. They use advanced and multimodal sensor technology, tribometer test facilities, advanced materials and coatings, data fusion and machine learning to detect degradation mechanisms, outliers and early wear.