Materials Science Research Centre

Sharon is Professor of Design & Materials, and Director of the RCA’s Materials Science Research Centre. She is responsible for the intellectual and strategic leadership of the Centre, raising research funding, management of staff members, and management of labs. She contributes to cross-College business through a number of committees.

Dr Bruna Petreca is Reader in Human Experience and Materials at the Materials Science Research Centre. She works in the integration of human experience into new areas of materials development: circular economy, digital environments, on-site/on-demand manufacture, human health and wellbeing. Currently, she leads ground-breaking research to deliver new circular fashion-textile experiences and innovative digital tools as the Consumer Experience strand lead in the UKRI Interdisciplinary Textiles Circularity Centre and as Co-I in the EPSRC Consumer Experience Digital Tools for Dematerialisation for the Circular Economy project.

Miriam is the Senior Research Fellow in Materials Circularity for Distributed Manufacture of the Materials Science Research Centre (MSRC) and she leads the Materials Circularity research strand of the Textiles Circularity Centre (TCC). Her research transforms biomaterial design practices within circular and regenerative socio-ecological systems. She nurtures interdisciplinary collaborations with academic and industry partners that integrate circular design, materials science, biological sciences, advanced manufacturing, and environmental sciences.

Lucie is a design researcher developing digital tools to encourage more sustainable approaches to fashion and textiles focusing on craft, materials and repair skills.

Professor Phil Purnell is Visiting Professor at the Materials Science Research Centre.

Roberta is part of the Bio-manufacturing Textiles from Waste project funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).

Chipp is a researcher at the Textile Circularity Centre with a background in robotics, engineering and creative computing.

Ricardo is a fusionist designer and researcher interested in body x world relationships and hybrid environments focused on wearables, smart devices, and materials.

Żaneta is a researcher and practitioner with a background in circular design, human behaviour, and socio-technical systems.

Eevee is a Postdoctoral Researcher in Circular Supply Chain Systems Design. They investigate how stories can help us understand and transform textiles ecologies and promote more sustainable cultures.

Kailash is a Specialist Technical Instructor in Biomaterials, as well as the Laboratory Manager for a new research-focused biomaterials lab situated in the Materials Science Research Centre. He is leading the development of this lab, which will enable a pathway from ideation to experimentation all within a versatile space for biomaterial science at the College.

Lissy is a researcher and interdisciplinary designer, with a background in Textiles. Her interests lie within knitted inhabitable spaces and sensory properties of materials.

Chiara's research proposes to devise novel and creative interdisciplinary ‘design-science’ approaches for bio-based deconstruction of wool in a context of circular textile economy.