Cellulose Nanoparticles: Chemistry and Fundamentals

Prior to commencing at Cranfield University, Dr Thakur worked as a Staff Scientist in the School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering at Washington State University, US. He was also a Research Scientist in Temasek Laboratories at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, and a Visiting Research Fellow in the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering at Lunghwa University of Science and Technology, Taiwan. Dr Thakur has published more than 120 SCI journal research articles in the field of chemical sciences / materials science and holds one United States patent. 11 of his research papers have been highlighted as Highly Cited Papers in the Web of Science and three papers have been classed as Hot Papers. He has also published 44 books and 35 book chapters on polymer science / materials science / nanotechnology with numerous publishers. He sits on the editorial board of several WoS Indexed SCI Journals (e.g. Nature Scientific Reports; Ind Crops Prod.; Adv. Polym. Tech.; Nanomaterials; PLOS ONE; Int. J. Polym. Anal. Charact; Polym. Adv. Technol) as an Editor/Editorial Advisory Board member.

Prof Elisabete Frollini is the Head of the Macromolecular Materials and Lignocellulosic Fiber Group, and is currently the coordinator of the Center for Research on Science and Technology of BioResources (Institute of Chemistry of Sao Carlos, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Carlos, Sao Paulo, Brazil), Editor-in-Chief of Industrial Crops and Products and Member of the Editorial Board of Cellulose. She has expertise in bio-based polymeric materials (including ultrathin- and nanofibers) from biomass with an emphasis on lignocellulosic biomass, which has also been used within the scope of biorefinery.

Janet L. Scott is Professor of Sustainable Chemistry in the Department of Chemistry and Training Director of the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training on Sustainable Chemical Technologies at the University of Bath. Educated in South Africa (PhD University of Cape Town, 1995), she has a background in both industry and academia in three countries: South Africa, Australia and the United Kingdom. Janet is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (from 2004), a Titular Member of Division III of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) and Secretary of the Interdivisional Committee on Green Chemistry for Sustainable Development (IUPAC ICGCSD). Her current research focus is on sustainable materials, particularly those derived from abundant and renewable biopolymers such as cellulose and she works closely with computational chemists, electrochemists, chemical and tissue engineering experts, physicists, mechanical engineers and even architects on a range of interdisciplinary projects including projects funded by the EPSRC, Innovate UK and the European Union’s H2020 programme. All projects include industrial partners as the conversion of research into sustainable materials into real products, that impact directly on the development of more sustainable products and goods, is deemed important.