Bristol Composites Institute Strengthens Team with Two Key Appointments to Foster New Technology Partnerships
The Bristol Composites Institute (BCI) at the University of Bristol has appointed two prominent sector leaders as Honorary Industrial Professors.
The BCI has appointed Faye Smith OBE, one of the UK’s foremost authorities on composite materials, and Mike Hinton, a World Fellow of the International Committee on Composite Materials.
Both appointees have provided significant support for the work of the industry-led Composites Leadership Forum (CLF) and contributed input to the 2016 Composites Strategy published by the CLF and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
Commenting on the appointments, Professor Ole Thomsen, Co-Director of the BCI, said: “We continually seek new ways to encourage intellectual diversity and feel that these appointments will facilitate mutual learning and strengthen our ties to the national agenda.”
The BCI is a specialist research institute which launched in 2017. The Institute combines cutting edge fundamental and applied science with strong industrial links to deliver sustainable composites solutions for the benefit of society and the global community.
It is hoped the new Honorary Industrial Professors can strengthen the reach of the BCI’s research across different sectors, with a view to building new technology partnerships that can help solve some of engineering’s grand challenges.
Faye Smith OBE frequently engages with decision makers in academia, Government and industry, while Mike Hinton is a senior advisor to the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, supporting the development of its strategy, and an advisor to the government on technology needs and strategic opportunities.
They will provide wider benefits to the University through guest lectures for academic staff and students, as well as sharing their expertise with wider professional services teams via open talks on strategy development and technology road-mapping.