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Research Strands

The TCC has a programme of research comprising three interconnected Research Strands: Material Circularity, Consumer Experience, and Circular Supply Chain. The objective of the Research Strands is to demonstrate actionable solutions that would enable our systems design.

Illustration of a woman researching materials

Materials Circularity Research Strand

The Materials Circularity Research Strand proposes an alternative course of action with materials in textiles circularity: one in which we solely use waste for clean, on-demand textile production in which garments are designed for reuse and regeneration, and in which environmental impacts are dramatically reduced.

Overview

Using lab-proven biotechnology and circular design strategies, Material Circularity is transforming bio waste into renewable polymers, fibres and flexible textile materials that can be repaired and recycled. They are also innovating advanced manufacturing techniques such as 3D weaving, robotics, additive manufacturing with circular design, to produce circular textiles for apparel.

Research challenges and objectives

The work in the Materials Circularity Research strand has three stages, each of which has its own research questions and challenges: Recycling: How can we develop sustainable high-quality textile polymers from end-of-life textiles and other waste? Regeneration and Fabrication: How will we manufacture advanced textiles from these polymers? Design of Use: How do we ensure our new textile processes thrive in the context of use?

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Our Team

Our vision is empowered by an interdisciplinary approach. Our core team consists of six laboratories from five academic institutions at the Royal College of Art, University of York, Cranfield University, University of Manchester and University of Leeds.

Dr Miriam Ribul

Research Fellow

Professor Neil Bruce

Director of the Centre for Novel Agricultural Products (CNAP) and Professor of Biotechnology

Professor Philip Purnell

Interim Head of School (Civil Engineering)

Dr Alexandra Lanot

Senior Research Associate

Dr Sameer Rahatekar

Co-Investigator

Professor Paulo Bartolo

Co-Investigator

Professor Prasad Potluri

Co-Investigator

Dr Daniel Upton

Postdoctoral Research Associate

Dr Haseeb Arshad

Research Associate

Roberta Morrow

Postdoctoral Researcher

Circular Supply Chain Research Strand

The current state of the textile supply chain is optimised to be global, fast and linear. Forces in a changing world of innovations in novel biomaterial and new consumer experiences means that supply chains must bend to become more narrow and slow with circular closed-loop resource flows.

Overview

Circular Supply Chain is designing a transparent supply chain that will promote cultures of cooperation between stakeholders, and investigating the technologies that will enable it, such as a digital 'Biomaterials Platform' through which apparel brands will access this supply chain.

Research challenges and objectives

A circular textile supply chain brings in more local actors, who will operate under new contractual arrangements, where converting organic by-products and waste feedstocks to new materials is not straightforward and brings variation to the quality, quantity, transportation cost and timing of availability of feedstock. Circular supply chains must solve this puzzle. In addition, the TCC seeks to support local manufacturing, encourage a dynamic set of SMEs and bring novel interactions with end consumers.

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Our Team

The Supply Chain team is led by the University of Cambridge (Institute for Manufacturing), with academics at the Royal College of Art (Materials Science Research Centre and the School of Design).

Professor Steve Evans

Director of the Centre for Industrial Sustainability

Professor Gareth Loudon

Head of Programmes (Global Innovation Design and Innovation Design Engineering)

Dr Żaneta Muranko

Senior Postdoctoral Researcher

Eevee Zayas-Garin

Postdoctoral Researcher

Consumer Experience Research Strand

The Consumer Experience Research Strand (CX) will offer consumer experience design that gives people agency to participate in the circular economy. We will amplify couplings between material flows and human wellbeing by designing consumer experiences that engage people in interactive, meaningful, co-creative and sustainable cultures for products.

Overview

CX is developing an in-store Configurator using creative technologies to engage consumers in digitally immersive experiences and services at the point of consumption that promote couplings between bio waste and human wellbeing, and that compel consumers to keep products in use for as long as possible. CX is designing consumer experiences that will establish a feedback loop between consumers’ experience and textiles development that contributes to textiles circularity, enable consumers to engage in co-creation of products, whilst working with design brands to reimagine participation.

Research challenges and objectives

We aim to create a new culture of consumption that will meet the demands of the market for greater sustainability whilst giving consumers greater agency to respect their environment. This requires a new relationship between consumers and their products. The key challenges for the Consumer Experience Research Strand are: Challenge 1. Promote a new culture of consumption Challenge 2. Address the ethical consumption gap Challenge 3. Facilitate the adoption of waste-based textiles

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Our Team

The Consumer Experience team is formed of academics at the Royal College of Art (Materials Science Research Centre and Information Experience Design) and UCL (UCL Institute of Education, UCL Interaction Centre, UCL Department of Computer Science and UCL Division of Psychology and Language Sciences).

Dr Bruna Petreca

Research Fellow

Professor Carey Jewitt

Professor of Technology and Learning at UCL Knowledge Lab and Chair of UCL Collaborative Social Science Domain

Professor Aikaterini Fotopoulou

Professor of Psychodynamic Neuroscience

Professor Marianna Obrist

Professor of Multisensory Interfaces

Professor Nadia Bianchi-Berthouze

Full Professor in Affective Computing and Interaction

Dr Youngjun Cho

Associate Professor

Lili Golmohammadi

Research Fellow, CX Research Strand

Dr Danielle Barrios-O’Neill

Head of Programme, Information Experience Design

Dr Temitayo Olugbade

Research Associate

Christopher Dawes

Research Fellow

Ricardo O’Nascimento

Postdoctoral Researcher

Dr. Tao Bi

Research Fellow

Chuang Yu

Research Fellow

Ren Guangyu

Research Fellow

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