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Professor Michael Shaver (FRSC, FIMMM) is the Professor of Polymer Science in the School of Natural Sciences at the University of Manchester where he leads initiatives in sustainable polymers, plastics and materials for the School and for the Henry Royce Institute, the UK’s national advanced materials science centre.

Following a PhD in his native Canada from the University of British Columbia and an NSERC Post-Doctoral Fellowship at Imperial College London, he began his independent research career at the University of Prince Edward Island before moving to Scotland in 2012 where he was a Chancellor’s Fellow, Reader and finally Professor of Polymer Chemistry at the University of Edinburgh.

He is now Director of Sustainable Futures, a pan-university initiative growing interdisciplinary research in sustainable solutions to environmental challenges. He is also Director of the Sustainable Materials Innovation Hub, in which his active research sits, developing sustainable plastics, polymers and composites, including new motifs for renewable, degradable and chemically recyclable materials. His work ranges from fundamental projects rooted in monomer design to translational projects in plastic packaging, waste management and circular systems.

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