Rate My Professor Ian Hamerton

Professor Ian Hamerton holds the position of Professor of Polymers and Composites in the School of Civil, Aerospace and Design Engineering at the University of Bristol, where he is affiliated with the Bristol Composites Institute. He also serves as the NCC Chair in Polymers and Sustainable Composites at the National Composites Centre. Hamerton obtained his BSc Honours in Chemistry in 1987 and PhD in Polymer Chemistry in 1991 from the University of Surrey. After completing a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Bristol from 1991 to 1994, he joined the University of Surrey as Lecturer in 1994, progressing to Senior Lecturer in 2002 and Reader in 2005. In 2011, he was appointed Professor at the University of Bristol. He served as a Visiting Lecturer at the University of Surrey from 2015 to 2016.

His research specializations center on the development of high-performance polymeric materials for extreme environments in sectors including satellites, military and civil aerospace, high-performance automotive, microelectronics, and polymer filters. Key areas include novel monomer synthesis, polymer structure elucidation via computer modeling, spectroscopy, and thermo-mechanical analysis; enhancement of nanocomposites for electrical and thermal conductivity using carbon nanotubes; and investigation of degradation mechanisms under thermal, UV, and atomic oxygen exposure. Hamerton has produced 221 research outputs, including books such as 'Chemistry and technology of cyanate ester resins' (2012) and 'Polymers: the environment and sustainable development' (2003). Notable publications feature 'Recent developments in the chemistry of halogen-free flame retardant polymers' (Progress in Polymer Science, 2002, 2167 citations), 'Modern advances in bismaleimide resin technology: A 21st century perspective on the chemistry of addition polyimides' (2017, 369 citations), and 'An evaluation of life cycle assessment and its application to the closed-loop recycling of carbon fibre reinforced polymers' (2020, 199 citations). With over 11,461 citations and involvement in the ACCIS Core Team, he has secured funding such as the EPSRC CDT in Composites Science, Engineering, and Manufacturing (EP/S021728/1, 2019). He contributes editorially to academic journals and co-founded Lineat Composites.