Ian became Professor of Materials Science at the University of Manchester in 2012. He has driven research strategy across a number of departments within the university and collaborated with researchers at other universities and in industry.  He is recognised for taking a ‘holistic’ research approach that follows nanomaterials from their production through to their processing and ultimately to applications in the composites and the energy transition. His research bridges the academia-industrial divide with industrial collaborations including the co-development of a nanotube production route which was commercialised during his post-doctoral position at the University of Cambridge through to his current RAEng Research Chair with Morgan Advanced Materials.

Since 2024, Ian has held the role Chief Scientific Officer at the Henry Royce Institute, where he leads Royce’s national science research strategy, working with the Royce Research Area leads and their Steering Groups as they support national programmes and initiatives.

Henry Royce Institute

Web: www.royce.ac.uk  

The Henry Royce Institute is the UK’s national institute for advanced materials research and innovation.

With its Hub at the University of Manchester, the Royce is a partnership of eleven leading institutions – the universities of Cambridge, Imperial College London, Liverpool, Leeds, Oxford, Sheffield, the National Nuclear Laboratory, and UKAEA, and associates the University of Strathclyde and Cranfield University.

Royce aims to undertake world-class research in materials science, to accelerate the commercialisation of materials research for economic and societal benefit and to train the next generation of materials scientists and engineers to tackle some of our most pressing global challenges.

Making available £330m of materials research capability; the Royce equipment, facilities, and expertise are open to UK academics and industry alike. Our vision is to design, make, and test advanced materials systems, cost-effectively and at speed. Whether you are from a large company or SME with a problem to solve or an academic looking for support with research, Royce is here to support the UK materials community.