About Wini
Wini is an early career researcher and an Elizabeth Georgeson Fellow in Sustainable, Multi-Functional Composites at the University of Edinburgh, where she is currently building a portfolio of advanced composites research focussed on industrial applications that support the circular economy. She has a particular emphasis on low-cost, lightweight composite materials derived from bio-based and recycled feedstocks and aims to reduce the reliance on virgin resources and minimise waste streams headed for landfills by adding value to end-of-life composite wastes.
Wini joined the IDCORE supervision team in response to a specific request from one of the researchers who had a gap in her supervision team and recognised Wini’s work as having direct relevance to her own project.
From Wini:
‘As I continue to build my own research career, I am keen to work with talented postgraduate research candidates and postdoctoral researchers from various engineering disciplines looking to work on sustainable composite materials and manufacturing, especially for energy-related applications. I was delighted when Ione Smith approached me and asked me to join her supervision team as it presented an opportunity to engage with closely aligned research within IDCORE. By creating a postgraduate research route that appeals to diverse cohorts who are as interested in working with industry as they are in an academic career, I believe IDCORE attracts high-quality, resilient and self-motivated candidates. I am delighted to be part of the team and it is having a positive influence on my own research.’
Background
Wini started her engineering career at the University of Limerick in Ireland, where she obtained both BEng and MRes degrees, finishing her time there as a researcher in advanced polymer and composite materials at the Irish Composites Centre. She then moved to the University of Edinburgh where she completed a PhD in Mechanical Engineering and continued to build her experience as a postdoctoral researcher through a Supergen project that extended the research outputs of her PhD to tidal turbine blade applications. Alongside this, she delivered an industry-funded project exploring energy-efficient manufacturing processes that convert bio-based and recycled feedstocks into valuable processing materials.
Since securing the Fellowship, Wini has continued to build her research interests, focussing on circular material design and production across a range of industrial applications including a number that are related to the energy industry. It was her work on in-situ polymerisation of thermoplastic-matrix composites, and in particular her use of novel polymer blends, that made her such a good fit for the IDCORE project that she is now supervising.
Benefits of IDCORE
Wini is already seeing the benefit of engaging with IDCORE. The project is directly relevant to her knowledge and experience, and provides crucial research leadership experience. Not only that, but it is also helping to build the collaborations that are so important to someone seeking to deliver applied research in such a specialised field. The engagement is extending her network of industrial partners and also providing opportunities for collaboration with other leading academic institutions, which will be invaluable as she develops other funding proposals in the future.
