The IOM3 Composites Group (formerly the British Composites Society) aims to provide a single authoritative voice for the community of professional scientists and engineers working with fibre-reinforced composite materials and structures. The group supports education, skill training, and professional development, and develops the technologies and sustainability of composites, to present a coherent face of the industry.
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Meet the Composites Group Leadership Team
Paul Hogg
Paul is currently Chair of the Composites Group of the IOM3. He was a founding member and secretary of the original British Composites Society formed in 1987 and after merger into the IoM he served as a committee member and then Chair from about 2003 to 2009, returning as Chair in 2021. Paul has had a long career as an academic specialising in composites research, working at the universities of Liverpool, Queen Mary, Manchester and Royal Holloway. He was Head of Materials at QMUL and Manchester and was Vice Principal for Research and Enterprise and Dean of Science at Royal Holloway, until 2021. Whilst at the University of Manchester Paul was the Director of the NorthWest Composites Centre and the National Composites Certification and Evaluation facility.
He now works as a consultant, specialising in the mechanical properties and manufacturing of composites, as well as supporting a number of start-up technology businesses.
Han Zhang CEng, CSci, FIMMM, FHEA
Han Zhang (CEng, CSci, FIMMM, FHEA) is a Reader in Multifunctional Polymers and Composites at WMG, University of Warwick. His expertise spans manufacturing to characterization of advanced polymer composites and nanocomposites, with a focus on multifunctional composites for future lightweight structural applications. His current research is centred on the sustainable development of advanced composites, including energy efficient composites manufacturing, integrated sensing and structural health monitoring, and easy repairing functionalities to extend component lifespan.
Han is the recipient of the Silver Medal from the IOM3 for his outstanding contribution to the field of composite materials as an early career researcher, and the RH Craven Award in 2010 for excellence in polymer materials. He is also a member of the EPSRC Early Career Forum in Manufacturing and Circular Economy.
John Summerscales
John Summerscales (CEng, CEnv, CSci, FIMMM) joined the Plastics Institute as a chemistry/polymer joint honours student in Cardiff. After a masters degree in the molecular science of materials at University of Greenwich, then a year indexing polymer industry patents, he moved to Plymouth for his doctoral studies on hybrid composites. He then spent five years characterising glass fibre composites for MOD(Navy). He returned to University of Plymouth (UP) as a founding member of the Advanced Composites Manufacturing Centre (ACMC) to provide professional development for composites manufacturing personnel. He has been Stage 4 “with composites” pathway tutor for undergraduate engineering students since 1990.
His research interests include composites manufacture especially infusion processes, and sustainability focussed on bio-based materials and end-of-life composites. He (co-)edited books on non-destructive testing (NDT), microstructural characterisation, and marine applications of composites. He currently leads the UP MAterials and STructures (MAST) research group. He has been involved in 10 previous Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP), including the development of the award-winning inFINITE beamless seating for modern passenger terminals with Zoeftig Limited, and now a KTP with SWMAS to develop a Scope 3 assessment tool. He was awarded the IOM3 Outstanding Service Award in 2004, and the IOM3 Leslie Holliday Prize in 2023.
Richard Craven
Richard is a Senior Consultant at BAES, he obtained his PhD in Composite Structures from Imperial College London. He is a Chartered Engineer and is a Fellow of the Institute of Materials Minerals and Mining and the Institute of Mechanical Engineers. He has been a member of the IOM3 Composite Leadership Group since 2019. Richard is currently the chair of the Professional working group which also acts as the Skills Development Group for the Composite Leadership Forum. Richard significant experience of the design, simulation, analysis, optimisation and failure of large composite and steel structures for the maritime and renewables sectors. He is also a NAFEMS member and sits on the Continuum Solid Mechanics working group.
Mike Hinton
Prof Mike Hinton’s career spans 40 years of R&D conducted for the UK Ministry of Defence (and latterly QinetiQ) followed by 12 years (so far !) in support of the UK High Value Manufacturing Catapult. In addition, Mike is the CEO of a micro-SME which develops, manufactures and sells innovative structural health monitoring systems for the management of capital assets.
Mike has a breadth of experience across the full TRL and MRL 1-9 spectrum, with understanding of the associated business drivers across a wide variety of sectors, across academia and the links into Government policy. He has a wide-ranging network and personal experience of working on leading edge research (author of a book and many highly cited publications), major defence procurement programs, international defence collaboration, and many industrially focused development programs.
He is a World Fellow of ICCM (awarded by the International Committee on Composite Materials), a visiting professor at Nottingham University and honorary professor at Bristol University.
Andrew Foreman
Andrew Foreman (CEng, FIMMM) is a QinetiQ Fellow and Chief Engineer within the Science & Technology business unit at QinetiQ. Andrew has worked for more than 35 years on all aspects of Fibre Reinforced Polymer Composites, with particular expertise in carbon fibre composites, manufacturing, structural testing and impact. His current role as Chief Engineer includes responsibility for a large portfolio of programmes ranging from low TRL innovative research programmes, to product development and in service platform support.
Edward Archer
Dr Edward Archer is a Senior Lecturer of Advanced Composite materials in the School of Engineering at Ulster University. He is currently chair of the Meetings and Events Working Group in the IOM3 Composites Leadership Team. His research is focused on manufacturing and characterising 3D woven composite reinforcement structures and the prediction of their properties with key aspects of the work carried out in collaboration with major companies in several industrial sectors. His research group operates both within the Engineering Composites Research Centre at Ulster University and at Northern Ireland Advanced Composites and Engineering Centre (NIACE) in Belfast.
Dr Konstantina Kanari
Dr Konstantina Kanari is an Advanced Research Engineer at the National Composites Centre. With extensive research experience in the development of innovative composite materials, her main interests focus on materials for extreme environments for both terrestrial and space applications. Dr Kanari has previously worked for Rolls-Royce and GKN Aerospace and has a PhD from the University of Bristol in Advanced Materials. She is passionate about promoting STEM to all audiences, and regularly organises and attends outreach events.
Dr Koon-Yang Lee
Dr Koon-Yang Lee is Professor in Polymer Engineering at Imperial College London. He currently leads the Future Materials Group, a young and dynamic research group consisting of 'multilingual' scientists and engineers proficient in the development of chemical engineering-driven environmental friendly material innovations for a sustainable future. His research is highly interdisciplinary, often crossing the fields of materials chemistry, chemical engineering, physics and materials engineering, to develop novel polymeric materials. The core research focus include the design of nanocellulose-derived advanced composite materials, the manufacturing of cellulose and lignocellulose-derived sustainable materials, valorisation of waste into engineering materials and the development of lightweight porous materials, guided by the concepts of simple design, manufacturability and radical effects.
Dr Sophie Cozien Cazuc
Sophie’s expertise is in materials science, characterisation, manufacturing and processing. She specialised in polymer composites with a focus on their sustainability for the automotive sector (in terms of materials selection, manufacturing and end-of-life). Throughout her career, she has established a network and built relationships with key stakeholders in the composite and transport industries. She also has a few qualifications in Leadership from Nottingham Trent University.
Sophie joined the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK as a Senior Strategist in March 2024. Sophie obtained her French Engineering Degree in Materials in 2002 (ISITV engineering school), her MSc in Advanced Materials in 2002 at Cranfield University and her PhD in bio-medical composites in 2007 from the Polymer Composites Group at the University of Nottingham. After holding a Research Fellow position in the same group, she joined Syensqo/Solvay Composites (Derby) Ltd (formerly Umeco Composites Structural Materials/Advanced Composites Group Ltd) as a Collaborative Research & Technology Project Manager in December 2008. In November 2013, Sophie started at Far-UK Ltd as a Technical Programme Manager and managed and led research projects, which were part-funded by the UK and the European Commission. She became a Technical Manager in February 2018 and developed the company’s roadmap and set new collaborative research and commercial projects up. Sophie joined the IOM3 Composites Leadership Team as a board member in December 2014. In May 2023, she was appointed as the Chair of the IOM3 CLT Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Working Group. Additionally, since 2006, she has been a committee member of the East Midlands Materials Society (EMMS), which is affiliated to IOM3. She is also involved in the Composites Leadership Forum; she is a member of the Vehicular Composites Group since February 2023 and a member of the Skills Development Group since April 2023. In October 2019, Sophie also joined the Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering (SAMPE) UK & Ireland Chapter as a committee member.
Dr Kalyan Hazra CEng, FIMMM
Dr Kalyan Hazra (CEng, FIMMM) currently holds a Senior Leadership role, as Head of Technology Integration at the National Composites Centre (NCC). The NCC is a part of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, where he also leads on International Academic Engagement. Dr Hazra had been involved in all aspects of fibre reinforced polymer and ceramic matrix composites research for all industry sectors for over 24 years. Predominantly focusing on Aerospace sector, his expertise includes textile composites, materials and manufacturing, sustainability, innovation, business development and cross-border trade and investment promotions. During his early research career, he published widely - many of these are widely cited papers. His external roles include board member of IOM3 Composite Leadership Team, NCC representative for The European Research Establishments in Aeronautics (EREA) and European Innovative Advanced Materials Initiative (IAM-I) . He is also a Board of Advisor of Asterix Innovations, headquartered in Kolkata.
Rowan Carstensen
For two and a half years Rowan has been the Operations Manager at Prodrive Composites. Here he has led productivity and cultural turn-arounds and investment into automation to continue driving sustainable products. He has recently completed a part-time MBA at Imperial College London to broaden his knowledge and position himself to make tangible, strategic impacts in the transport sector.
Talking about why he applied for the role, Rowan said, ‘The UK’s sustainability ambitions and drive for an increasingly productive economy will require a synchronised approach in the transport sector. The role IOM3 can play is significant. I look forward to understanding the demands, challenges and opportunities of each Technical Community, combining their knowledge base and guiding them toward a holistic and advantageous position to grow the UK transport sector’.
Rowan oversees the IOM3 Adhesion & Adhesives Group, Composites Group, and Elastomer Group.
