Dr Vijay Kumar Thakur

Research Lecturer in Manufacturing

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Areas of expertise

Aerospace Structures
Armour systems
Biomass and Waste
Biomedical Engineering
Composites
Defence Sensors
Test and Evaluation
Electric and Hybrid Vehicles
Environmental Impacts
Fuels
Manufacturing of Functional Materials
Aerospace Materials
Nanomaterials
Nanotechnology
Renewable Energy
Smart Materials
Structures and Materials
Surface Engineering
Water Science and Engineering

Background

Prior to commencing at Cranfield University, Dr Thakur worked as a Staff Scientist in the School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering at Washington State University, USA (2013-2016). He was also a Research Scientist in Temasek Laboratories at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (2009-2012), and a Visiting Research Fellow in the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering at Lunghwa University of Science and Technology, Taiwan.

Dr Thakur did his post-doctoral study in Materials Science & Engineering at Iowa State University and received a PhD in Polymers and Composite Materials (2009).

Dr Thakur has published more than 130 SCI journal research articles in the field of chemical sciences / materials science and holds one United States patent. Eleven of his research papers have been highlighted as Highly Cited Papers in the Web of Science and three papers have been classed as Hot Papers. He has also published 44 books and 35 book chapters on polymer science / materials science / nanotechnology with numerous publishers.

Dr Thakur sits on the editorial board of several SCI journals as Associate Editor/ Editor/ Editorial Advisory Board Member.

Current activities

Current research activities span the disciplines of chemistry, nanotechnology, chemical engineering, manufacturing engineering, materials science and engineering as well as all aspects of polymers and composite materials. Application aspects range across the automotive to aerospace, energy storage, water purification and biomedical fields.

Recent research work includes:

Bio-renewable materials: wood / natural cellulose fibres, bio-resins and utilisation of waste biomass for practical uses
Additive manufacturing of polymers and composites
Multifunctional polymer composites and nanocomposites: self-repairing, structural composites, evaluation of materials using experimental mechanics, rheology, thermal, spectroscopic and microscopic analysis
Nanoelectronic materials: novel high dielectric constant and electrochromic materials for energy storage
Green synthesis of nanomaterials and surface functionalisation of polymers/nanomaterials
Hydrogels: synthesis, characterisation and applications in water purification and biomedical
Membranes: sustainable membrane materials for applications in water purification, biomedical and energy storage
Nanofiber production and application in biomaterials and smart textiles
Composites for extreme environments including high-temperature
Aerospace materials and manufacturing technology

Dr Thakur is an editorial board member of several international journals, as well as a member of scientific bodies around the globe. He is the book series editor for Gels Horizon: From Science to Smart Materials (Springer Nature); Materials Horizon: From Nature to Nanomaterials and Polymers and Fibers (Elsevier), and sits on grant review panels for governmental agencies and educational institutions in the UK, US, South Africa, Poland, Chile, Cyprus, Germany, Austria, Singapore, Portugal and India.

Clients

Addenbrookes Hospital, Cambridge, UK
Airbus UK
Alvant Ltd
BAE Systems
Cambridge Nanosystems
Cambond Limited
Cametics Limited
European Commission
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)
IMAGE ERDF
Munro Technology Limited
Medtech Accelerator Limited, UK
The British Council
The Royal Academy of Engineering

Articles In Journals

Conference Papers

Lotfian S, Kumar VT, Giraudmaillet C, Yoosefinejad A, Brennan F & Yazdani Nezhad H (2018) Towards the use of electrospun piezoelectric nanofibre layers for enabling in-situ measurement in high performance composite laminates. In: 18th European Conference on Composite Materials (ECCM18), 2018, Athens, 24-28 June 2018.
Li D, Lin MF, Thakur VK & Yazdani Nezhad H (2018) Field-aided structural enhancement of polymer nanocomposites. In: The Fourth Postgraduate Experimental Mechanics (PGEM) Conference, Glasgow, 6-7 December 2018.
Allen K, Grewell D, Thakur VK & Kessler MR (2014) Bio-based elastomers from cationic/free radical polymerization of soybean oil. In: 72nd Annual Technical Conference of the Society of Plastics Engineers: The Plastics Conference, ANTEC 2014, Las Vegas, 28 April 2014.
Lee PS, Lin MF, Thakur VK & Ma J (2012) Flexible high performance capacitors for portable power systems. In: 243rd National Spring Meeting of the American Chemical Society, San Diego, CA, 25-29 March 2012.
Yazdani Nezhad H, Thakur VK, Giraudmaillet C, Prevost R & Yoosefinejad A Electrospun piezoelectric thermoplastic nanofibre layers for toughening and in-situ measurement of laminated composites. In: European Conference in Nanofilms 2018 (ECNF2018), Cranfield University, 20-22 March 2018.