Research associate

Rick Lupton is a Research Associate with the Use Less Group at the University of Cambridge, where he is working on ways to map the way resources and materials are used throughout society, despite the limited statistics we have available. Rick’s research interests include the application of Bayesian inference to these types of problems, and interactive visualisation of the results. Rick holds a PhD from the University of Cambridge, on modelling tools for simulating the dynamics of floating offshore wind turbines.

Michal holds a M.Sc.Eng. at the Faculty of Civil Engineering, Silesian University of Technology in Gliwice, Poland.  He joined the Use Less group at the Engineering Department of the University of Cambridge in the end of 2015, where he is involved on two projects, both centred on making better use of steel in construction. The first explores the barriers to steel reuse, an important potential source of carbon and energy savings. The second project looks at the design process in construction and the role of material efficiency in building conception.

Lili is an economist interested in analysing demand behaviours with microeconomic models and exploring energy demand reduction solutions which are environmentally and economically sustainable. She is currently working on a multi-disciplinary project for economizing material efficiency in the construction industry.

José Azevedo is focused on the use and production of steel powder for manufacturing. His PhD is sponsored by Tata Steel UK. The main objective is to find technical solutions that improve energy and/or material efficiency within steel powder processing. José has a Mechanical Engineering degree from the University of Porto, Portugal. He joined the Use Less group in 2015 and hopes to finish his PhD by 2018/2019.

Evripides Loukaides, also known as Evros, is interested in the mechanics of metal forming processes as part of the Flexible Metal Forming project. His work aims to characterise the mechanics of all future metal-forming processes, and, in collaboration with control engineers, to assess the limits of their closed-loop performance.

Dennis has a multi-disciplinary background in geoinformatics, water policy/management and environmental systems analysis. His research interests are in the interactions and interdependencies between energy and environmental systems, with a focus on the wider resource use implication of long-term energy system trajectories/policies, and how these may affect future food security, ecosystem services and livelihoods.

Dr Dunant holds a PhD in Material science. His background in concrete durability has led him to develop an interest in design and efficient use of materials. He is now currently working on two projects, both centred on making better use of steel in construction. The first explores the barriers to steel reuse, an important potential source of carbon and energy savings. The second project looks at the design process in construction and the role of material efficiency in building conception.

Christopher is a Senior Research Associate working on novel manufacturing processes for improved resource efficiency and productivity. His research covers three of the main processes we work on in the Use Less lab: flexible ring rolling, folding-shearing and flexible metal spinning – understanding the mechanics and operating window of these new ways to shape metal components.  

Brendan is a human geographer with an interest in the social, cultural and environmental implications of contemporary lifestyles. In his current role he employs mixture of qualitative research methods (e.g., interviews, ride-alongs and participant observation) to understand how car ownership and use is continually shaped by the material (e.g., cars, roads, petrol stations and petrol) and expressive (e.g., identities, meanings, signs, emotions and desires) dimensions of driving.

Søren has about 20 years professional experience working on sustainability in the fashion, clothing and textile sectors. His work includes: