Summary

I am Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the ºÚÁϳԹÏ. I lead as the Director of the ºÚÁϳԹÏCentre for Advanced Materials and Manufacturing (PCAMM). I'm also a Docent (Visiting) Professor of Biobased Composite Materials at the Faculty of Textiles, Engineering and Business at the University of BorÃ¥s, Sweden. I am also an Honorary Chair of Sustainable Biomaterials, Madan Bhandari University of Science and Technology, Nepal.

My expertise include the design and development of sustainable lightweight composite materials, and their testing and characterisation. My research has benefited many industries through the development of a range of new sustainable materials, formulations and manufacturing processes. 

I have published over 132 international peer-reviewed journals, 3 books, 14 book chapters and 82 conference papers/proceedings. I've been a guest editor for a number of journals. I am an Asociate Editor and Editorial Board Member of Composites Part C: Open Access_Elsevier Journal. I am also an Associate Editor of Heliyon (Cell Press/Elsevier) in Materials Section and I'm a member of the editorial board of the , the Material Chemistry section of the . I also serve as a member of scientific committees and as an evaluator for various research projects.

After the successful publication of the first book I co-authored in 2018, entitled Repair of Polymer Composites: Methodology, Techniques and Challenges, my second and third co-authored books and Value Added Biocomposites: Technology, Innovation and Opportunty have been published by Woodhead Publishing (Elsevier Ltd) in 2020 and by CRC Press in 2021, respectively.

I'm a Chartered Engineer (CEng), a member of the American Society for Composites (ASC), and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (HEA), the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), and the Institute of Materials, Minerals, and Mining (IOM3) (FIMMM).

Biography

I have over 30 years of teaching and research experience in the field of mechanical engineering, materials and manufacturing. I became a Professor of Mechanical Engineering in February 2019.

In recognition of my work, I was a Visiting Professor with the University of Toronto, Canada in 2017, where I worked in the Faculty of Forestry, undertaking research work in the field of composites and biocomposites. This research collaboration is ongoing.

Before joining the ºÚÁÏ³Ô¹Ï in 2008, I was a Lecturer in Mechanical and Marine Engineering at the University of Plymouth. I was also a Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering at Tribhuvan University in Nepal for over five years. In addition to my academic career, I have many years of experience working with various manufacturing companies. 

I've also served as the external panel member for MSC courses and Engineering Doctorate Programmes associated with different universities in the UK. I've been the external examiner for MSc Advanced Materials and Additive Manufacturing (on-campus and online learning) at the University of Derby since September 2016.

 

Research interests

My main research interest is the development of sustainable bio-based lightweight composite materials and hybrid composites, investigating their mechanical, thermal and environmental properties for engineering applications.

I'm currently leading as the Director of the ºÚÁϳԹÏCentre for Advanced Materials and Manufacturing (PCAMM). I'm leading multiple research projects within the PCAMM, with particular interest in the development of sustainable lightweight composites and biocomposites. Recent successfully completed projects include  and Interreg FLOWER.

I'm also involved with multiple Knowledge Transfer Partnerships into packaging design, composition and sustainability.

I've coordinated and chaired a number of international conferences and presented invited and keynote talks in the field of sustainable composites and biocomposites.

PhD Research Supervision

I've supervised 10 PhDs to successful completion as the Director of Study (first supervisor). I've also served as an internal and external examiner for over 50 PhDs at different universities in the UK and overseas.

I welcome enquiries and applications from students looking for a PhD supervisor.

 

Teaching responsibilities

I currently teach and coordinate two modules:

In addition to the above, I led and coordinated the following modules in the past 10 years:

  • Introduction to Materials and Manufacture, undergraduate
  • Operations and Quality Management, postgraduate

I was the Course Leader for BEng (Hons) Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering (Distance Learning) for over 5 years. 

Media availability

I am happy to take calls and emails from the media on my research, and am aware of the need to respond to journalists in a timely manner. Please contact me directly on either  or .

 

Research outputs

2024

Arumugam, V., Dhakal, H. N., Elango, I.

30 Oct 2024, In: Heliyon. 10, 20, 16p., e38842

Beaugrand, J., Blès, G., Bourmaud, A., Chevallier, S., Dhakal, H., Durand, S., Gager, V., Goudenhooft, C., Guessasma, S., Lapierre, C., Legland, D., Ngoubou, D., Pantaloni, D., Richely, E., Shah, D., Sibout, R.

1 Sep 2024, In: Industrial Crops and Products. 215, 11p., 118613

Arya, M., Dhakal, H., Gouda, F., Khalili, P., Ravishankar, P., Skrifvars, M.

1 Sep 2024, In: Results in Materials. 23, 15p., 100600

Fiore, V., Jagadeesh, P., Nath Dhakal, H., Rangappa, S. M., Siengchin, S.

19 Aug 2024, In: Journal of Polymer Research. 31, 9, 29p., 258

Ahamed, B., Bhuiyan, A. H., Dhakal, H., Haq, E., Islam, A., Saifullah, A., Sarker, F., Sayeed, A.

1 Jul 2024, In: Composites Part C: Open Access. 14, 11p., 100488

Dhakal, H. N., Johansson, M., Kadi, N., Skrifvars, M.

1 Jul 2024, In: Composites Part C: Open Access. 14, 9p., 100502

Chacko, N. G., Dhakal, H., Khan, S. H., Saifullah, A., Sarker, F., Zhang, Z. Y.

13 May 2024, In: Waste and Biomass Valorization

Asselman, J., Catarino, A. I., Curto, M., Davies, P., Demeyer , E., Dhakal, H., Everaert, G., Janssen, C. R., Le Galle, M., Niu, Z.

1 Feb 2024, In: Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety. 271, 10p., 115981

Alimuzzaman, S., Azim, A. Y. M. A., Dhakal, H., Habib, A., Haq, E., Saifullah, A., Sarker, F.

30 Jan 2024, In: Heliyon. 10, 2, e24345

2023

Dashatan, S. H., Dhakal, H. N., Grossmann, E., Huang, Y., Millot, J., Sit, M., Zhang, Z.

1 Dec 2023, In: Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing. 175, 9p., 107819