Saumil joined the Microstructure Engineering Research Group as a Research Fellow in November 2016. He is currently working on an EPSRC funded project 'Formulation for 3D printing: Creating a plug and play platform for a disruptive UK industry' in collaboration with the universities of Nottingham and Reading as well as the companies such as Unilever, GSK, Syngenta, Malvern Instruments and PPG. Within the project, Saumil is contributing towards Research Challenge 3 assigned to the University of Birmingham which focuses on developing the libraries of edible materials which are printable using inkjet and extrusion printing.
BIOGRAPHY
Prior to joining the University of Birmingham, Saumil worked as a Research Assistant/Research Fellow at Edinburgh Napier University, Scotland on an industrially funded project on low-energy preparation and characterisation of nanofibrillated cellulose. The work Saumil did as a part of a team led the sponsor company SAPPI Netherlands to invest in a pilot plant in the Netherlands.
Saumil also worked as a Knowledge Transfer Associate within a KTP project between Glyndwr University, Wales and Morgan Technical Ceramics where he worked on increasing the spray drying throughput of ceramic slurries by systematic improvements in the rheology and dispersion quality of the ceramic slurry formulation. The cost of this project to the company (£51,900) was recovered prior to the completion of the project. This project was given 'Very Good' rating by independent reviewers and nominated for the KTP Best Partnership Award 2013.
Saumil received his PhD (rheology and light scattering properties of associative cellulose ether solutions) from Glyndwr University/University of Wales and his MSc (Polymer Chemistry) and BSc (Chemistry) from Sardar Patel University, India. He is an associate member of the Royal Society of Chemistry.
RESEARCH
Saumil's research interests are:
- 3D printing of semi-solid materials
- Shear and extensional rheological properties of complex fluids such as polymer solutions and colloidal suspensions
- Micro/nanofibrillated cellulose
- Formulation and characterisation of soft matter
PUBLICATIONS
(1) Extensional Rheometry of Cellulose Ether Solutions- Flow Instability. Cellulose2016, 23 (1), 339-355. ( http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10570-015-0838-1).
(2) Aqueous Solutions of HEC and hmHEC –Effects of Molecular Mass vs Hydrophobic Associations on Hydrodynamic and Thermodynamic Parameters. Cellulose2016, 23 (2), 1107-1121. ( http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10570-016-0861-x)
(3) Aqueous Solutions of HEC and hmHEC – Effects of Molecular Mass vs Hydrophobic Associations on Linear and Non-Linear Viscoelastic Properties. (To be submitted to Celluloseshortly)