Manufacturing – the way we make things - has changed dramatically over the last ten years. Traditionally manufacturing has been limited to moulding, cutting, sticking and bashing things into shape, all of which have been done on a large scale. New technologies, such as 3D printing and the use of more efficient computer-based technologies, now allow these methods to be downscaled and locally owned, a move known as ‘redistributed manufacturing’.
Bristol’s 2015 European Green Capital year has brought renewed focus on the need to bridge the gap between our resource intensive and environmentally harmful behaviour and developing a more sustainable and resilient future. Chris is leading a RCUK-funded project looking at the potential impact of redistributed manufacturing on the city and its outskirts. He is working closely with experts in the city of Bristol, the University of Bristol and its Cabot Institute on areas such as manufacturing, design, logistics, operations management, infrastructure, engineering systems, economics, geographical sciences, mathematical modelling and beyond.