Bristol Composites Institute and National Composites Centre host 2024 annual conference

Jo Rich

Jo Rich

Jo Rich

24 October 2024

On 24 October the Bristol Composites Institute welcomed over 150 guests to the 2024 BCI & NCC Annual Conference, titled "Driving innovation in composites"

The Bristol Composites Institute (BCI) and National Composites Centre (NCC) recently hosted their joint annual conference in the iconic Great Hall of the Wills Memorial Building in Bristol.

The focus of the conference was on the use of digital and AI technologies, material advances, and skills and workforce development with an array of technical presentations and thought-provoking discussions in the afternoon panel session. There were presentations from BCI and NCC on Machine Learning & AI, Materials, and Skills.

The day finished with a panel session that focused on the topic "The role of education and skills in unlocking the future potential of composites in the UK" and looked at 3 key areas:

Is academia keeping pace with demand in industry?
Are funders of research doing enough to ensure technology transfers from academia?
What is more important in recruitment - talent or experience?

The panel session was chaired by Tim Young (Chief Technologist, Materials & Sustainability, NCC and UoB Honorary Industrial Professor), with an expert panel sharing their knowledge:

Allan Poulsen (Head of Materials and Sustainable Scaling, Vestas)
Jacqueline Castle (Chief Technology Officer, ATI and UoB Aegis Professor of Aerospace Technologies)
Craig Carr (Technology Director Integrated Composite Structures, GKN)
David Bailey (CEO, CompositesUK)
Janice Barton (Professor of Experimental Mechanics, BCI)
Nick Warrior (Professor of Mechanical Engineering, University of Nottingham)
Andy Smith (R&D Director, Carbon ThreeSixty)

Prof. Stephen Hallett and Prof. Ole Thomsen, BCI Co-Directors said "What a fantastic day we had! It was great to host so many visitors to Bristol for the BCI/NCC annual conference. As well as the interesting talks on topics of very current relevance, there were lots of active networking conversations going on in the breaks, it was certain to have been a very productive day."

Dr. Giuseppe Dell'Anno, Academic Liaison at the NCC said “After gingerly starting in a small room in Emersons Green, this event is maturing into a focal point of the composite calendar. The academic and industrial mix creates a truly engaging crowd and provides a stimulating perspective for constructive discussion. I’m already looking forward for an even better event next year!”

Technical presentations from the day can be viewed here:

BCI Introduction presentation (PDF, 1,185kB)

NCC Introduction presentation (PDF, 2,075kB)

A. Amit Visrolia presentation (PDF, 1,117kB)

B. Emma Rose presentation (PDF, 3,773kB)

C. Iryna Tretiak presentation (PDF, 2,255kB)

D. Tim Newman presentation (PDF, 639kB)

E. Bassam El Said presentation (PDF, 1,702kB)

F. Steve Eichhorn presentation (PDF, 2,495kB)

G. Tim Young presentation (PDF, 2,065kB)

H. Onajite Abafe Diejomaoh presentation (PDF, 1,045kB)

I. Jenny Banks presentation (PDF, 652kB)