James is from the UK, where he studied chemical engineering at the University of Birmingham. He completed his PhD researching nanoscale adhesion in 2006, studying in the School of Chemistry at the same university under the supervision of Prof. Jon Preece and Prof. Kevin Kendall FRS. He then joined the group of Prof. Mike Adams during which time he researched the adhesive properties of liquid nanofilms. From 2009-2014 he designed and managed the ERDF-funded Science City Advanced Materials Laboratory, during which time he worked with 50 companies on 90 projects. In 2015 he took up a lectureship in the School of Engineering and Innovation at the Open University, since which time he has developed his research group and expanded cross-disciplinary collaboration within the STEM Faculty.

James’ research interests cover a wide range of topics regarding surfaces, nanomaterials, and materials characterisation techniques. He is particularly interested in developing new methods for performing atomic force microscopy and nanoscale tribological testing. His group and collaborators are currently investigating novel materials and surface treatments for regenerative medicine, the acoustic properties of nanostructured surfaces, structure-property relationships in avian eggshells, and microwave heating for lunar habitat construction.

Talk title: Manufacture and calibration of high stiffness AFM cantilevers