Professor Bucknall’s research interests are in areas associated with development and application of polymers and nanocomposites. He also has a particular interest in development of sustainable materials exploiting inherently scalable green mechanochemistry. He is an expert in neutron and x-ray scattering for advanced materials characterization.  His current research includes using polymers to understanding the molecular origin of polymer deformation and fracture, polymers in extreme environments (high pressure and also high strain rate deformation), lignin-based composites and materials for autonomous oil and gas detection. He is actively involved in multiple collaborative Innovate UK KTPs exploring chemical recycling of polyolefins, external thermal wall insulations and electrochemical water treatment. He leads a large UKRI/DEFRA funded collaborative research initiative to exploit inherently sustainable solid-state mechanochemical methods to achieve closed-loop tyre-to-tyre recycling.

Following a PhD studying polymer thin films using neutron scattering, he joined the Max-Planck Institute for Polymer Research (Mainz, Germany) as a post-doctorial researcher. He then returned to the UK as a research scientist at the UK national ISIS Neutron Facility at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (1992-1999), and specialized in neutron scattering studies of thin films. He then joined the Department of Materials at University of Oxford (1999-2004) as a faculty member and taught various courses in polymers and composites. Dr. David G. Bucknall joined Georgia Tech in 2005, initially in the School of Polymer, Textile and Fiber Engineering department and subsequently in the School of Materials Science and Engineering when the schools merged in 2010. He joined Heriot-Watt University as Chair in Materials Chemistry in July 2015.

Associate Executive Dean of Research and Impact

School of Engineering and Physical Sciences