PhD student Manul Amarakoon on successfully passes his PhD viva

PhD student Manul Amarakoon on successfully passes his PhD viva.

Thesis title: "Advancing Pressure Spinning Polymeric Fibre Manufacture for Enhanced Performance and Sustainability"

Reflecting on his PhD journey at UCL Mechanical Engineering, Manul shared: "I’m pleased to have successfully completed my PhD viva at UCL Mechanical Engineering. I’m grateful to my supervisors, Professor Mohan Edirisinghe and Professor Shervanthi Homer-Vanniasinkam, for their guidance and support throughout my research.

I’d also like to thank my colleagues and research group for their collaboration and input over the years, as well as my family and friends for their continued encouragement.”

Supervisor Mohan Edirisinghe said: "Manul has brought research into fibre manufacturing by pressure spinning to a new level by comparing and contrasting production efficiency and energy consumption with other manufacturing routes and also by constructing a new collector for the pressure spinning process. A very innovative student whose papers in Global Challenges and Materials & Design set a new landmark and will be very useful to many researchers. Many congratulations Manul."

Manul will be Professor Edirisinghe's 53rd PhD student to graduate. Congratulations Manul on this well-earned accomplishment!

PhD student Seda GÜNGÖRDÜ ER successfully passes her PhD viva

PhD student Seda GÜNGÖRDÜ ER successfully passes her PhD viva at UCL Mechanical Engineering

Reflecting on her PhD journey at UCL Mechanical Engineering, Seda shared: “I am truly delighted to have successfully defended my PhD thesis at UCL Mechanical Engineering.

My research focused on the use of graphene-based materials to design and develop advanced biomedical devices, including self-powered glucose biosensors, electroactive stent coatings, and antimicrobial systems. Throughout this work, my aim was to push the boundaries of how biomedical devices can operate and to create innovative technologies with the potential to make a meaningful impact on patient care and clinical outcomes.

I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to my supervisors, Professor Mohan Edirisinghe and Dr Francis Brako, for their invaluable guidance, encouragement, and support throughout my PhD journey. I am especially grateful to be a PhD student under the supervision of Professor Mohan Edirisinghe, whose scientific insight, unwavering support, and belief in my abilities have profoundly shaped my development as a researcher and inspired me to pursue excellence at every stage of my PhD. I would also like to extend my heartfelt thanks to Dr Tanveer Tabish (University of Oxford) for his generous support and significant scientific contributions, which greatly enriched my research experience.

Finally, I would like to express my profound gratitude to the Turkish Ministry of National Education for sponsoring my doctoral studies and enabling me to conduct this research at UCL.”

Supervisor Professor Mohan Edirisinghe said: "Huge congratulations to Seda. She has filed a patent during her PhD, presented invited papers at international conferences and co-authored high-impact peer-reviewed papers, including in Advanced Science recently! A very hard-working and outstanding student."

Watch Demonstration of Inverted (Horizontal) Nozzle-Pressure Spinning​