ProfessorBamber Blackman

Bamber is Professor in the Mechanics of Materials and Structures in the Department of Mechanical Engineering where he leads the Adhesion & Adhesives research group. His research interests include the fracture mechanics of structural adhesive joints and polymeric fibre-reinforced composite materials, including effects of mode-mix, test rate, service environment and structure-property relationships. His research includes the study of adhesion related phenomena including surface pre-treatment prior to adhesive bonding, the quantification of surface modification, and the long-term durability of joints. His research includes the combination of mechanical and adhesive joining techniques in hybrid systems where, for example, sculpted metals surfaces are designed to join efficiently to polymer-based fibre composites. In this research, fracture and damage mechanics are routinely applied to understand performance and predict surface life. He has managed via the relevant BSI and ISO committees the development of several standards for the measurement of fracture toughness of adhesively bonded and fibre-composite materials, e.g. ISO 25217 (2009) and ISO 15114 (2014).

A chartered mechanical engineer (IMechE), he is also co-chairman of the European Structural Integrity Society (ESIS) Technical Committee-4 on Polymers, Composites and Adhesives where he also leads the structural adhesives activity.  He is a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of the journals Engineering Fracture Mechanics, International Journal of Adhesion and Adhesives, and International Journal of Lightweight Materials and Manufacture. He has served as Guest Editor to Engineering Fracture Mechanics on eight occasions. From 2006-8 he chaired the Structural Adhesives Division of the Adhesion Society (USA). From 2008-2010 he chaired the Structural Technology and Materials Group (STMG) of the IMechE (UK).

In 2009 he received an ‘Elsevier most cited author award’ in 2009 for an original research contribution on mode II fracture mechanics of adhesive joints. In 2014 he was awarded an ESIS Fellowship “for his outstanding contributions to the art, science, teaching and practice of fracture mechanics.” In 2024 he was awarded the Robert L. Patrick Fellow of the Adhesion Society in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the field of Adhesion. He is the author of over 100 refereed papers and book chapters in the area of structural adhesives and composites and has presented his research to a wide international arena.