Hazel Assender

I am Professor of Materials, having been on the academic staff of the Department of Materials for nearly 30 years.  I studied at the University of Cambridge. I served a term as Head of Department.

Materials developments are at the forefront of technological development in key areas e.g. energy and environment, healthcare and information technologies and I am inspired by the interlink between structure, function and engineering of materials to be able to apply them in the real world.

I am organising tutor for Trinity Materials students.  In the department of Materials I teach on materials production, selection and recycling, as well as mechanical properties of materials.  I am Chair of Faculty in materials.  I have a research group with eight postgraduate research students and two final year undergraduate masters students that I supervise.

I lead a research group in materials systems based on polymers.  My current research interests lie in thin film flexible device materials that can be produced by large area coating techniques.  This includes development of vacuum based roll-to-roll coating of organic and inorganic thin films on polymer substrates, with a particular focus on functional layers.  This manufacturing research considers device materials for flexible circuits, thermoelectric generators, sensors and encapsulants.   Underpinning this, is the development of understanding and control of polymer surfaces and interfaces. We are also pushing the boundaries on improved characterisation polymer structure. This includes direct imaging of polymer crystal structures using advanced electron microscopy techniques, and network structures in crosslinked polymers.  The work links into projects on materials for biomedical devices and implants and improved materials designed for recyclability.

A. Chandler, R. M. Schofield, P.-A. Mouthuy, H. E. Assender, ‘Microstructural evolution of stretched electrospun microfibers for biomedical applications’ ACS Applied Polymer Materials (2025)

X. Tao, Q. Zheng, C. Zeng, H. Potter, Z. Zhang, J. Ellingford, R. S. Bonilla, E. Bilotti, P. S. Grant, H. E. Assender, ‘Cu- or Ag-containing Bi-Sb-Te for in-line roll-to-roll patterned thin-film thermoelectrics’ Nature Communications (2025)

R. M. Schofield, B. M. Maciejewska, K. A. Elmestekawy, J. M. Woolley, G. T. Tebbutt, M. Danaie, C. S. Allen, L. M. Herz, H. E. Assender, N. Grobert, ‘Nanostructure and Photovoltaic Potential of Plasmonic Nanofibrous Active Layers’ Small (2024)

X. Tao, J. Dutson, C. Zeng, C. Asker, S. Luong, A. Reze, B. Hao, Z. Zheng, J. Ellingford, R. S. Bonilla, O. Fenwick, E. Bilotti, F. Hofmann, M. Thwaites, H. E. Assender ‘Exceptional Performance of Room Temperature Sputtered Flexible Thermoelectric Thin Film Using High Targe Utilization Sputtering Technique’ Advanced Materials Technologies (2024)

R. M. Schofield, B. M. Maciejewska, S. Dong, G. T. Tebbutt, D. McGurty, R. S. Bonilla, H. E. Assender, N. Grobert ‘Driving Fiber Diameters to the Limit: Nanoparticle-induced Diameter Reductions in Electrospun Photoactive Composite Nanofibers for Organic Photovoltaics’ Advanced composites and hybrid materials (2023)

B. Hao, Z. Ding, X. Tao, P. Nellist, H. E. Assender ‘Atomic-scale imaging of polyvinyl alcohol crystallinity using electron ptychography’ Polymer (2023)