Venue: Collaboration Space, AFIC, 811 Attercliffe Rd, Sheffield, S9 2AA
10:00-10:30 Prof. Luca Susmel: Strength of Materials: Take a Step Back and Observe from the Right Distance
Luca is Professor of Structural Integrity at Sheffield Hallam University, where he leads research on fatigue, fracture, and the durability of engineering materials and structures. Alongside his academic work, he contributes to shaping the University’s research strategy through leadership roles such as REF Lead for UoA12 and Head of a RIKE research hub. Luca’s research has been supported by different funding bodies over a 20-year period across Italy, Ireland, and the UK, and he is also an AFIC Associate.
Luca’s talk will explore the emerging concept of food-based materials for additive manufacturing, highlighting their potential to enhance sustainability and enable novel functionalities in 3D printing. To illustrate key mechanical challenges, the talk will then focus on the structural integrity of 3D-printed polymers, using notched PMMA as a case study. The static and fatigue strength of these materials are examined, with particular attention to the role of stress concentrations, process-induced defects, and anisotropy inherent to additive manufacturing. The results demonstrate how traditional concepts of notch mechanics can be extended to additively manufactured materials, providing insight into design approaches for reliable, high-performance 3D-printed components.
10:30-11:00 Amanda Johnston and Saumya Kaushik: South Yorkshire Food Network feasibility study
Amanda is Director (Innovation) AFIC: Combining food‑industry management and academic leadership, 8 years in blue‑chip manufacturing and 20 years at Sheffield Hallam (11 at AFIC), Amanda’s work centres on delivering healthy and sustainable innovation for the food and drink sector by bringing together industry, academia and wider stakeholders. Amanda’s expertise spans deep sector knowledge, partnership brokering at regional, national and international levels, securing funding to accelerate research and innovation, and identifying practical applications for emerging technologies across the food system.
Saumya is a Casual Senior Researcher, AFIC: With dual training in clinical medicine and public health (MBBS, MPH), Saumya brings a distinctive evidence-based perspective to applied health research. Her work at AFIC sits at the intersection of public health, sustainability and inclusive economic growth – translating rigorous mixed-methods research into policy-facing outputs that drive real-world impact. As a co-author of the South Yorkshire Food Network Feasibility Report, Saumya contributed to the full research lifecycle – from stakeholder engagement across local authorities, food businesses and community organisations, through to data collection, analysis and dissemination to inform regional decision-making on food, public health and sustainability.
Amanda and Saumya’s presentation will introduce the South Yorkshire Food Network Feasibility Study – a Research England funded, cross-institutional project making a rigorous, evidence-based case for a coordinated regional food network to unite producers, communities, businesses and policymakers around shared goals of public health, sustainability and economic growth. They will present the key findings from 56 stakeholder surveys and 22 in-depth interviews, and discuss the next steps as we move from feasibility into delivery.