Dr Darshil Shah is Associate Professor in Materials Science and Design at the University of Cambridge’s Department of Architecture and leads research at the Centre for Natural Material Innovation (CNMI). Dr Shah is a Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining.
Dr Shah's collaborative research is at the interface of architecture (design), humanities, physical sciences, and engineering, spanning multiple length scales and cutting across industry sectors. A megawatt wind turbine with a wooden tower and flax biocomposite blades. An affordable ankle-foot disability orthosis from recycled plastic waste. An off-grid low-energy house constructed from industrial hemp materials. A room-temperature processing method for silk-like textile fibres. A green policy that weaves agroforestry and construction in a circular bioeconomy approach enabling aggressive decarbonisation. These are examples of how Shah’s research and design at the CNMI imagines the replacement of anthropogenic materials with bio-based materials, such as engineered timber, bamboo, natural fibres and their composites.
Dr Shah has been awarded over £16million in total research project activity. His work is published in over 65 peer-reviewed journal papers and has attracted numerous awards such as the International Quadrant Award 2015 and the JEC Asia 2013 Innovation Award, and Vice Chancellor's Research Impact Award 2020. He also regularly takes on consultancy roles, and his research regularly appears in exhibitions and media.
Prior to joining Cambridge (2015-), Dr Shah was a member of Oxford University’s Silk Group (2013-14), where he developed silk-based composites for defence applications and explored biomaterials such as elephant ivories for bioinspiration. His PhD (2009-13) from the University of Nottingham led to development of the world’s first flax biocomposite wind turbine blade.
