Education

M. Itxaso Calafel obtained her degree in Chemical Sciences and her PhD from the University of the Basque Country (EHU). From 1994 to 2006, she worked in the Thermal Analysis Group within the Polymer Science and Technology Department at the Faculty of Chemistry in San Sebastian. Since 2007, she has been a member of the Rheology and Additive Manufacturing Group in the same faculty. In the same year, 2007, she also joined POLYMAT Institute, where she has contributed to addressing industrial/academic needs related to the rheological characterisation of a wide range of materials. In 2022, she joined the Basque Centre for Macromolecular Design and Engineering (POLYMAT FUNDAZIOA). Since 2021, she has served as an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Chemistry in San Sebastian. She has also imparted Applied Rheology courses in different companies. In terms of research, she is part of a High Performance Consolidated Group. She has been involved in various regional, national, and European projects, collaborating with both public and private scientific and technological institutions. She has authored several scientific publications in regional and international journals and she has contributed to numerous scientific conferences. In addition, she has supervised multiple final degree and master's degree projects as well as doctoral theses.

Research

In the early stages of her career, she conducted research into reaction mediated phase separation of epoxy systems modified with semicrystalline thermoplastics. This involved delving into the crystallisation process and the curing kinetics of epoxy resins. Later, through long-standing university-industry collaborations, she shifted her focus to developing new formulations based on PVC homopolymers and vinyl chloride copolymers with different comonomers, via single-electron transfer living radical polymerisation (SET-LRP). Parallel to this, she was involved in developing a new research line related to additive manufacturing (3D printing), gaining extensive knowledge of the critical rheological parameters that determine the printability of different materials —ranging from simple homopolymers to complex polymer blends, copolymers, hydrogels, and composites —across different printing techniques (melt extrusion, photopolymerisation and sintering). She is currently immersed in a new research line focused on developing high-value, biodegradable materials including the development of smart foamable formulations with stimulus-response properties. She also plays an active role in developing hydrogels for ophthalmic applications. In addition to her main areas of research, she is interested in gaining insight into the structure-processing-property relationship, particularly through the rheological properties, and is open to collaborating in multidisciplinary fields.

Rheology and Advanced Manufacturing

Publikazioak