Eral Bele

Dr Eral Bele serves as Associate Professor (Teaching) in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at University College London, with adjunct appointments at Vellore Institute of Technology (India) and external examiner duties at Coventry University. His research and teaching focus on mechanics of lightweight materials—composites, natural fibers, and cellular structures—aiming to develop lighter, stronger, energy-efficient solutions through experimental mechanics and finite element analysis.

His research spans four core projects: (1) manufacturing mechanics of natural fiber composites and technical foams; (2) fracture toughness of metamaterials; (3) additive manufacturing of hierarchical microlattices; and (4) fatigue mechanics in natural structural materials. This work leverages UCL's Materials, Structures and Manufacturing Research group facilities, including mechanical testing labs, full-field strain mapping, and additive manufacturing equipment for metallic and fiber-reinforced components.

Recent publications (2022–2025) reveal concentrated expertise in additive manufacturing applications, fracture behavior of novel materials, and sustainable material development—particularly in nacre-like composites, lunar regolith processing, and natural fiber foams. His work bridges experimental validation with computational modeling to advance sustainable materials engineering.

Dr Bele holds the following recognition:

• Senior Fellow Advance HE (York, United Kingdom)

His educational leadership includes serving as UCL's Departmental Tutor and Head of Undergraduate Education, designing the MSc in Future Manufacturing and Nanoscale Engineering (2023), and supervising MEng Capstone Design Projects. Internationally, he co-leads PhD training at CICY (Yucatan) on micro-CT characterization of composites and established VIT's Sustainable Manufacturing undergraduate program.

His research group operates within UCL's Materials, Structures and Manufacturing Research ecosystem and maintains active collaborations with University of Toronto, CICY, VIT, and EU industrial partners—focusing on natural fiber composites, metamaterials, and sustainable manufacturing processes.