Albert Van Bael

Albert Van Bael is a Professor at KU Leuven's Department of Materials Engineering within the Faculty of Engineering Technology. He serves as contact person for the Structural Composites and Alloys, Integrity and Nondestructive Testing (SCALINT) research unit at Diepenbeek Campus and holds membership in both the Faculty of Engineering Technology Council and Materials Engineering Department Council.

His research focuses on Multiscale modelling of metal forming processes, Injection moulding of thermoplastics and rubbers, and Thermoforming. Current investigations include microneedle fabrication through hybrid laser-injection molding techniques, polymer-aluminum nanocomposites, and wettability tuning of laser-textured polymer surfaces for microfluidic applications. His work bridges fundamental material behavior with industrial manufacturing processes.

Research trends from recent publications demonstrate strong emphasis on

• Biomedical device fabrication (particularly hollow microneedles)
• Integration of femtosecond laser technology with polymer processing
• Validation of multiscale models against experimental metal forming data
• Structure-property relationships in polymer composites
• Advanced simulation techniques for manufacturing optimization

Professor Van Bael actively supervises graduate students including P. Vanwersch and leads/co-leads multiple research projects.