Angela Laycock

Angela Laycock is a Researcher at Cranfield University's School of Defence and Security Sciences, where she is completing her full-time PhD. With 18 years of experience as a Major in the British Army commissioned from Sandhurst in 2006, she brings extensive practical knowledge from her service in the Royal Engineers to her academic work.

Her research focuses on the critical intersection of blast engineering and sustainable construction, specifically examining how low carbon construction materials perform under terrorist threats. She investigates blast resistance, ballistic protection, fragmentation vulnerability, and infrastructure resilience in low-carbon building materials, addressing the growing challenge of balancing net-zero carbon goals with security requirements in modern infrastructure design. Her work analyzes the trade-offs between sustainability targets and protection needs across various construction materials including concrete, timber, cladding systems, and modular construction.

Dr. Laycock's recent publication explores the current state of blast performance research for low carbon construction materials, revealing that while interest in this field is growing, standardized testing against relevant terrorist threats often lags implementation. Her work particularly highlights significant gaps in research around lightweight cladding systems used in modular or off-site construction, where material options vary widely but security testing standards remain limited.

• Chartered Engineer (CEng)
• Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers (MICE)
• Fellow of the Institution of Royal Engineers (FInstRE)

As both a military professional and academic researcher, Dr. Laycock bridges practical defense engineering experience with cutting-edge materials research, contributing valuable insights to the evolving field of sustainable protective construction. Her unique background in military engineering and infrastructure protection provides critical real-world context to her academic investigations into the security implications of low carbon building technologies.