Joost Brancart

Dr. Joost Brancart is a postdoctoral researcher at Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), affiliated with the Materials and Chemistry department and the Physical Chemistry and Polymer Science (FYSC) research group. He leads the 'Self-Healing Materials' subgroup and collaborates closely with the Robotics & Multibody Mechanics (R&MM) group. Brancart’s research focuses on stimuli-responsive polymer networks for soft robotics, self-healing materials, and sustainable applications. He has coordinated EU-funded projects like SHERO and SMART, and his work has led to innovations in additive manufacturing, biodegradable plastics, and material-embedded intelligence.

Education: PhD in 2017 (VUB), Master’s degree with Solvay Award. Awards include the TAWN Young Researcher Award (2014) and Best Poster Award (2024). Key projects involve developing smart materials for soft robots, including EU grants FWOTM1096 and FWOSBO49. He has conducted research stays at Empa (Switzerland) and plans one at PCCL (Austria).

Research interests span dynamic covalent networks, self-healing polymers, and circular economy applications. Over 139 publications and 15 projects highlight his contributions to materials science and robotics. Supervised students include work on multi-material actuators, lignin-based networks, and carbon black composites.

• Key Projects: SHERO (FET Open), SMART (MSCA ITN), SUBLIME (SBO), PRODYN (FWO)
• Awards: Solvay Awards (Master/PhD), TAWN, and Best Poster (2024)