Itxaso Calafel Martinez

M. Itxaso Calafel holds a degree in Chemical Sciences and a PhD from the University of the Basque Country (EHU), and her career has focused on the rheology and processing of advanced polymeric materials. From 1994 to 2006, she worked in the Thermal Analysis Group at the Faculty of Chemistry in San Sebastian, before joining the Rheology and Additive Manufacturing Group at POLYMAT Institute (EHU) in 2007. Since 2022, she has been a researcher at POLYMAT FUNDAZIOA and, since 2021, an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Chemistry. She has participated in regional, national and European research projects, collaborated with universities, research institutions and companies, published in peer-reviewed journals, contributed to scientific conferences and supervised Bachelor’s, Master’s and doctoral research. She has also delivered Applied Rheology courses for industry professionals. Her early research addressed phase separation in epoxy systems modified with semicrystalline thermoplastics, including crystallisation and curing kinetics. She later worked on PVC homopolymers and vinyl chloride copolymers produced through single-electron transfer living radical polymerisation (SET-LRP). A major part of her research has subsequently focused on additive manufacturing, particularly the rheological parameters that determine the printability of materials ranging from homopolymers and polymer blends to copolymers, hydrogels and composites. Her work covers different manufacturing techniques, including melt extrusion, photopolymerisation and sintering. Her current research explores high-value biodegradable materials, including smart foamable formulations with stimulus-responsive properties, as well as hydrogels for ophthalmic applications. More broadly, she is interested in understanding structure-processing-property relationships through rheology and applying this knowledge within multidisciplinary research and industrial collaborations.