Associate ProfessorChristopher Hurren

A/Prof. Hurren is the Director of the ARC Research Hub for Future Fibres. He leads a team of ten chief investigators, thirteen postdoctoral researchers and nine PhD students to help industry to resolve critical industry problems and develop new technologies. The ARC Research Hub Future Fibres has been instrumental in helping industry partners including Xefco to commercialise their waterless dyeing technology (https://www.xefco.com/), Uluu to convert their seaweed based polymers into textiles (https://www.uluu.com.au/) and Michell Wool with optimising their eqwools product (https://eqwools.com/).

In his daily research A/Prof. Hurren leads a group of researchers who undertake research into the development of textiles with an emphasis on a circular approach to sustainable textiles. His key research fields are motorcycle protective clothing, composting of textiles at end of use, mechanical and chemical recycling of textiles, melt extrusion of new fibres and short staple spinning. His team is made up of six research and five general staff members. He is principle supervisor for five graduate research students and associate supervisor for four more.

His research into protective motorcycle clothing has seen the development of the testing protocol for the motorcycle clothing assessment program (www.motocap.com.au). The Deakin University laboratory continues to conduct the sampling and testing for the program.