Prof Will Wise

Dr William Wise (BSc, MSc, PhD, MRSC) completed his PhD at the University of Leicester (UK) in 2011. Although his PhD was in organic chemistry he subsequently changed his research direction and specialised in the biopolymer field; using ionic liquids to modify starch based materials, some of which are in the process of being commercialised. After starting his post as a Senior Lecturer in Leather Science at The Institute for Creative Leather Technologies (University of Northampton) in May 2014 he is now applying this same technology to the field of leather manufacture with some promising and intriguing preliminary results.

Dr Will Wise currently supervises four PhD students and is the academic supervisor on an active Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP):

• PhD student – Thomas Garwood (full-time – one year in) – Looking into chromium (VI) detection and prevention in leather. This is a studentship sponsored by The Leathersellers Company and is currently a project with global interest.
• PhD Student – Alberto Bevilacqua (part-time – one year in) – Addressing the removal of chromium from leather waste so that both the metal and the resultant organic material may be recycled/ upcycled.
• PhD Student – Laura Cardaon (full-time – due to start in October 2017) – Looking into sustainability of the leather industry; how do you measure it? What impact does it have on a business?
• PhD Student – Lauren Samet (full-time) – Addressing animal nutrition.

KTP Project – Bryn Webster – Working with an external company “Xeros” on utilising a bead technology as an alternative medium to water for leather manufacture.

In addition to these students, Dr Will Wise has an interest in a sustainable and scientific approach to leather manufacture; this includes: use of alternative solvents, upcycling/recycling leather and leather manufacturing by-products, waste minimisation and understanding the physical and chemical properties of leather at a fundamental level. Many of his projects have been commercially funded in so called ‘private client’ research.

Alberto Bevilacqua; Institute for Creative Leather Technologies

Use of deep eutectic solvents (DES) to extract chromium metal from waste leather.

Oluwaseyi Omoloso; Business

Sustainability in the Leather Industry.

Dr Will Wise is the Course Leader on the MSc Leather Technology and is the Course Leader on all other level 7 courses including the PGCert and PGDip.