Contact Dr Ranko Vrcelj
- Email: Ranko.Vrcelj@cranfield.ac.uk
Background
Ranko graduated from the University of Essex as a Theoretical Physicist, but then decided to work with real things and obtained an M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Crystallography from Birkbeck College, University of London. He has worked at a number of UK Universities ranging across physics, chemistry and materials science.
Current activities
Ranko is a Senior Lecturer in Ordnance Science and Technology, with a background in both Academia and Industry. This experience leads to his interest in developing cross functional technologies, so that materials of use can be combined into effective delivery systems, generating a product that is greater than the sum of its parts.
With this broad interest in understanding the relationships between materials structure and subsequent usage, he is particularly focused on cross-disciplinary approaches to understanding material systems and then applying that understanding to real-world problems and has a number of areas of research:
3D printing of energetics
Crystallisation of materials from solution, vapour and melt phases
Polymorphism in organic materials
Hydration/Dehydration (and solvation in general) in organic materials
Developing new molecular constructs for safe materials handling
X-ray and optical imaging methods for materials analysis
Whole system understanding - from molecule through to product
Safer manufacturing and distributive manufacturing
Validation of model systems
Ranko publishes in peer-reviewed journals and is a reviewer for journal families such as the Royal Society of Chemistry and American Chemical Society. He currently teaches Pyrotechnics within the Centre for Defence Chemistry and is also a visiting academic at Chemistry, University of Southampton.
