Our Experience

This Toolbox has been put together by Dr. Tracy Bhamra and Dr. Vicky Lofthouse members of staff in the Department of Design and Technology at Loughborough University and made possible by funding from the Learning and Teaching Support Network.

Dr. Tracy Bhamra (Senior Lecturer) 
Tracy currently runs the undergraduate and postgraduate modules in Sustainable Design for the Industrial Design and Technology Students in the Department of Design and Technology and additional postgraduate modules in collaboration with the Wolfson School of Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering. Dr Bhamra has also organised a number of short courses for companies in the area of sustainable design. These include Ford, GKN, MOD, Racal, and around fifty SMEs. Dr Bhamra has over twelve years of research experience and has been very active in developing the research area of Sustainable Design in the UK. She holds a number of UK Government funded research projects investigating Sustainable Design and its implementation in industry. In recognition of her experience in the field of Sustainable Design she has been an invited speaker at various events and conferences including those organised by the Design Council, the Northern Ireland Growth Challenge, Institution of Electrical Engineers, Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Local Action for Textiles & Clothing (LATC), Welsh Development Agency, Universiti di Federico II Napoli and the Polytechnico di Milano.  She has a BSc in Manufacturing, MSc in Manufacturing Systems Engineering and Management and a PhD in Design for Disassembly and Recycling. She is a Chartered Engineer, a Member of the IEE, a Member of the Institute of Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, and a Fellow of the RSA. Until 2003 Dr Bhamra worked at Cranfield University where she set up and ran the UK’s first MSc in Sustainable Design.

LINK TO TRACY'S PUBLICATIONS

Dr. Vicky Lofthouse (Research Associate) 
Vicky is currently involved in a range of Ecodesign and Sustainable Design research projects at Loughborough University, focusing on a range of issues including developing a guide for companies effected by the WEEE directive, sustainable packaging, and sustainable consumption.   
She was responsible for developing 'Information/Inspiration', the first ecodesign tool specifically aimed at Industrial Designers.  Vicky has taught Sustainable Design at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels at Loughborough and Cranfield University for the last six years.  Whilst undertaking her PhD she was involved in setting up the new Sustainable Design module at Loughborough University in 2000.  She also currently provides development support for the A2 and AS level Sustainable Design Award, aimed at introducing design students to the importance of designing with sustainability in mind and providing them with the tools to achieve this.  

Vicky has managed and worked on a number of collaborative projects in the field of Sustainable Design with companies such as Electrolux, Huntleigh Technology, GlaxoSmithKline and Boots.  She also has two years ecodesign consultancy experience with GlaxoSmithKline.  Vicky runs the UK based Sustainable Design Network which brings together over 160 members from Industry, Academia and Public Bodies to discuss issues around Sustainable Design.  In recognition on her experience in the field of Sustainable Design Vicky is a reviewer for two international journals and was an invited speaker at a European conference organised by the Centre Du Rhones-Alps in Lyon.  Vicky has a BSc in Industrial Design and Technology from Loughborough University and a PhD in Facilitating Ecodesign in an Industrial Design Context from Cranfield University.  

LINK TO VICKY'S PUBLICATIONS