Last October, the Peter Harrison Centre (PHC) welcomed ten new doctoral researchers, marking an exciting step in the continued growth and evolving scope of the Centre’s research. As their projects begin to take shape, we are delighted to showcase the wide range of academic backgrounds, professional experiences, and shared curiosity that each new researcher brings to the PHC community.
To help everyone get to know our newest cohort, we are sharing a short series of introductions. Each feature spotlights one doctoral researcher, offering insight into their journey to doctoral study, their previous experience, and the questions driving their PhD research.
This is the second article in the series and introduces Hannah Lonsdale.
Hannah studied an undergraduate degree in BEng (Hons) Sports Technology at Loughborough University in 2021-2024. During her degree, she completed Royal Academy of Engineering Project with adidas at the Sports Technology Institute examining the fit of sports bras which she then continued into her final year project titled ‘Examining the influence of Bra size, Support and Design on Pressure Distribution for enhanced sports bra performance.’
Inspired by her previous studies she developed an interest in innovation within elite sports apparel, which developed into a focus on women. Hannah now joins the centre as a funded Doctoral Researcher investigating the ‘Optimisation of Sports Apparel for Female Para-athletes’. She is supervised by Dr Aimée Mears, Dr Matt Maley and Professor Vicky Tolfrey, working closely with the UK Sports Institute.
The research aims to investigate the specific sports apparel requirements of wheelchair-based female para-athletes, using biomechanical mechanical, and thermal analysis to inform the design of functional and comfortable sports apparel that addresses their unique needs ahead of the 2032 Paralympic Games in Brisbane.
Over the coming weeks, we will continue to introduce the rest of our doctoral cohort. Each profile offers a closer look at the people behind our research and the ideas shaping the future of the Peter Harrison Centre.
Look out for the next introduction soon.