Biography

I obtained a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania in 1999. In the same year, I was offered a scholarship from the town of Kiel to study for a Masters in Materials Science and Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering at Christian-Albrechts University of Kiel, Germany. I graduated with a Master of Science degree in 2001, together with the Professor Werner Petersen award for best Master's Thesis. I obtained an Engineering Doctorate in Materials Sciences and Engineering from the same institution in 2005. As a postdoctoral researcher/fellow, I have worked at Queen Mary University London, University of Liverpool and University of Southampton. I joined the School of Engineering at the University of Portsmouth in October 2014.

During my studies and subsequent post-doctoral experience I became proficient in areas relating to materials and surface science, interfaces, tribology, nanotechnology and nanocomposites, physical, mechanical and chemical analysis and characterization of materials in engineering and life science sectors.

My special interests are in smart, light-weight polymer nanocomposites, self-adapting nanocoatings, as well as tribological and mechanical properties investigation of various materials and biological tissues at nanoscale.