Oscar Medina

Oscar grew up in the rainy city of Brussels and instantly felt at home in Manchester where he moved to complete his undergraduate degree in Materials Science. After a two and half year stint working as an e-commerce software developer, Oscar quit in early 2025 and travelled Latin America to “find himself”. What he found out was that he really missed Manchester but didn’t miss his old job.

He is now pursuing a PhD under the joint supervision of Dr Tom McDonald and Prof. Mike Shaver. Co-funded by TA-Waters and the National Physical Laboratory, his project will use polymer‑analysis techniques to generate high‑quality datasets for machine‑learning models. The goal: to enable more reliable predictions of recycled materials performance, bringing greater consistency and industrial adoption of recycled plastics.