Dr
Conor
Boland
Academic biography
Background
Dr Conor S Boland received his PhD degree from the School of Physics at Trinity College Dublin (TCD) in 2016. That same year he joined the Advanced Materials and BioEngineering Research (AMBER) Centre at TCD as a commercialisation research fellow. In 2019, he joined the School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences at the University of Sussex as a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Materials Physics. In 2025, he joined DCU's School of Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering.
At DCU
Dr Boland is Assistant Professor in Materials Science and a PI in RAPID. He leads the Boland Research Group developing sustainable nanomaterials and flexible bioelectronic sensors for preventive health monitoring and real-world deployment. His group combines materials design, device engineering and data-driven calibration to deliver robust, scalable sensing platforms (e.g., wearable strain/pressure sensors and sustainable bio-derived electronics), working with academic and enterprise partners.
Dr Boland contributes to DCU through leadership in postgraduate supervision and research development, curriculum-aligned teaching, and extensive engagement with enterprise, clinical and innovation partners, supporting research translation, IP development and impact-driven funding aligned with DCU’s strategic priorities. Dr Boland has secured competitive funding from Research Ireland and Enterprise Ireland, supervises 5 MScs, 2 PhD researchers and 3 postdoctoral/RA staff, and has published in Science, Nature Materials, Advanced Materials, Advanced Functional Materials and ACS Nano.
Research Keywords
Flexible electronics; wearable sensors; piezoresistive nanocomposites; graphene/nanosheets; sustainable bioelectronics; edible/biodegradable sensing; soft materials; signal processing & drift compensation; scalable manufacturing; health monitoring.
Group Research Website
https://www.bolandmaterialsresearch.ie/
Research Metrics
Google Scholar Profile: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=yuuMsJMAAAAJ&hl=en
Research interests
Dr Boland’s research focuses on the design, processing and application of advanced nanomaterials for flexible, wearable and sustainable electronic systems. His work spans the full materials-to-devices pipeline, integrating nanomaterial synthesis and assembly, composite and soft-matter mechanics, device fabrication, and signal analysis to enable robust, real-world sensing technologies.
A core theme of his research is the development of piezoresistive and multifunctional sensing materials, including graphene-, nanosheet- and nanocomposite-based systems, with emphasis on understanding and optimising structure–property–performance relationships. This includes fundamental studies of mechanical–electrical coupling, percolation phenomena and durability, alongside the development of scalable metrics and calibration strategies for fair comparison and deployment of sensor technologies.
Dr Boland has a strong interest in sustainable and bio-derived materials for electronics, including biodegradable, edible and low-impact material systems, and in life-cycle-informed approaches to materials and device design. His research increasingly integrates data-driven and machine-learning-enabled approaches to sensor calibration, drift compensation and performance optimisation, supporting translation from laboratory prototypes to real-world applications. Application areas include wearable and soft sensors for health and human-motion monitoring, structural and environmental sensing, and interdisciplinary collaborations spanning engineering, materials science, and health innovation.