Benjamin Droguet (ESR7) is based at the University of Cambridge.

Benjamin grew up in France and is currently working at Cambridge on a joint project between the Department of Chemistry and the Institute for Manufacturing. His PhD is funded by an allocation of the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions for Plant-inspired Materials and Surfaces (PlaMatSu) and focuses on the development of a method for fabrication of a new type of sustainable photonic pigments prepared from a single renewable compound – cellulose nanocrystals – obtained from wood.

Benjamin graduated from Bordeaux Institute of Technology (Bordeaux INP-ENSCBP) and has previous experience within corporate laboratories (PARC-Xerox, Amazon) working on top-notch technologies. Before starting his PhD, Benjamin joined Woodoo, a leading French cleantech start-up developing augmented wood composites – which won >15 awards during its first year – since its launch as Chief Science Officer, where he was in charge of developing the start-up’s core technology and expanding business.

Outside his PhD, Benjamin is leading the Cambridge branch of Innovation Forum, a global student-led organization that aims to bridge the gap between academic research and industry. Through his involvement, Benjamin wishes to leverage his insights into some of the unique features of start-up pioneers and the world of research in order to encourage and support high-potential technologies shaping a better society in Cambridge and beyond.

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