During a visit to Arts et Métiers, Jelle Joustra, senior lecturer at TU Delft, strengthens ties between the two institutions around industrial practice and the circular economy.
Could you tell us about your collaboration with Professor Nicolas Perry?
I first met Professor Nicolas Perry during my PhD, while I was conducting research on design strategies for products incorporating composite materials in a circular economy. I discovered one of his articles on sustainable design with composites, which enriched my own work. I subsequently invited him to be part of the jury for my thesis defense. This initial contact led to a visit to Bordeaux last year, and we quickly realized how complementary our research groups were. Although we do not work on exactly the same topics, our fields overlap significantly, which naturally encourages collaboration.
Since then, we have been collaborating on a project to apply artificial intelligence to circular design. This collaboration has evolved into a new three-year project called "Circularity 4.0," funded as part of the TU Delft-France initiative. It therefore made perfect sense to return to Arts et Métiers year to further these collaborations. I have also worked with other researchers at the I2M laboratory, such as PhD students Hripsime Snkhchyan and Siddarth Parthasarathi, who are exploring AI-based design tools and human-robot collaboration for product disassembly, respectively.
How did you feel during your stay in France?
Returning to Bordeaux was like coming home. When I arrived at the station, I thought to myself, "It's good to be back!" " The warm welcome from Nicolas and the I2M team made it easy to reconnect. It was also very satisfying to see the progress made since my last visit a year ago: new ideas, new results, and strong potential for future collaborations. The environment here is not only welcoming, it is also intellectually stimulating. I really appreciated the opportunity to build on last year's momentum to make concrete progress.
In your opinion, what is the main advantage of research collaborations with other countries?
International collaboration allows you to look at your research from different angles. Even when you share a common vision, approaches and methodologies vary from country to country, which can be very enriching. Working with Arts et Métiers Nicolas Perry has been particularly rewarding because of the strength of the research ecosystem. Nicolas Perry has a remarkable network and often knows which partner, laboratory, or company to contact to solve a problem. The laboratory facilities are excellent, and the interdisciplinary approach really supports high-impact research. This combination of academic rigor and industrial partnerships makes it an ideal place to advance applied and concrete projects.
What sparked your interest in the circular economy?
My background is in industrial design engineering. Early on, I learned to develop products optimized for their function and manufacturing. But I felt the need to pay more attention to sustainability. Composite materials fascinated me because of their high performance and customization capabilities, while posing serious challenges in terms of recycling. This tension prompted me to study how designers can make better decisions, how to balance production, use, and end-of-life strategies. My doctoral thesis focused on developing methods to help designers work with these materials in a circular economy. This led me to become interested in structural reuse, finding ways to repurpose parts of products such as wind turbine blades or aircraft fuselages for secondary use.
When did you decide to become a researcher?
I decided to turn to research around 2017. Before that, I worked in industry, developing technical products such as solar radiation sensors. But I felt a strong need to explore sustainable and innovative design approaches, which brought me back to academia. Research gave me the opportunity to pursue questions guided by curiosity and to develop methodologies that help other designers create more sustainable solutions. It is this balance between technical challenge and societal impact that motivates me every day.
What advice would you give to students interested in a career in research, whether in your field or another?
Take advantage of your time as a student to explore. Take elective courses, participate in research projects, and don't hesitate to contact researchers whose work interests you. At Arts et Métiers, I have seen students get involved in real research projects, working on aircraft dismantling systems or robot-assisted reuse. These concrete projects are an excellent way to discover your interests and develop your skills. Especially during your final year, you often have the opportunity to define your own topic, so seize this opportunity to work on something that is meaningful to you. And above all, talk to researchers. They are busy, of course, but always happy to talk to motivated students.
About Jelle JOUSTRA
Jelle Joustra is a graduate of Delft University of Technology, where he earned a Master of Science Industrial Design Engineering, followed by a Ph.D. focusing on design strategies for composite products in a circular economy. He began his career in R&D as a thermal sensor engineer before returning to academia in 2017 to pursue his doctoral research. He is currently an associate professor at TU Delft and academic coordinator at the Leiden-Delft-Erasmus Centre for Sustainability. He specializes in sustainable product design and methodologies for structural reuse. He actively participates in major European projects such as Ecobulk and LICHEN-Blades, and collaborates closely with Arts et Métiers applications of artificial intelligence to the circular economy. His expertise bridges the gap between industrial practice, academic research, and teaching.
