The University of Portsmouth is set to host an eye-opening evening event exploring two major issues that are becoming increasingly difficult for society to ignore.
Life Solved Live: Inaugural Lectures, celebrates the achievements of professors and the impact of their work.
On Wednesday 22 October 2025, staff, students, and members of the public are invited to attend Life Solved Live: Unseen Lives and Untapped Materials , an event set to tackle the rise in homelessness in recent years alongside the growing awareness among consumers and industry of the need for sustainable materials in the fight against climate change.
Professor Simon Stewart , from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Portsmouth, will focus on his research on migration and homelessness during his lecture, Cultivated Invisibility And The Life Stories Of Migrants Experiencing Homelessness In The UK, highlighting how these two topics are rarely considered together.
Professor Stewart said: "By adopting a life story approach, I'm able to share insights into systems of domination from the perspective of those most impacted.
"To help make sense of the stories I tell, I'll talk about 'cultivated invisibility'. This is a way to conceptualise the habitual practices through which migrants experiencing homelessness manage to survive, adapt and blend into the city crowd, while also becoming increasingly exposed to illegality and ill health."
Professor Stewart will also discuss why migrants constitute a significant portion of the UK's rising homeless population.
Professor Hom Nath Dhakal from the School of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering will discuss how his research has contributed to the development of natural, plant fibre-reinforced composite materials for advanced engineering applications in his lecture, Nature-Based Solutions: The Whole Is Greater Than the Sum Of Its Parts.
Professor Dhakal said: "I'll take a critical look at current climate issues and the emergence of nature-based alternative composite materials in the shift to a circular economy.
"I will explain how we develop, test and characterise natural fibres such as flax, hemp, pineapple leaf, banana and date palm, to assess their suitability as reinforcements in composites.
"And I will share some of the innovative ways in which we've used by-products from plant fibres to develop composites that are high-performing, cost-effective and environmentally sustainable."
The event will take place at the University of Portsmouth's Portland Building on Wednesday 22 October between 6:00pm-8:30pm.
