Jacob Rigby


A picture of Jacob Rigby

Research Interests

  • Phase Transformations
  • Lipid Characterisation
  • Material Properties
  • Biomimetics


I was born in Lincoln but moved to Porthmadog (in North Wales) at a very young age. I grew up with two marine biologists parents and therefore, have always had a keen interest in biology and nature. Despite my interests in the natural world, I decided to go down a more engineering-based route when it came time to sign up for university. This led to my enrollment in Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Sheffield in 2017. I am currently in my 4th year of my MEng course and am undertaking my research project as part of the NMG under the supervision of Dr Chris Holland.

Spermaceti is a waxy/oily material found in cranial cavities of the Sperm Whale (Physeter Macrocephalus). This material has 2 proposed natural functions relating to (1) the buoyancy control of the animal and (2) the focusing of acoustic signals emanating from within it’s head. My research involves investigating the physical properties of spermaceti in order to determine how they relate to these two functions. I have a special interest in the effects of varying temperatures and pressures on the phase transformations of spermaceti.

Personal Interests

Rugby, Running, Cycling, Sci-fi Literature