Dr. Gavin D. J. Harper is an interdisciplinary Research Fellow at the University of Birmingham, Birmingham Business School, specializing in the sustainability, recovery, and strategic management of technology metals. He is a co-founder and key researcher within the Birmingham Centre for Strategic Elements & Critical Materials (BCSECM). Dr. Harper’s academic work is positioned at the intersection of critical materials, clean technology, and the global energy transition. His research investigates the creation of a circular economy for technologies vital to electromobility and net-zero infrastructure. Notably, as a Faraday Institution Research Fellow on the ReLiB (Recycling and Reuse of Lithium-Ion Batteries) project, he extensively researched the end-of-life management, triage, and recycling of electric vehicle batteries. A highly cited researcher, Dr. Harper has published impactful work across leading scientific journals, including a landmark, foundational paper in Nature regarding the recycling of lithium-ion batteries. Beyond technical research, he is deeply engaged in the geopolitical, economic, and policy dimensions of the critical materials–energy nexus. He has actively championed the need for robust resource stewardship and contributed heavily to the academic discourse surrounding the UK's Critical Minerals Strategy as well as international critical materials policies more generally.