Dr Fabrizio Scarpa obtained a MEng in Aeronautical Engineering and a PhD in Machine Design at the Politecnico of Torino, Italy. In 1997 he joined the Dynamics Research Group at the University of Sheffield to work in the field of negative Poisson's ratio materials for vibroacoustic applications. He then became Lecturer and Senior Lecturer at the Department of Mechanical Engineering of Sheffield working as Aerospace Departmental Coordinator and International Student Exchange Officer. He joined the Department of Aerospace Engineering in Bristol in 2005.

His research activities span the field of auxetics (foams and honeycombs), shape memory alloy honeycombs, smart multifunctional cellular solids, viscoelasticity and structural-acoustic coupling. Dr Scarpa is Principal Investigator in EPSRC, European Framework 6, Transfer Technology partnerhips and DTI projects, working also in International Collaboration projects with US Army ARO and Georgia Institute of Technology.

Dr Scarpa is a member of the Royal Aeronautical Society and features in the Editorial team of the Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology Journal.