Research Group(s)

• Ancient Life

Research Institutes

• UMARI

Programme Director for:

• BEng/MEng Mechanical Engineering
• BEng/MEng Mechanical Engineering with Management
• MEng Mechanical Engineering with Industrial Experience

I was awarded a BSc in Geology by the University of Durham in 1994. After graduating, I worked for Surrey County Council, first in Highways and Transportation and later in Materials and Construction Management. In 1997, I continued my studies at the University of Manchester, gaining an MSc in Geotechnical Engineering in 1998 and a PhD in Civil Engineering in 2002. I was also awarded an MBA with Distinction in International Engineering Business Management by Manchester Business School in 2011. From 2001 until 2015, I worked for the University of Manchester as a Senior Consultant in High Performance Computing.

I joined the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering as Lecturer in Structural Integrity in April 2015. After promotion to Senior Lecturer in 2017 and Reader in 2021, I was appointed UKAEA Chair in Digital Engineering for Fusion Energy the same year. I hold a number of other posts at the University including Programme Director for Mechanical Engineering, Head of Synthetic Environments and Systems Simulation in the Aerospace Research Institute; and Research Fellow in the Interdisciplinary Centre for Ancient Life. I also hold an external appointment as Visiting Faculty at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, USA.

I hold a number of leadership roles in external organisations, where I actively promote the industrial exploitation of High Performance Computing in engineering simulation. These include elected Chair of the NAFEMS HPC Technical Working Group; elected member of the NAFEMS Technical Liaison Committee and former Chair of the PRACE Industrial Advisory Committee. I have also been member of a UK Task Force, initiated by the British Embassy in Chicago and EPSRC, which has led to collaboration between the UK and the USA in the exploitation of High Performance Computing.

I am the initiator and owner of the open source engineering software ParaFEM and author of the accompanying text book “Programming the Finite Element Method” - which is available in Chinese. The software and text book are used in teaching, research and industry across the globe. I am always very open to discussing new collaborations at any level, from blue skies research projects to technology transfer through consultancy.