As a Principal Lecturer (Associate Professor) my Role Encompasses, Leadership on Mechanical Engineering Course Pathways, Research & Development on Sustainable Energy Technologies, and Student Engagement Lead at Our Faculty.

Teaching Achievements

I have 14 years experience of leading and delivering impactful engineering training and education, recognised by my,

(1) Embedding employability in the curriculum award 2023, in recognition of students benefiting from unique and authentic multidisciplinary project experiences in working engineering environments.

(2) Outstanding team award 2023, in recognition of successfully developing, leading and implementing comprehensive changes on the largest module with our fantastic engineering team of 20+ staff.

(3) Excellence in facilitating and empowering learning award 2019, in recognition of successfully developing and implementing a range of student-centred methods, improving engagement and achievement, and benefiting the maximum number of diverse students.

(4) Excellence in facilitating and empowering learning award 2018, in recognition of significantly enhancing student experience through linking teaching, learning and research.

(5) Inclusive teaching award 2017, in recognition of successfully imbedding methods in conscious inclusivity, creating inspiring sessions and tackling differential outcomes.

I have undertaken leadership, development, management and delivery of accredited engineering course portfolios (bachelors and masters) 2019-23. Some of the key achievements of my tenure have included in,

(1) Playing a leading role in collaborating and fostering excellence in the team, to secure the 5-year gold standard accreditation rating on engineering courses 2020-24 (by the Institution of Engineering and Technology, and the Institution of Mechanical Engineers). This has guided our engineering graduate outcomes for, highly skilled employment and further studies, to be in the upper quartile compared to the sector.

(2) Strategically developing our training provisions, by merging my professional experience with teaching opportunities, via launching and leading the STEP Lab (Sustainable Technology and Engineering Projects), to problem solve energy challenges via tutor-student collaborations 2020-Present. This initiative aligns our curriculum with the emerging industrial skills and demands, and was chosen and published as the Engineering Employability case study, by the Learning and Teaching Hub 2022.

My expertise has been enlisted and have led in, (1) Changes on the largest skills and practice subject, which includes interactive sessions, group challenges and innovative learning activities, resulting in 60% improvement in student experience 2022; (2) Comprehensive transformation on the largest level 5 project module, achieving 80% student engagement across the module 2019; (3) Extensive enhancements on the largest level 4 technical module, improving progression by 50% 2018.

I was appointed as a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy 2018, with my distinction work on, ‘Student Centred Teaching and Learning Approaches to Enhance Student Experience’, during my PGCert. I have served on the Academic School Board (Engineering Representative), School Athena SWAN Committee with a successful submission (Sub-Group Lead), School Education and Student Experience Committee (Engineering Representative) etc. addressing sector wide priorities, from skills development to attainment gap.

Early Career Achievements

My notable achievements and contributions, in the early years of my career included,

(1) Intern Engineer in US energy sector with Electratherm Inc. during 2 years, where I was commended as resourceful and skilled contributor to commercial energy sector projects in USA.

(2) Lecturer in Engineering at City University London, and Course Facilitator for Smallpeice Trust (Design & Manufacture) during 2 years.

(3) Advisor to higher education institutes on administration and operation of University Accommodations during 5 years, where I received the Bronze Award by accommodation services at Greenwich '07 in recognition of advanced duties undertaken during management absence. I have demonstrated excellent operational experience, encompassing logistics, safety, policy, coordination, delegation, diplomacy, budget control, maintenance etc., gained working across multiple large-scale accommodation sites.

Research and Development Achievements

I have 14 years experience of impactful research and development expertise in sustainable technologies. I have successfully delivered, technology readiness levels 2 to 8 projects in, energy conversion, energy storage and sustainable fuels, via simulation and experimental methods applied to transport and stationary applications. I have complete concept-to-commissioning experience on new large-scale energy recovery test facilities, to operational experience on advanced heavy-duty research engines.

My research outputs are the result of successful industry focused projects, these include, (1) Recuperated Engine - Advanced Route to Market Demonstrator via Innovate UK 2021 (£250K); (2) Development of high-grade heat storage for integration with liquid air energy storage via Innovate UK 2018 (£58K); (3) Engine efficiency challenge via Advanced Propulsion Centre 2018 (£20K); (4) Utilizing low grade heat via Ricardo Plc 2016 (£20K); (5) Libertine waste heat recovery unit via Innovate UK 2016 (£220K) etc.

I am a recognised scholar who has presented at conferences across UK, Poland, Malaysia, Italy, India, Portugal, USA, Spain etc. I have authored 20+ peer reviewed publications and my outputs have contributed to institutional Research Excellence Frameworks. My notable outputs include, sole authorship in high impact factor journals, such as in ‘Applied Energy (11.4)’ for the work titled ‘An innovative Organic Rankine Cycle system for integrated cooling and heat recovery 2017’. I have also published via high impact special issue journal invitations, for instance in ‘Energy (8.8)’ for the issue titled ‘Towards low carbon energy systems: engineering and economic perspectives 2016’.

As a Fellow in Thermal Storage and Waste Heat Recovery, I was recognised as,

(1) Substantial Speaker as the sole author at the Thermal Management Systems Symposium 2016.

(2) Best Paper Award as the lead author from over 120 submissions at the International Conference on Production, Energy and Reliability 2014.

Training Achievements

I received my PhD in Mechanical Engineering (Energy themed research) with successive awards of,

(1) Best Presentation in the Faculty 2014 in Computing, Engineering and Mathematics.

(2) Best Presentation in the Faculty 2013 in Computing, Engineering and Mathematics.

My specialisation was in ‘Waste heat recovery using fluid bottoming cycles for heavy duty Diesel engines’ at the Sir Harry Ricardo Laboratories. The academic achievement of my earlier works resulted in my lead author conference paper being in the top quartile of over 170 submissions, and hence being chosen for publication in the International Journal of Engines (2013-24-0089).

I hold additional qualifications from University Alliance, Russell Group and Professional Institutions. I received my MPhil in Mechanical Engineering (Energy themed research) from City University London, MSc (Distinction) in Mechatronics from Kings College London, GradWeld I from the Welding Institute Professional Division, and BEng (First Class Honours) in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Greenwich.

My specialisations included, ‘Performance prediction of energy systems with expansion performed by twin screw machines’, ‘Investigation into the fundamental problem of inverse dynamics method using an instrumented robotic test-rig’ (with Royal Veterinary College) and ‘Design, manufacture and commissioning of an instrumented drop weight impact tester’. In these I was awarded the,

(1) Best Overall Performance in Engineering.

(2) Best Industrial Board Innovation Project.

I also hold certification in, ‘Management, Leadership and Business’ from Roehampton University London, and in ‘Development through Philosophy’ from City University London. Building from such experiences, I have gained and implemented, new lateral thinking actions in, investment planning to conflict resolution.

Active Research Themes

My research interests cover the theme of sustainable energy production, conversion and storage, with a strong focus on waste to power, thermal energy storage, high efficiency engines, sustainable fuels and life cycle assessment. At the systems level, this includes, heat to power technologies, fluid bottoming cycles, energy recovery expanders, working fluids, nano-particles, concentrated solar power plants, molten salt thermal batteries, compact heat exchangers, liquid air energy storage systems, NOx/HC emissions, heavy-duty and split cycle engines, carbon free fuels, ammonia/hydrogen/methane combustion, process integration, techno-economic evaluations, exergy analysis, hazard and operability studies, research methodology to improve technology readiness level, system wide modelling, optimisation, control and validation, and quantifying environmental impacts of a products, services and materials. I have investigated most of these research strands via simulation and experimental methods as part of knowledge transfers, industrial consultancies and research grants.

I am a member of the Advanced Engineering Centre and the Thermal Efficiency Spoke of the Advanced Propulsion Centre. My live industrial (e.g. Dolphin N2) and university supported, doctoral research projects include,

(1) Combustion Chemistry for Optimisation of Advanced Propulsion Cycles with E-fuels - by Elisa Wylie

(2) Universal Life Cycle Emissions Tool Applied to Electric Vehicles in Automotive Sector - by Aleksandra Skalba

(3) Micro-Power Volumetric Machines as Energy Recovery Expanders in Two-Phase Conditions - by Ian Kemp

Knowledge Exchange and Enterprise Achievements

I have successfully delivered industrial consultancies for small to large enterprises, (1) Heat to-Cool 2023 via Access to Expertise for Flint Engineering Ltd (£7K); (2) Automotive hydrogen engine concept 2020 for Clean Automotive Engineering Ltd (£4K); (3) Thermal management work packages to explore novel waste heat recovery 2017 via Advanced Propulsion Centre for Ricardo Ltd (£20K); (4) Cryogenic waste heat recovery 2016 via Green Growth Platform innovation voucher for Dearman Engine Company Ltd (£5K); (5) Free piston expander testing 2016 via Department of Energy and Climate Change for Libertine FPE (£13K) etc.

I have secured £50K funding from various streams, from Santander Universities, to Research Awareness Diversity Summer Placement, resulting in 50+ masters, bachelors and internships students, completing authentic industrial projects 2020-Present. I have undertaken automotive project supervision, including, Electric Vehicle Lab Feasibility 2023 (Industrial project via JLC group), London-to-Brighton EV Rally 2022 (Awarded Best in Class Car), Formula Student Competition 2019 (Competing at Silverstone) etc.

My expertise in improving the technology readiness level of energy systems is recognised by industrial impact via development and delivery of continuous professional development training courses for global engineering companies, for example BorgWarner Inc 2016. I have also delivered accelerated courses, for example ‘Powertrain thermal management 2015’ via Training and Development for automotive engineering professionals.

I have been appointed as session chairman and invited as speaker at international conferences, such as ‘European Conference on Renewable Energy Systems 2019’ and ‘Experimental and Computational Tools for Combustion Optimization in Marine and Automotive Engines 2016’. I have acted as a reviewer for funding bodies, high impact journals and international conferences, for instance EPSRC, Energy Conversion and Management, and Heat Powered Cycle Conference.

My pedagogy focuses on developing cross disciplined, multi-skilled and solution focused engineering graduates with ingrained fundamental principles. I have stepped up to the challenge of developing and implementing, a range of active teaching approaches and embedding learning opportunities, for the benefit of maximum students for our aeronautical, automotive, design, electrical and mechanical engineering courses.

To pave the way from the theoretical concepts to practical engineering for diverse and large cohorts, I have implemented various methods in my practice, these include investigative engineering, problem based learning, reverse engineering, puzzle based learning, conscious inclusivity, practice based learning, feedforward plans, peer based learning, real world case studies and simulators as virtual training tools.

I have taught a range of forward thinking as well as core subjects including, Renewable Technologies, Engineering Practice, Energy Systems, Product Design, Aircraft and Automotive Systems, Instrumentation and Testing, Thermodynamics, and Engineering Design Innovation and Management etc.

I have presented my pedagogic works such as ‘Student Centred Teaching and Learning Approaches to Enhance Student Experience 2019’ at the Pedagogic Research Conference, and ‘A Mixed Mode Teaching and Learning Cycle in Engineering Education 2018’ at the Learning and Teaching Conference.

My supervision interests in the theme of energy engineering via simulation and experimental methods are aligned with my research interests in energy recovery, energy storage, advanced engines, sustainable fuels, low carbon transport and life cycle assessment. I welcome correspondence from potential Placement, PhD and Post-Doctoral applicants, and new academic and industrial collaborators.