School of Engineering Combined Research Groups, Centres and Activities

Research Centres,Groups and Activities-

Centre forEnvironmental Strategy-

(Led by Professor Matthew Leach)

-The Centre for Environmental Strategy (CES) is an internationally acclaimed centre of excellence on sustainable development. It takes a multidisciplinary approach to the analysis of sustainable systems, integrating strong, engineering-based approaches with insights from the social sciences to develop action-oriented, policy-relevant responses to long-term environmental and social issues. The call for the skills and approach embodied in CES has never been greater. Key research funding priorities have been identified in the following related topic areas: -* Energy and climate change mitigation (and adaptation): a clear priority area for UK and international policy and research in which CES has experience over many years-* Sustainable consumption and production: a core theme in international climate negotiations and the UK sustainable development strategy, partly as a result of the influence that CES has had in this area over the last decade -* Sustainable infrastructure: an emerging resear

ch and policy theme in the UK and abroad in which CES is well positioned to develop existing interests in energy, water management, flood defence and transport -To contribute in these areas, research and teaching in CES are based around three interrelated themes: -

Sustainable Systems: Tools for Analysis and Design

-This theme builds on the long-standing strengths of CES in environmental systems analysis. The intention is to further develop a range of analytic and modelling tools and techniques for sustainability, informed by the conceptual and empirical research of the Social Research on Sustainability Group. Expertise in established techniques such as life cycle assessment, value chain analysis and industrial ecology are built upon to address the strong business and policy interest in areas such as carbon accounting (footprinting), and research will expand into a range of newer approaches such as dynamic simulation, agent-based modelling and approaches to uncertainty.-

Social Research on Sustainability: Developing Concepts and Themes

-This theme develops the strong existing interdisciplinary social science research base within CES and across the University. The theme advances conceptual thinking on sustainability and strengthens the base of empirical evidence, underpinning the systems research of sustainable systems. Drawing on increasing interest in policy and business in 'behaviour change£ and the social aspects of sustainability, the theme encompasses economic and institutional aspects of sustainability as well as the social and psychological dimensions of environmentally relevant behaviour. It aims to extend and build upon existing links within the Faculty and across the University (in particular with Psychology, Sociology, Economics, Management and Law). -

Policy, Strategy and Governance:Implementing Sustainability

-This theme applies the analytic tools which are the focus of the Sustainable Systems Group and the sustainability concepts explored in the Social Research on Sustainability Group to develop specific approaches for corporate strategy and governance and public policy. The emphasis is on bringing the latest research to bear in developing practical approaches to support decision makers and policy analysts confronted with complex issues. At international, national and sectoral levels, these issues include mitigation of and adaptation to climate change. At the corporate level, this means helping companies to develop positive responses to changing demands from both regulators and the public. This is one of the areas in which the existing EngD programme has already proved itself to be an effective vehicle for active collaboration. -

Fluids and Systems Research Centre

(Led by Professor John Chew)

-Fluids and Systems brings together a number of leading researchers in a range of overlapping areas. These include power systems and aerospace, vehicle dynamics, mechatronics and robotics, environmental dispersion, pollution and health, water treatment and desalination, and chemical, process and biomedical systems. The unit is organised into a number of research centres.-www.surrey.ac.uk/eng/research/fluids-

Centre for Biomedical Engineering

(Led by Professor Mike Hughs)

-The Centre for Biomedical Engineering at the University of Surrey is one of the most established in the UK, and has links to a number of other key clinical, industrial and academic specialities throughout the UK and Europe. The Centre£s goal is the application of engineering and technology principles to the development of equipment and measurement methods for use in clinical management and assessment.-Research in the Centre can be divided into a number of main areas:-* Blood flow and vascular grafts-* Functional electrical stimulation-* Human movement-* Laboratories on a chip-* Medical microengineering-* Osseointegration and orthopaedic implants-In addition to the facilities at the University, the Centre also has a formal base at Queen Mary£s Hospital, Roehampton, where members of staff contribute to clinical and applied research programmes in electrical stimulation, orthotics, prosthetics and neuro-rehabilitation.-

Centre for EnvironmentalHealth Engineering

(Led by Professor Barry Lloyd)-

The Centre for Environmental Health Engineering (CEHE) is a postgraduate research centre with international expertise and projects covering the entire water cycle. These encompass water resources surveillance, modelling and management, water treatment, supply and regulation, wastewater treatment, disposal and safe reuse, and pollution control and waste management. -CEHE is a designated World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre for the Protection of Water Quality and Human Health (with the University of Surrey£s Robens Centre for Public and Environmental Health). -The Centre has recently been invited to join the UNICEF WASH cluster group of relief agencies as a centre of excellence in water and sanitation.-CEHE provides support to overseas governments through international agencies (WHO), the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) and its regional sanitary engineering research centre CEPIS-PAHO in Peru, and relief organisations (such as Oxfam and MSF). Research and training proj

ects have been completed by the staff of CEHE in at least 45 countries.-Strong research and development contacts are maintained with UK and European water utilities (notably Thames Water, Southern Water and Stadtwerke Karlsruhe).-

Fluids Research Centre

(Led by Professor Alan Robins)-

The Fluids Research Centre (FRC) brings together academic staff from all engineering disciplines, typically 30 researchers and several visiting and associate staff, in a dynamic group dedicated to all aspects of research on fluids, including applications in:-* Aerospace-* Turbulent flows-* Turbomachinery-* Wind engineering-* Environmental flows and dispersion-* Chemical and bio-reactor hydrodynamics-* Multiphase flows-* Non-Newtonian fluids-* Bio-fluid mechanics-* Osmosis research-* Vehicle aerodynamics-The Centre is currently engaged in some 30 research projects, funded by major European and UK national grants. The research income supports substantial programmes of experimental research and numerical simulation.-FRC is also the home for a number of concentrated research activities. -

Centre for Osmosis Research and Applications-

(Led by Professor Adel Sharif)

-The Centre is well equipped with state-of-the-art experimental facilities for desalination and membrane separation processes, and high-speed computational facilities. The Centre£s most recent activities have resulted in the discovery of the novel Manipulated Osmosis Technology (MOT) which addresses most of the key shortcomings and limitations of the Reverse Osmosis (RO) membrane separation, thermal desalination methods (MSF, MED, VC), water treatment of cooling towers, secondary oil recovery of water injection/flooding operations and other technologies used commonly in the desalination of seawater and brackish water.-The innovations of CORA in the area of desalination and renewable power generation have been commercialised through the University of Surrey spin-out company, Surrey Aquatechnology Ltd, which has recently been merged with the AIM-listed company Morden Water plc.-

Environmental Flow Research Centre-

(Led by Professor Alan Robins)-

The Environmental Flow Research Centre (EnFlo) is an NERC National Centre for Atmospheric Science and houses two major large-scale facilities that, together with our other wind tunnels, provide a nationally unique resource for studying a wide range of environmentally important flow and dispersion problems. Micro and local scale meteorology and dispersion are the current focus of the research activities. Funding for EnFlo, from research councils, government departments, the European Union and industry, has exceeded £5 million since its establishment in 1993.-

Thermo-Fluid Systems University Technology Centre -

(Led by Professor John Chew)-

The Thermo-Fluid Systems University Technology Centre (TFS UTC) is supported by Rolls-Royce and specialises in turbomachinery for aeroengine and power generation applications. The TFS UTC focuses on advanced computational modelling, and is involved in a number of national and international research collaborations.-

Surrey£s Advanced Vehicle Analysis Group

(Led by Dr Aldo Sorniotti)

-Surrey£s Advanced Vehicle Analysis Group (SAVAG) aims to provide a world class research technical capability function for vehicle analysis in the following key areas: vehicle dynamics simulation, tyre dynamics simulation, design and simulation of vehicle subsystems (brakes, steering, suspension, chassis control systems design, design of experimental test benches.-

Mechatronic Systems andRobotics Research Group

(Led by Dr Eddie Moxey)-

The Group has been actively involved in leading research for over 25 years. Progressing from industrial applications to mobile systems, the Group has maintained a consistent focus on the human-machine interfaces. It has excellent links with a number of industrial collaborators covering the aerospace, automotive and manufacturing sectors. While continuing its interest in terrestrial mobile systems, the Group is now concentrating on the development of robotic systems for space applications and works closely with the Surrey Satellite Centre.-

Centre for Process and Information Systems Engineering

(Led by Professor Antonis Kokossis)-

Process integration and systems analysis for sustainability of resources and energy efficiency are carried out within the newly established Centre for Process and Information Systems Engineering (PRISE). PRISE, supported through industrial membership, fosters interactions with R

D centres around the world. The most notable of the successes in this area include design technology for chemical reactors and chemical process flowsheets, optimisation solvers, the knowledge management h-TechSight and a long array of synthesis tools. -

Centre for Materials, Surfaces and Structural Systems

(Led by Professor John F Watts)

-The Centre for Materials, Surfaces and Structural Systems (MaSSS) is a multidisciplinary group of researchers whose interests cover the complete range of length scales from nanomaterials and nanocharacterisation, through solid mechanics and materials engineering, to large-scale structures and reliability engineering of large infrastructural systems. -The Centre has excellent facilities for mechanical testing, numerical modelling, metals processing, composites fabrication and electron microscopy. The Surface Analysis Laboratory is probably the best-equipped laboratory of its type in Europe, and the instrumentation has recently been augmented by the high specification time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometer. -Members of MaSSS collaborate widely, both within the University and with industry and academia nationally and internationally, and research is funded by national and European bodies. The Centre also acts as the editorial office for several international journals, including the

Journal of Materials Science and Surface and Interface Analysis, and frequently hosts international conferences and symposia. The materials research conducted in the Centre contributes to the portfolio of activities of the Surrey Materials Institute, a University-wide initiative bringing together researchers in engineering, physics, chemistry and biomedical sciences.-The individual research activities are split into eleven areas described in the following sections.-

Composite Materials and Structures

(Led by Professor Paul Smith and Professor Marios Chryssanthopoulos)

-The Group has excellent facilities for fabrication and testing of composite materials and structural units. Work includes continuous fibre composites based on a range of reinforcement types (non-woven, woven fabric, stitched fabrics) and short fibre systems with an increased emphasis towards design. In addition, novel nanomaterials are being investigated, including nanocomposites, biocomposites and drug delivery nanopolymers.-With regard to structures, the Group continues to analyse experimentally and numerically the upgrading of reinforced concrete and metallic beam systems. Research is also directed towards the development of novel hybrid concrete/FRP structural units.-

Construction Materials

(Led by Dr Mike Mulheron)

-The Construction Materials Group works closely with the construction industry, not only in the production and evaluation of new structural materials, but also in the assessment and repair of damaged structures and the eventual demolition and reuse of materials. Recent work has considered the effectiveness of surface coatings and their ability to prevent the access of corrosive materials, such as chloride ions, to the reinforcement of concrete bridges.-

Engineering Ceramics

(Led by Dr Julie Yeomans)

-The Group has an established reputation for research on localised fracture as a result of indentation, wear or thermal shock, and long-term stability in a range of environments. More recently, the Group has been undertaking fundamental sintering studies and looking at issues relating to the use of ceramics in solid oxide fuel cells.-

Metallurgy Research Group

(Led by Dr Mark J Whiting)

-The study of phase transformations (PT) is central to our research programme. This focus is applied, for example, in the design of metallic and intermetallic microstructures for given property combinations and in research on microstructural evolution in high temperature structural and functional systems.-

Microstructural Studies Unit

(Led by Dr Mark Baker)

-The Microstructural Studies Unit (MSSU) comprises a comprehensive range of techniques, including scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), X-ray microanalysis (EDX and WDX), electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS), confocal laser microscopy (CLSM), are available together with the appropriate specimen preparation equipment.-In 2007, £1.8 million was spent on creating the new laboratory for the unit. In addition a new STEM/EELS/EDX was commissioned in 2007.-

Particulate and Multiphase Process Engineering

(Led by Professor Ugur Tzn)

-The Group£s internationally recognised research is focused on the study of particulate matter and gas, and liquid-borne dispersed systems at a fundamental level for the development of new and improved processes, techniques and instruments. It is based on the investigation of microscopic properties and phenomena, and the identification of relationships between microscopic and macroscopic bulk behaviour. -

Smart Materials and Structures

(Led by Dr Stephen Ogin)

-Research is focused currently in a number of areas: structural health monitoring using optical fibre sensors, damage limitation using shape-memory alloys (SMAs) and process monitoring using optical fibre sensors.-

Solid Mechanics and Design

(Led by Professor Andrew Crocombe)

-This Group£s research includes damage detection and modelling, materials characterisation, and structural simulation and performance. -The modelling of impact damage in composite structures forms another important aspect of the Group£s activity. -Experimental and numerical modelling of dynamics of structures is undertaken, with applications including footbridges, brush dynamics and satellites. Work is also carried out in the field of muscular-skeletal biomechanics, with the focus on the modelling of femoral, tibial and mandible implants and the associated remodelling of the bone that occurs. The Group collaborates with other groups in the Faculty and across the University, such as the Department of Chemistry and the Surrey Space Centre.-

Space Structures Research Centre

(Led by Professor Gerry Parke)

-The Space Structures Research Centre was founded in May 1963 and has been highly active ever since in helping to further the ideas and promote the utilisation of space structures.-Research is undertaken to enhance the methods of analysis and design as well as understanding of the behaviour of all forms of space structures.-

Surface and Interface Reactions Group

(Led by Professor John Watts)

-The Surface Analysis Laboratory at the University of Surrey contains the most complete cluster of surface instrumentation for X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), scanning Auger microscopy (SAM) and scanning probe microscopy (SPM) certainly in Europe, and perhaps in the world. New state-of-the-art instruments for scanning probe microscopy, time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectroscopy and scanning Auger microscopy have recently been installed. -The Group, comprising some 20 academics and researchers, is concerned with understanding the manner in which materials surfaces interact with each other and their environments. -The Group has experience of studying the surfaces and interfaces of a vast range of materials used in diverse industrial sectors such as power generation, aerospace, electronics, transport and pharmaceuticals, to name but a few.-

Whole-life Performance of Structures and Infrastructure Systems

(Led by Professor Marios Chryssanthopoulos)

-The design, construction and management of civil infrastructure systems is underpinned by research into the response of individual structures and networks to extreme events, as well as long-term wear and deterioration. -Current research is aimed at predicting the behaviour of structures under extreme loading, such as blast, impact and earthquakes, as well as long-term cyclic loading leading to fatigue and fracture. Development of probabilistic methods is a key part of the Group£s objectives. It has made significant contributions in a number of areas including design and assessment of stiffened plates and shells, deterioration and service life prediction of metallic and concrete bridges, and the progressive collapse of multi-storey frames under seismic loading.-The Infrastructure Reliability and Management Centre (IRMAC) focuses on the development and integration of various techniques including analysis, planning and maintenance actions within a proactive risk-based integrity management fr

amework for high value assets and ageing infrastructure systems. There is also a strong emphasis on technology transfer between different sectors, benefiting in particular from experience in the offshore sector where such techniques were developed and applied to a high level of sophistication with significant benefits.-

Doctor of Engineering(EngD) Programmes

The Engineering Doctorate (EngD) in Environmental Technology was one of five pioneering programmes started in 1993 and has since worked with over 60 sponsor companies on projects across a wide spectrum of research areas. In the 2007 EPSRC review, the panel noted that this was 'an excellent EngD Centre that should act as an exemplar to others£.-

This EngD was launched in September 2005 and builds on the research strengths of the University, the excellent reputation of the MSc in Advanced Materials and the experience gained from running the highly successful EngD in Environmental Technology. -

Contact Details

For general enquiries

T: 0800 980 3200 or +44 (0)1483 683076
E: pg-enquiries@surrey.ac.uk

For admissions enquiries

T: +44 (0)1483 686128
E: feps-pgr@surrey.ac.uk
www.surrey.ac.uk/eng/research