Research
Our work ranges in scale from nuclear physics to interplanetary space exploration, and we have an enviable reputation for the contributions we have made towards a variety of challenges faced by our society. These challenges include improving our environment, health, communications, transport, security, information technologies, energy and water.
Research excellence
In the latest UK Research Excellence Framework (REF 2021), we ranked 15th in the UK for ‘research power’ in engineering.
Overall, Surrey has risen 12 places in the rankings since 2014 to 33rd in the UK for our research quality.
* Research power is the overall quality of submissions, calculated by grade point average and multiplied by the full-time equivalent number of staff submitted.
About our research
We believe in the importance of linking fundamental scientific research to engineering applications, so many of these activities are underpinned by strong industrial links, and several successful spin-out companies have resulted from this. About half of our income comes from Research Councils UK (principally EPSRC), a third from the EU, and the rest mainly from industry (our largest clients being EADS Astrium, Rolls Royce, E.on, Toyota, AWE and QinetiQ).
Impact we are making
Our academics and researchers show how we're making a positive impact on society both locally and globally.
Research in focus
Research in Focus is a new magazine we have developed to showcase the exciting and ground breaking work being conducted in the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences.
Livings labs
Applying current research and innovation to address real-world issues using the University campus and surrounding communities as a test-bed.
Open Research
In these case studies, researchers from our Faculty explain how they have used open and transparent practices to carry out and communicate their research, and explore the benefits and challenges of being open.
Find out more about Open Research at Surrey, and download the Open Research Handbook (PDF).
Innovation for health
Innovation for health research in the Faculty for Engineering and Physical Sciences includes: medical engineering such as biomedical, chemical, electrical and physical sciences such as chemistry, computing, mathematics across many medical indications. Our research helps to diagnose, treat, recover from and prevent illness and disease.
Research by school and department
The Faculty’s research takes place predominantly within large, coherent groups whose mass and state-of-the-art facilities provide unique opportunities for pursuing a wide variety of topics, many of them with a multidisciplinary flavour drawing on academic staff from multiple disciplines.
Faculty Research and Innovation team
Professor Jin Xuan
Associate Dean (Research and Innovation)
Research directors
Professor David Carey
Research Director of Surrey Space Centre
Professor Robert Dorey
Research Director of Department of Mechanical Engineering
Professor Angela Druckman
Research Director of Centre for Environment and Sustainability
Dr Marian Florescu
Research Director of Department of Physics and Advanced Technology Institute (Physics)
Professor Adrian Hilton
Research Director of Centre for Vision, Speech and Signal Processing
Dr Devendra Saroj
Research Director of Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Professor Nishanth Sastry
Research Director of Department of Computer Science
Professor Ravi Silva
Research Director of Advanced Technology Institute (EEE)
Professor Anne Skeldon
Research Director of Department of Mathematics
Professor Rahim Tafazolli
Research Director of Institute for Communication Systems
Professor John Varcoe
Research Director of Department of Chemistry
Professor Charley Wu
Research Director of Department of Chemical and Process Engineering
