Team Members
Our team covers diverse career stages, background and experience, including early career researchers as well as established and senior academics across the four institutions. The team is supported by a dynamic and experienced Advisory Board. We also have a broad range of committed industry contributors and collaborators.
Core Team
Queen’s University Belfast
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Project Lead
Trevor Robinson is principal investigator for the Digital Design Network Plus. He is Head of School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Queen’s University Belfast where he is Professor of
University of Strathclyde
Anja Maier is Professor of Engineering Systems Design and Head of Department Design, Manufacturing and Engineering Management (DMEM) at the University of Strathclyde.
Linking the human and engineering sides in
University of Sheffield
Professor Ashutosh Tiwari is Deputy Vice-President for Innovation at the University of Sheffield and holds the prestigious Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) and Airbus Research Chair. He is internationally renowned
University of Bristol
Ben is Professor of Mechanical Engineering specialising in Engineering Design and High Value Manufacturing. Ben’s research interests span computational design, constraint modelling, generative design, design for manufacture, design informatics and
University of Bristol
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Case Study 1 Lead
Dr Gopsill is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Bristol researching Digital Design & Manufacture and contributing
University of Strathclyde
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Case Study 1 Co-Lead
Dr Andrew Wodehouse is a Reader in the Department of Design, Manufacturing and Engineering Management (DMEM) at the University of Strathclyde. He leads the department’s Design Research Group and is
University of Sheffield
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Research Associate
Dr. Yuri Mejia is a Research Associate at the University of Sheffield, specialising in the digitalisation of manufacturing processes. Her work focuses on developing solutions for in-process monitoring, real-time simulation,
Queen’s University Belfast
Mark is Professor of Aeronautics at Queen’s University Belfast and holds an EPSRC Fellowship in Engineering Design (DECIDE for Net Zero).
A former Pro-Vice-Chancellor at QUB, Mark is now focused
Queen’s University Belfast
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Grant Manager
Lynda Mahon has nearly 20 years’ experience working in HE. She brings to the team a wealth of knowledge in managing large multi-institutional projects, events and research projects.
Cranfield University
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Case Study 2 Co-Lead
Dr Maryam Farsi has over 15 years’ experience in engineering optimisation, digital twins, through-life cost modelling and sustainable and circular systems. Maryam is currently a senior lecturer in Engineering Optimisation
University of Sheffield
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Case Study 2 Co-Lead
Ejae Perez is the Senior Theme Lead for Automated Assembly at the University of Sheffield AMRC. A graduate of the University of Sheffield with an honours Master’s Degree in Systems
Queen’s University Belfast
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Project administrator
Kelly joins the team from the School of Maths and Physics within Queen’s University Belfast. Kelly has over 20 years experience working in project administration and specialises in event management.
Advisory Board
Advisory Board Lead
Ian Risk has 40 years of experience in the A&D sector and has worked across technologies from advanced manufacturing (additive manufacturing, composites processing, automated assembly) with novel materials (metallic alloys,
Challenge 1 Cohort
Lecturer
What do you plan to achieve in Challenge 1?
A Systematic Technology Evaluation Method Accelerating Drone Design
This project adapts the Computer-Supported Collaborative Design (CSCD) systematic evaluation and selection method
Deputy Head of Department for Education & Senior Lecturer in Engineering Education
What do you plan to achieve in Challenge 1?
We’ve joined the first Digital Design Network Plus challenge to co-develop new approaches for designing engineering systems, using these workflows as
Job Title: Lecturer in Engineering Design, Manufacture and Management
What do you plan to achieve in Challenge 1?
Utilising spatial computing and mixed reality to create an intuitive concept development and configuration tool with built-in analysis and iteration capabilities.
Associate Professor
What do you plan to achieve in Challenge 1?
My research interests focus on developing advanced digital design and manufacturing tools to produce novel, sustainable design solutions rapidly. Through participating
Senior Research Associate – AI-VR integrated pipeline for faster and better drone design
What do you plan to achieve in Challenge 1?
I will investigate the viability of an AI-VR integrated pipeline to accelerate early-stage drone design. This would include rapid generation of
Lecturer in Engineering
What do you plan to achieve in Challenge 1?
In Challenge 1, our goal is to accelerate and enhance the digital design of drones by integrating AI-assisted shape synthesis with reduced-order
Lecturer
What do you plan to achieve in Challenge 1?
Experiment with novel Multipysics modelling techniques for swarm drones under different load specifications/applications.
Senior Lecturer
What do you plan to achieve in Challenge 1?
During the challenge, I plan to better understand the process and the skills required to automate the design process.
Assistant Professor (Chancellor’s Fellow)
What do you plan to achieve in Challenge 1?
In Challenge 1, our research team is working towards a workflow that allows for rapid iteration on design requirements through computational