Research Groups

The Department of Engineering has a long history of excellence in research and in the application of research to address real world problems. The challenges facing the world are complex and require a multidisciplinary approach. As a general engineering department, we are able to bring together a wide range of expertise, experience and facilities to solving such problems. The particular challenges which provide focus for our research are:

Energy, Environment and Sustainable Engineering

Understanding the changing environment and adapting to climate change; the efficient utilisation of energy and other resources and minimising the impact of human activity are key challenges to humanity. Our research brings a wide range of engineering expertise to bear on these problems, ranging from materials engineering, heat transfer and thermal modelling, fluid dynamics to help understand the performance of renewable energy systems, reliable control systems, low power communication systems, photonics and semiconductor devices able to make more efficient use of solar energy, carbon capture technology and the design of complex systems involving fault-tolerance. The accent throughout the research is on making engineering systems more energy efficient, greener in their effect on the environment and safe, robust and sustainable in operation.  more information ...

Medical Engineering

The impact of the aging population and pressure on health budgets makes the continued wellbeing of the population difficult to ensure. In addition, there is a continuous drive to develop better medical devices to improve patients’ quality of life, as well as pressures to improve the way that healthcare is provided. We are using a range of medical engineering techniques and technologies to address problems such as changes in bone structure with age, understanding the causes of falls in the elderly and the restoration of speech following laryngectomy.  more information ...

Professional and Educational Studies

Alongside our teaching activities we are also conducting research into the effectiveness of different learning and teaching methods. This is particularly focussed on technology supported learning and continuing professional development. more information ...