Our Team
Our academic team covers diverse career stages, background and experience, including PhD Students, Post-Doctoral Researchers, as well as established and senior advanced academics across the three institutions. This team have been supported in some 70 EPSRC projects worth £112m with current EPSRC support of more than £17m.
As of March 2025, our Team has 39 members, including 27 researchers and academics, and 12 PhD Students.
Photographs and biographies of the RIED Team members can be found via the table below. Click once to open a group and click again to return to the closed state.
Leadership
Prof Mark Price
Principle Investigator
Queen’s University Belfast
Mark Price graduated in 1987 with a First Class Honours degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Queen’s University Belfast and a Masters in Engineering Computation in 1988. He returned later to QUB to undertake a PhD in the department of Mechanical……
Prof Andy Tyrrell FREng
Thread 1 Lead
University of York
Andy Tyrrell received a 1st class honours degree in 1982 and a PhD in 1985, both in Electrical and Electronic Engineering. Andy’s main research interests are in the design of biologically-inspired architectures, computer engineering, microelectronics, robotics, evolvable hardware, FPGA system……
Prof Trevor Robinson
Thread 2 Lead
Queen’s University Belfast
Trevor graduated from Queen’s University Belfast with a MEng in Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering. He then pursued a PhD in the School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering while working on a large European Framework Programme aerospace project called VIVACE. At……
Prof Paul Conway
Thread 3 Lead
Loughborough University
Paul is Dean of Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering at Loughborough and Professor of Manufacturing Processes. He led EPSRC’s Innovative Electronics manufacturing Centre for more than 10 years and has worked in manufacturing processes and technology research and consultancy in……
Prof Yan Jin
Thread 4 Lead
Queen’s University Belfast
Prof Jin is a professor of Smart Manufacturing and Robotics in the School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Queen’s University Belfast. He has been working in the school as a research fellow (2007-08), a lecturer (2009-15), and a senior lecturer (2015-18).……
Professor Frank Kirkland
Chief Designer
Queen’s University Belfast
Professor Frank Kirkland has extensive industrial experience having worked for Rolls-Royce plc for 38 years latterly as Chief Designer-Civil Aerospace. His expertise in the Design and Aerospace field was recognised by the award of a Royal Aerospace Society Gold Medal……
Academics
Loughborough University
Carmen received an MEng in Chemical Engineering from the University of Granada (Spain). After a few years working in Brussels, sitting on the executive board of the European Confederation of Junior Enterprises, she decided to undertake a PhD in Mechanical……
Queen’s University Belfast
Declan is a Lecturer in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Queen’s, and a Chartered Engineer with significant industrial experience. Upon graduating with a Masters Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Queen’s in 2008, he undertook a role as Stress Engineer with……
Queen’s University Belfast
Peter Kilpatrick is a Reader in Computer Science. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics and Computer Science and a PhD in Computer Science, both from Queen’s University Belfast. His research interests lie in parallel and distributed computing, most recently……
Queen’s University Belfast
Professor Karen Rafferty specialises in Virtual and Augment Reality Technologies, which looks at the application of VR, AR and AI techniques to Industry 4.0, Digital Healthcare and complex environments. She has over fifteen years’ experience working within the fields of……
Loughborough University
Radmehr is a senior lecturer in intelligent automation, robotic applications, and advanced manufacturing digitalisation. He has 17 years of experience in various industries including automotive, aerospace, electronics, and train maintenance. He started as a process engineer on shop floors, to……
Researchers
Dr Imelda Friel
Research Fellow
Queen’s University Belfast
Imelda graduated with a PhD from the School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering in 2018. She previously completed a Master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering in 2014, with an industrial placement as a Manufacturing Engineer at B/E Aerospace (now Collins Aerospace).……
Dr Simon Hickinbotham
Research Fellow
University of York
Simon studied Ecology at Bachelors level at RHBNC London, before moving to York to complete an MSc in Biological Computation in 1994. His research project led to an EPSRC-funded position as a research associate in computer vision, which was the……
Dr Paul Goodall
Senior Research Associate
Loughborough University
Paul graduated with a PhD from the school of Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering at Loughborough in 2015 having previously completed an MEng in Mechanical Engineering. His PhD focused upon cost estimation for remanufacturing, using techniques including case-based reasoning and……
Dr Edgar Buchanan Berumen
Research Fellow
University of York
Edgar completed his PhD in 2019 from the University of York in the Department of Electronics. His PhD focused upon the fault-tolerance in foraging robotics swarms. After completing his PhD, Edgar worked as Research Associate in the Autonomous Robotic Evolution……
Dr Zhiwei Zhao
Research Fellow
Queen’s University Belfast
Zhiwei graduated with a PhD from college of Mechanical & Electrical Engineering, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics in 2022. His major is aerospace manufacturing engineering, and his PhD project titled “Deformation control method driven by deformation force monitoring data……
Dr Thomas Shannon
Research Fellow
Queen’s University Belfast
Thomas studied for his Master’s and PhD in Mechanical Engineering at Queen’s University Belfast, completing in 2022. His PhD project was entitled “A Feature-Mapping Optimisation Framework for CAD Based Design”, where he explored the potential of integrating topology optimisation frameworks……
Dr Geunhyeok Choi
Research Fellow
Loughborough University
Choi received an PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the Hongik University, South Korea, in 2024. Choi’s PhD research focused on numerical simulation of multiphase flows and the development of a novel method for effectively predicting fluid flow and heat transfer……
Ryan Williamson
Research Fellow
Loughborough University
Ryan is set to graduate with a PhD from Loughborough University’s Wolfson School of Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering in 2024. Previously graduating from Durham University in 2018 with a Master’s Degree in Physics. The focus of Ryan’s PhD was……
Farajollah (Fred) Tahermezhadjavazm
Research Fellow
University of York
Farajollah (Fred) completed his PhD in Computer Science at Ulster University in 2024, where his research focused on multi-objective evolutionary algorithms through the integration of reinforcement learning and hybrid structures to enhance optimization processes. This expertise is further complemented by……
Yinghao Cheng
Research Fellow
Queen’s University Belfast
Yinghao is set to graduate with a PhD from Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics in early 2025. In the PhD study, he has been focusing on applying or designing novel AI models that fuse knowledge and mechanisms for complex problems……
PhD Students
Loughborough University
I am a PhD student in Loughborough University in Multifunctional Materials Manufacturing lab. My research project is focused on the design, manufacture and validation of biocompatible bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) for orthopaedic application. Educated in materials science and engineering, I……
Queen’s University Belfast
Julian graduated with a first-class Master’s in Mechanical Engineering from Queen’s University of Belfast in 2022 and is now commencing a PhD in the RIED project. Julian has been involved in engineering design, optimisation and finite element analysis throughout his……
Queen’s University Belfast
Thomas graduated from Queen’s University Belfast in 2022 with a 1st Class Masters in Mechanical Engineering. During his degree, Thomas completed a year in industry at Denroy. During his years in education, Thomas completed a range of internships which included,……
Loughborough University
Mudassar is a PhD student at Loughborough University. He joined in July 2022 and his work is focused on design, manufacture and validation of porous materials and multifunctional structures. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from UET Lahore,……
University of York
Colin graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science in 2019 and then, in the same year, made the move to the University of York to pursue a Master’s in Advanced Computer Science. Graduating a year later, they went on……
Queen’s University Belfast
Orlagh graduated from her Bachelor’s in Architecture at Ulster University in 2018, and Master’s in Architecture at Queens University in 2021. Her thesis explored the creation of new bio building materials inspired by nature’s form and behaviours implemented through robotic……
Queen’s University Belfast
Caitlin graduated with a first-class degree in MEng Mechanical Engineering from Queen’s University of Belfast in 2023. During her degree, she completed an industrial placement within the automation team at the Northern Ireland Technology Centre (NITC), where she gained valuable……
Queen’s University Belfast
Michael graduated with a first-class degree in MEng Mechanical Engineering from Queen’s University Belfast in 2023. His final year project involved the design of a thermal subsystem for a Cube Satellite. Michael joined the RIED Project in October 2023, with……
University of York
Babis graduated with an integrated Master’s in Electrical and Computer Engineering from University of Thessaly, Greece, in 2023. His thesis was pursued in collaboration with the Computational Neuroscience team at the Institute of Computer Science in the Foundation for Research……
Loughborough University
Michael is currently pursuing a PhD at Loughborough University, which he began in July 2024. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Ilorin, Nigeria, and a Master’s degree in Advanced Technology Management (Sustainability) from the……
Dylan Jones
PhD Student
Queen’s University Belfast
Dylan graduated with a first-class degree in MEng Aerospace Engineering from Queen’s University of Belfast in 2024. During his degree, he completed an industrial placement in Singapore Aerospace Manufacturing’s Northern Ireland site, where he gained valuable insight into manufacturing and……
Moeen Enami
PhD Student
Loughborough University
Moeen is a PhD student at Loughborough University, joining the RIED research group in October 2024. His research focuses on the design, manufacture, and validation of porous materials and multifunctional structures. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from……
Staff
Andrew Mowles
Operations Programme Manager
Queen’s University Belfast
Andrew Mowles is an experienced Programme Manager and Chartered Mechanical Engineer. In June 2021, Andrew began working for Queens University, Belfast as the Operations Manager on the EPSRC Programme Grant on “Re-Imagining Engineering Design” (EP/V007335/1) working with the Universities of……
Rafal Jankiewicz
Clerical Officer to the RIED Programme Team
Queen’s University Belfast
Rafal is a graduate from Liverpool Hope University with a BSc (Hons) Sport & Physical Education Studies in 2015. Rafal’s background is sport orientated and joined Queens University Belfast in 2017 where was involved in teaching swimming and in sports……
Strategic Governance Board
The Strategic Governance Board meets 6 monthly and provides the effective strategic leadership to the overall RIED team as per Terms of Reference.
Prof Mark Gillan
Chair of the RIED Strategic Governance Board / Associate Vice President, Technologies and Special Projects, National Transformation Institute (NTI) at KAUST, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Mark has held various engineering leadership roles within industry, Formula One, academia and the public sector. In over a decade in F1 he ran both Jaguar/Red Bull and Williams race engineering teams. In academia he held the inaugural Sir George……
Dr Stephen Wyatt
Research & Disruptive Innovation Director (ORE Catapult)
Stephen joined the Catapult in December 2013 as strategy director, bringing considerable experience in the low carbon arena, most notably in his previous role as director of innovation at the Carbon Trust, where he played a key part in writing……
Prof Sam Turner
Chief Executive Officer, Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Centre (AMIC) Belfast
Professor Sam Turner is the CEO of the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Centre (AMIC), a £98m industry led innovation centre funded through the Belfast Regional City Deal at Queens University Belfast. Sam brings over 15 years leadership experience in industry led……
Pamela Walsh is a senior lecturer in Mechanical Engineering in the School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Queen’s University Belfast. Prior to that, she was a lecturer in Chemical Engineering at Queen’s. She has a BEng in Mechanical Engineering……
Nicole is a seasoned strategic thinker with a rich background in color and materials design, honed through prestigious roles with industry giants like Ford, McLaren, and Lotus. With a keen eye for detail and a passion for innovation, Nicole transitioned into……
International Scientific Advisory Board
The International Scientific Advisory Board meets annually and it reviews and monitors the scientific programme and advises on strategic direction
Prof Chris McMahon
Chair
University of Bristol
Chris McMahon is former Professor of Engineering Design at the University of Bristol, and is currently Senior Research Fellow and Senior Teaching Fellow at that University. He has also worked at the Technical University of Denmark, and at the University……
University of Leeds
Alison McKay received a BEng (Hons) in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Bradford and was awarded a PhD on relationships in product data in 1996. She is a chartered engineer and a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. ……
Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics Research OGD
Holger Graf received his diploma degree in ‚Technomathematik‘ (Industrial Mathematics) from the University of Karlsruhe in 1997 and graduated in 1998 from the department of computer science at the University of Bristol (England) with a M.Sc. in ‘Global Computing and……
Texas A&M University, USA
Dr. Steven M. Smith is a Professor in the Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences at Texas A&M University, having been on the faculty there since 1980. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan in 1974, and……
Prof Dr Ola Isaksson
The division of Product Development, Department of Industrial and Materials Science, Chalmers
Dr Ola Isaksson is professor in Product Development and leader of the Systems Engineering Design research group. He has a PhD in Computer Aided Design from 1999 at Luleå University of Technology, and until 2015 he had a specialist carrier……
Joe Walsh
CEO / Founder of intrinSIM LLC and CEO and Co-Founder at ASSESS Initiative LLC
Joe Walsh founded intrinSIM in late 2009 to enable rapid next-generation application development for engineering software, and he also co-founded the ASSESS Initiative in mid-2016 to significantly increase the usage and benefit of Engineering Simulation. Mr. Walsh brings over 40……
Dr Ksenija Dvurecenska
Lecturer at the University of Liverpool
Ksenija Dvurecenska received the M.Eng. degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Southampton, UK, and the Ph.D. degree in validation of solid mechanics models from the University of Liverpool, UK. She is currently a lecturer at the University of……
RIED Alumni
Here you will find our RIED Alumni. These are people who have been a part of our RIED team and contributed to our research but have since moved on to new opportunities in academia, industry and elsewhere.
Dr Andrew Colligan
Research Fellow
Queen’s University Belfast
Andrew completed his PhD in 2022 from Queen’s University Belfast after previously obtaining Master of Mechanical Engineering also from Queen’s. His PhD project titled ”Deep Learning for Boundary Representation CAD Models” focussed on using neural networks for learning from B-Rep……
Dr Rahul Dubey
Research Fellow
University of York
Rahul worked on the RIED Project from July 2021 to January 2024 as a Post Doctorate Research Associate until he was promoted to his current position, working as an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at the Missouri State University in……
Queen’s University Belfast
Laura graduated from Queen’s University Belfast in 2010 with a 1st Class Masters in Product Design & Development from the School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering; followed by a PGCE in Technology & Design from Ulster University. Laura returned to……
Dearbhla Magill
RIED Admin / Personal Assistant
Queen’s University Belfast
Dearbhla Magill joined the RIED project in July 2021 as the PA for the project. Dearbhla has worked in Queens University since 2019 in the School of Medicine and Dentistry as a Postgraduate administrator before the exciting opportunity of the……
Queen’s University Belfast
Jonathan graduated from Queens’ University Belfast in July 2021 with a master’s in mechanical engineering, his master’s project was in analysing heat transfer through novel materials. Jonathan began his PhD within the RIED team in October of 2021. Jonathan’s research……
Dr Daniel Brice
Research Fellow
Queen’s University Belfast
From January 2023, Dr Daniel Brice was a research fellow within the school of Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EEECS) carrying out studies with virtual environments for the RIED Programme. His main research interests are developing multisensorial feedback systems……
Dr Naeem Iqbal
Research Fellow
Queen’s University Belfast
Naeem Iqbal received his Ph.D. degree in Computer Engineering from Computer Engineering Department at Jeju National University, Republic of Korea, in 2023 where he was awarded the best academic achievement award (Presidential Award) for outstanding research in his doctoral course.……
Matt Burton
Research Associate
Loughborough University
Matt joined the RIED team in July 2023 as a research associate within the Multifunctional Materials and Manufacturing lab of the Wolfson School. His research focus is the cyber-physical validation of porous structures, and his other interests include additive manufacturing……