MAterials and STructures (MAST) Research Group news

Read the latest news from our group
Wind turbines - image courtesy of Getty
Upcoming seminar

Evolution of structural design of concrete framed buildings for net zero in the UK

Professor Costas Georgopoulos (Kingston University London) will present a seminar on ‘Evolution of structural design of concrete framed buildings for net zero in the UK’ on Thursday 2 May 2024 at 14:00–15:30 in Babbage 410. The meeting is hosted by Dr Shanshan Cheng. All welcome.
 

Plenary Lecture invitation

John Summerscales, Professor of Composites Engineering, has been invited to present a Plenary Talk in the Recyclable Green Composites international session at the 5th China International Congress on Composite Materials (CCCM-5) to be held in Ürümqi (Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region) – Peoples Republic of China during 25-28 July 2024. John is the only European to have attended all four previous conferences having presented keynotes or plenary talks at Beijing 2013, Zhenjiang 2015, Hangzhou 2017 and Zhuhai 2019.
11 April 2024
 

Success at the SAMPE Student Seminar Competition

The Society for the Advancement of Materials and Process Engineering (SAMPE) United Kingdom and Ireland Chapter (UKIC) held the Annual Student Seminar at the University of West of England on Wednesday 10 April 2024. Badr Moutik (Princess Yachts sponsored research degree student) presented “Life Cycle Assessment Lessons from Composite Product Manufacturing: A Case Study of Large-Scale Yacht Manufacture”. Badr was one of the two winners who now have an expenses-paid trip to the SAMPE Europe conference (Belfast, September 2024) where they will compete in the European heat with an expenses-paid trip to a SAMPE USA conference as the prize.
10 April 2024
 

Recycling in the construction sector

There will be a workshop on Design Guidelines of Tailor-made Recycled Aggregate Concrete on Friday 1 March 2024 at 09:00–15:30 on campus and online via Teams.
This event has now passed. 
23 February 2024
 
 

Xinyu Wang escaped

Dr Xinyu Wang leaves today to take up a post at ORE Catapult in Blyth after over two years as the FlexWave Research Fellow in Flexible Materials.
11 January 2024
 

Welcome

Today we were joined by Saheed Yusuf (research degree candidate) to study coupled fluid-structure interaction of large floating concrete modular systems and Muhammad Anas Maqbool (research degree candidate) to study the Structural Performance Analysis of a green ammonia and hydrogen floating energy storage subjected to non-linear loads.
02 January 2024
 

Welcome

Sarah Probert at Strode College starts her part-time research degree registration today. The topic is technical education attainment and achievement best practice: exploring possibilities of 16+ education approaches, culture, and motivations in lifelong learning.
01 January 2024
 

News archive

2023 news

IOM3 Leslie Holliday Prize
John Summerscales was presented with the 2023 Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3) Leslie Holliday Prize at an Awards Lunch in IOM3 HQ London today.
07 December 2023

Autoclave
The 1990 Aeroform autoclave, newly refurbished by Roaches, was installed in the Composites Laboratory in Babbage Building
05 December 2023

Babbage Building: where engineering meets design
The general teaching spaces, social spaces and café opened today. Take a look at what's inside the Babbage Building. 
Specialist facilities and laboratories are still coming on stream.
20 November 2023

Horizon Europe MSCA Staff Exchange
Shanshan Cheng has been awarded €92k MSCA funding for LITEFLOATCON: Light-weight high performance concrete for modular floating structures.
The €612k project is led by Aarhus University in Denmark to work with eight other partners on the coupled fluid-structure interaction modelling of large concrete modular systems under various marine conditions. The project will start from 1 January 2024 for four years.
13 October 2023

Welcome
Today we were joined by:
  • Kourosh Halat (Knowledge Transfer Partnership Associate with SWMAS Limited) to develop a Scope 3 assessment tool.
  • Zhenyi Yan (Faculty-funded research degree candidate) to study polymer-modified concrete in the marine environment.
02 October 2023

Doctoral graduates
The SECaM Graduation and Awards Ceremony yesterday recorded five doctoral graduates associated with the MAST research group over the past academic year:
19 September 2023

Cement and concrete research seminar
We have visiting speakers from Brunel University London, and University of Lagos (Nigeria), on Wednesday 20 September between 15:00–17:00. 
11 September 2023

International Conference on Composite Materials (ICCM23) in Belfast
John Summerscales presented Lactide in In Situ Polymerisation (ISP) during Monomer Infusion under Flexible Tooling (MIFT) in the Liquid Composite Moulding session on Tuesday morning.
Badr Moutik presented Quality assessment of Life Cycle Inventory data for composites in the Life Cycle Assessment for Composite Materials session on Wednesday around midday.
02 August 2023

Paul Arnold RIP
We were shocked to learn that Paul (a mature research degree candidate, and Associate Lecturer and Demonstrator) sadly passed away.
30 July 2023

Titan submersible tragedy
Dr Jasper Graham-Jones, Associate Professor in Mechanical and Marine Engineering, was interviewed about the tragic loss of the vessel by BBC World News (21 June 2023), Radio New Zealand (23 June 2023), NDTV (India) Breaking News (26 June 2023) in addition to multiple radio interviews for BBC Wales, BBC Scotland, and BBC English regional services.  Further comments are online at Science Media Centre, Fortune, and Greenwich Time.
28 June 2023

Academic receives prestigious accolade in recognition of engineering expertise
Professor John Summerscales has been declared the 2023 winner of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining Leslie Holliday Prize.
14 June 2023

SWMAS KTP career opportunity
Further to the earlier announcement of the KTP project with SWMAS, the job advert is now live:
26 May 2023

New Knowledge Transfer Partnership
Professor John Summerscales (SECaM/Knowledge Base Lead) and Dr Stephen Childe  (Plymouth Business School/Knowledge Base Supervisor) have received funding for a Knowledge Transfer Partnership with SWMAS Limited (formerly South West Manufacturing Advisory Service).  The project aims to move regional manufacturing companies closer to achieving national 2050 Net Zero targets by developing a Scope 3 assessment tool, and to prepare the company for more complete life cycle assessments (LCA). The total project is costed at £187k with grant funding from UKRI/Innovate UK at £126k. An advertisement for a post-graduate KTP Associate will be released soon.
27 April 2023

Royal Society Research Grants Scheme
Dr Shanshan Cheng has been awarded £60.5k for a project to study the fatigue failure mechanics of carbon-fibre textile reinforced concrete in the marine environment. £50k will be used to purchase a high-speed 3D digital image correlation (DIC) system to enhance our research capacity on material fracture mechanics.
31 March 2023

Composites Manufacturing Autoclave
The composites manufacturing autoclave has been transported from Brunel 007 to Roaches at their Birstall facility for refurbishment. The renewed pressure vessel will return as key equipment for the Babbage Building in time for Academic Year 2023–24.  
30 March 2023

Royal Society International Exchange Scheme with National Natural Science Foundation of China
  Dr Maozhou Meng has been awarded £11,800 for a two-year study of the aging of high-voltage power cables.
24 March 2023

Congratulations!

Mr Qi Ye successfully defended his PhD thesis, Structural analysis and design of semi-submersible platform for floating offshore wind turbines, today.
Congratulations to Qi, and to Dr Shanshan Cheng, Dr Boksun Kim, Dr Keri Collins and Professor Gregorio Iglesias Rodriguez as supervisors.
27 February 2023

Colin Southcombe RIP
Our former colleague sadly passed away.
20 February 2023

The School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics (SECaM) PhD studentships (October 2023 start)
The closing date for applications is 12 noon on 10 March 2023. (Applications are now closed).
MAST research group projects are:
• Developing fire resistant concrete using graphene oxide 
• Graphene-based sensors in structural health monitoring for ORE devices 
• Fatigue Failure Mechanics of Polymer-modified Concrete in the Marine Environment
09 February 2023

Multiplexing Confocal Microscope
Dr Shakil Awan has been awarded a Strategic Equipment Grant of £553k by the Medical Research Council in collaboration with Dr Torsten Bossing and Dr Claudia Barros in the Peninsula Medical School. The two-year project will purchase, install and test a new Multiplexing Confocal Microscope to enable research across the life sciences and advance work on graphene biosensors. Key features of the instrument are high resolution, fluorescence and multiplex imaging capabilities.
08 February 2023 

Invited Speaker
Professor John Summerscales will be an Invited Speaker at the 6th International Conference on Natural Fibers at Funchal (Madeira – Portugal) in June 2023. The presentation is an overview of the InterReg 2 Seas Mers Zeeën SeaBioComp project with the title “Development and demonstrators of durable biobased composites for a marine environment.”
31 January 2023

2022 news

Congratulations!
Dr Boksun Kim has been awarded £20,000 of RAEng Frontiers Seed Funding. She will be working with Miss Pippa Waller (UoP Careers Service) and researchers in Addis Ababa Science and Technology University/Ethiopia and in Makerere University/Uganda to mentor, train and inspire future women graduates in STEM in Africa.
19 December 2022 

Animated video presenting results from the INdIGO project fishermen's survey
Today, World Fisheries Day, saw the release of the second animated video from the Interreg Channel|Manche INdIGO project sharing results from the fishermen's survey. The video is also available in French.
21 November 2022 

Congratulations!
James Butler successfully defended his PhD thesis, Development of a novel antibacterial resin-based silver nanocoating to reduce nosocomial infections, today.
Congratulations to James, and to Alexander Besinis, Alistair Cree and Mat Upton as supervisors.
26 October 2022

Congratulations!
George Modica-Cliff, Stage 5 MEng (honours) Mechanical Engineering with Composites, has been awarded one of “12 scholarships to students studying STEM subjects at UK universities and colleges during the academic year 2022/23” by UKNEST.
21 October 2022 

Welcome
The MAST Research Group welcomes two new research degree candidates:
  • Carol Primmer – Developing high performance, durable graphene oxide concrete for structural applications in the coastal environment – supervised by Boksun Kim.
  • Chun Yin Choi – Investigation of the release and behaviour of plastic nanofibers to air and the marine environment – supervised by Alex Besinis.
Further, Ruadan Geraghty has moved from the Marine-i project to join the InterReg SeaBioComp project.
03 October 2022 

Congratulations!
Indraneel Chowdhury (Senior Technician – Composites) submitted a doctoral thesis, Experimental and numerical analysis of mechanical properties and failure mechanisms of a non-crimp basalt fibre reinforced epoxy composite, to the University of Limerick.  After due consideration, the examination team have recommended that he be “awarded a PhD”.
26 September 2022 

Congratulations!
Rupert Lorraine (BSc (Hons) Marine Sports Technology, then KTP Associate with Kingfisher Boats in Falmouth) has been promoted to Director of the University of Plymouth Arts Institute.
23 September 2022 

2022 graduates
At the 2022 graduation ceremony, six MEng (honours), nine BEng (honours), and one ordinary degree were awarded to graduates from the Mechanical Engineering with Composites course. A further four students from Yeovil College (Leonardo Helicopters apprentices) graduated from the BEng (honours) Mechanical Engineering with Aerospace (Level 6 Top-Up) course having studied the same Stage 4 composites modules.
21 September 2022 

Guest editor
John Summerscales, and Conchúr Ó Brádaigh at University of Edinburgh, have guest edited an issue of the journal Plastics, Rubber and Composites dedicated to papers presented at the International Conference on Manufacturing of Advanced Composites held online in 2021.
20 September 2022 

New facility
The INdIGO project has taken delivery of a 3devo AirDryer and a Composer and Precision Series filament maker for reprocessing Abandoned, Lost and Discarded Fishing Gear (ALDFG) into filaments for Additive Manufacture.
15 September 2022 

Congratulations!
Nirvan Razaghi-Kashani successfully defended his PhD thesis, An analysis of the Iranian post-earthquake management and structural assessment system, today.  Congratulations to Nirvan, and to Andrew Fox, Dave Easterbrook and Boksun Kim as supervisors.
12 September 2022 

New equipment
The INdiGO project has invested in two different Near InfraRed (NIR) spectroscopy devices to identify plastic fishing gear in “the field”: Mahota PlasTell and trinamiX. This technology will benefit e.g. beach clean groups. The data gathered on NIR efficacy and limitations will be of broader interest in the context of recycling.
02 September 2022 

New limited duration Open Access paper

Our most recent paper, FEA Modelling and Environmental Assessment of a Thin-walled Composite Drive Shaft, is now published in Thin-Walled Structures. It is available with no sign up, registration or fees required until Saturday 20 September 2022 via the Elsevier Share Link: https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1fW48x-8RU7kO.
02 August 2022 

Congratulations
The annual round of promotions includes the following changes for MAST Research Group staff:
  • Shakil Ahmed Awan: Associate Professor in Electronics and Nanotechnology
  • Alexandros Besinis: Associate Professor in Mechanical Engineering
21 July 2022 

SeaBioComp researcher
Lloyd Vance, MEng composites student, has joined the team for a summer internship to manufacture demonstrator components by ISP-MIFT for the SeaBioComp project
01 July 2022 

Composites Technician
Indraneel Chowdhury has joined the team as Senior Technician in the composites laboratory.
20 June 2022

Composites Integration Prize
George Modica-Cliff won the Composites Integration Prize for his project on Use of a biomimicry model for the design of perforated composite plates.
19 May 2022 

Mechanical, Marine and Materials Engineering Virtual Showcase
The undergraduate Stage 4 projects were showcased in Rolle Marquee. View the posters.
19 May 2022 

Frontiers in Ship and Offshore Structures
Jahir Rizvi edited a special issue of Journal of Marine Science and Engineering (ISSN 2077-1312). View three papers.
11 March 2022 

SeaBioComp post-doctoral research fellow
Nanting Yu has joined the team to undertake Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for composites manufacturing processes.
01 February 2022 

Unfortunate departure
Yang Qin (SeaBioComp post-doctoral research fellow) returned to China when UKBA failed to process his visa renewal within their own service targets!
31 January 2022 

Richard Cullen escaped
After graduating from the composites degree in 1999, then supporting the activities of ACMC and the composites laboratory, Richard has moved to take up new opportunities in the South East. Good luck!
January 2022 

Rising Star Award
Devon Ward splits her time between studying for the BEng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering with Aerospace degree (Yeovil College with modules in Plymouth) and working for Leonardo Helicopters in Yeovil. She won the 2021 Engineering Apprentice Rising Star Award at the Make UK Awards. Congratulations!
17 January 2022 

Princess Yachts sponsored PhD student
Badr Moutik has joined the team to undertake a Life Cycle Assessment of luxury yacht manufacture.
04 January 2022 

2021 news

Flexwave Project
Dr Xinyu Wang has joined the MAST research group as a Research Fellow in the context of the EPSRC Flexwave Project. He will explore whether rubber, composites and polymers can be effective in harnessing wave power. Krishnendu Puzhukkil will be the Hydrodynamics PDRA supporting the project in the COAST Engineering Research Group.
12 August 2021

Net gains – the marine litter challenge
In the IOM3 Materials World journal this month's highlight is "Net gains – the marine litter challenge. Researchers at the University of Plymouth on confronting the issue of marine debris"

12 July 2021 

Abandoned boats
John Summerscales was interviewed and broadcast by BBC Spotlight for a feature item on abandoned fibre glass boats.

26 May 2021 

Postgraduate research studentships
The following three or three and a half year MPhil/PhD studentships with a materials flavour are available at the University of Plymouth with a start date of 01 October 2021:
  • 3D printed graphene sensors in structural health monitoring for composite turbine blades.
  • Motions and loads on dynamic export cables for floating Offshore Renewable Energy farms using physical and numerical modelling.
  • Coupled nonlinear analysis of a flexible fabric wave energy converter.
  • Developing computational tool of safer decommissioning plan for ships and offshore structures through condition assessment.
17 March 2021 

Manufacturing Engineer Degree Apprenticeship
There will be an Employer Open Day to introduce this course at 1300 BST on Thursday 10 June 2021.

20 May 2021 

Undergraduate project showcase
The Mechanical, Marine and Materials Engineering undergraduate course students have a Project Virtual Showcase where the posters describing their work are displayed.

20 May 2021 

New title 2022-12-19 10:44:16 +0000

Net gains – the marine litter challenge
In the IOM3 Materials World journal this month's highlight is "Net gains – the marine litter challenge. Researchers at the University of Plymouth on confronting the issue of marine debris"

12 July 2021 

Abandoned boats
John Summerscales was interviewed and broadcast by BBC Spotlight for a feature item on abandoned fibre glass boats.

26 May 2021 

Postgraduate research studentships

The following three or three and a half year MPhil/PhD studentships with a materials flavour are available at the University of Plymouth with a start date of 01 October 2021:
  • 3D printed graphene sensors in structural health monitoring for composite turbine blades.
  • Motions and loads on dynamic export cables for floating Offshore Renewable Energy farms using physical and numerical modelling.
  • Coupled nonlinear analysis of a flexible fabric wave energy converter.
  • Developing computational tool of safer decommissioning plan for ships and offshore structures through condition assessment.
17 March 2021 

Manufacturing Engineer Degree Apprenticeship
There will be an Employer Open Day to introduce this course at 1300 BST on Thursday 10 June 2021.

20 May 2021 

Undergraduate project showcase
The Mechanical, Marine and Materials Engineering undergraduate course students have a Project Virtual Showcase where the posters describing their work are displayed.

20 May 2021 

Postdoctoral Research Fellow vacancy
MAST research group are seeking a person to work on research related to marine environmental effects on fatigue of nylon fibre reinforced rubber composites for wave energy devices in support of the EPSRC-funded Flexible Responsive Systems in Wave Energy (FlexWave) project. The FlexWave project will test the research hypothesis that the use of Flexible Responsive Systems in Wave Energy will lead to a step change reduction in cost and provide a pathway to cost competitive, scalable wave energy converters. The deadline for applications is 31 May 2021.

09 April 2021 

Expert on Sky News
Jasper Graham-Jones was interviewed by Sky News when the Ever Given container ship ran aground blocking the Suez canal.

25 March 2021 

Thermal Analysis suite
The University of Plymouth will be looking to acquire a Thermal Analysis suite to service teaching and research in materials characterisation (ceramics, metals, polymers and composites), food science and chemistry. View the contract finder notice.

08 February 2021 

Webinar series on Recycled Aggregates in Concrete
Boksun Kim, RAEng Frontiers Champion, will be hosting ten webinars on Recycled Aggregates in Concrete this year. Registration links will be added to the page as they become available.
14 January 2021 

Special issue editor
Maozhou Meng will be leading a special issue of the MDPI open access journal Micromachines entitled Recent Advances in Graphene-based Sensors. The deadline for manuscript submissions is 31 July 2021.

13 January 2021 
MAterials and STructures (MAST) Research Group