Academic staff

Danial is an academic at the School of Engineering at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. His research focuses on developing new tools and paradigms of AI-assisted design and test automation for Electronics engineering. Previously, his research focused on optoelectronics sensors, including Single Photon Avalanche Diode (SPAD) arrays for biomedical and communication systems. He received his BSc in electronics engineering from Chamran University of Ahvaz, Iran, in 2007, an MSc in Microelectronics and system engineering from the Computer Science at the University of Bristol in 2009, and a DPhil in engineering science from the University of Oxford Microelectronics group in 2013. During his DPhil studies, his work was based on various designs for Single Photon Avalanche Diode (SPAD) arrays. He designed and tested SPADs for CMOS imaging, fluorescent measurements, and optical communications. He made the first analogue SPAD arrays, which had a compatible readout mechanism with conventional CMOS image sensors. His thesis on single-photon avalanche diodes for optical communications demonstrated that a SPAD receiver can achieve faster data rates than its deadtime.

In 2013, he then joined the UCL Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering to develop wearable optical brain imaging systems. He used sensitive photodetection and compact digital systems to achieve high-density multi-wavelength source-detector arrays.

In 2017, he joined the School of Engineering at the University of Edinburgh as a Chancellor’s Fellow in Electronics. He is part of the co-investigator team at QuantIC , the UK Quantum Technology Hub in Quantum Enhanced Imaging, developing detector arrays and systems for a variety of applications from fundamental quantum physics to consumer cameras.

Danial is the programme director of MSc Electronics and teaches the IC design course and lab to the MSc students and undergraduates at the University of Edinburgh.

For further information and projects, please visit my personal Home Page.

For a full list of publications, please visit Google Scholar.

For an up-to-date list of projects and open-source activities, please visit EElab.dev.

* For PhD opportunities, please contact me *

• DPhil in Engineering Science, University of Oxford, UK, 2009-2013
• MSc in Advanced Microelectronics Systems Engineering, University of Bristol, UK, 2007-2008
• BSc in Electronics Engineering, Chamran University of Ahvaz, IRAN, 2002-2007

Programme Director for MSc Electronics

Course organiser for the following courses:

• Analogue Electronics (Project) 4 - Semester two only
• Analogue VLSI Project (MSc)
• Analouge IC Design (MSc)

For a full list of publications please visit Google Scholar.

Professor Pankaj obtained his undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, masters from Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee and PhD from University of Wales Swansea. He is the Deputy Head of the Institute for Bioengineering at Edinburgh University. He established and leads the Edinburgh Computational Biomechanics research group. He has research collaborations with universities around the globe and his research has been supported by international organisations, the industry and UK funding councils.

In his role as International Dean for South Asia he provides leadership in the development of a strategy to shape activities, partnerships and priorities to enhance the University’s engagement with the region.

Research supervised by him has received a number of awards:

• Best PhD thesis in In silico Medicine awarded by Virtual Physiological Human institute (VPHi) (Belgium) to PhD student F. Levrero-Florencio (2018)
• DePuy Best Medical Engineering PhD, runners-up prize awarded by Institution of Mechanical Engineers (UK) to PhD student F. Levrero-Florencio (2018).
• British Orthopaedic Research Society's International Travelling Research Fellowship for Young Investigators awarded to Alisdair MacLeod for his PhD research (2016).
• Best presentation award from the Scottish Committee for Orthopaedics and Trauma at their annual meeting to MD student C Scott (2015).
• British Orthopaedic Association's Hip and Knee Reconstruction Fellowship awarded to MD student C Scott (2015).
• Best Poster Award at the 2016 British Orthopaedic Research Society Meeting, for the study entitled \the changing microarchitecture of trabecular bone with high strain" (authors: Wallace, Manda, Sales, Simpson and Pankaj).
• IMechE/Vicon prize for the best Medical Engineering Project awarded to MD student C Scott (2013).
• Best Paper Award at the 2011 International Conference of Systems Biology and Bioengineering for the paper entitled “Computational Modelling of Magnetic Resonance Elastography Shear Wave Behaviour through Atherosclerotic Plaque with Disease Development" (authors: Thomas-Seale, Pankaj, Hoskins and Roberts).
• Robertson Medal for the best research proposal from Carnegie Trust awarded to PhD student FE Donaldson (2008).
• IMechE/Orthopaedic Research UK award for the best thesis in Medical Engineering awarded to PhD student ATM Phillips (2007).

• PhD University of Wales Swansea
• ME Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee
• BTech Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi

• Finite Element Methods for Solids and Structures
• Structural Mechanics 2B
• Structural Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering

• Mathematical Simulation of the Mechanical Behaviour of Materials
• Solid Mechanics
• Orthopaedic Engineering
• Computational Biomechanics
• Finite Element Analysis
• Structural Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering

• Dean International (South Asia) for The University of Edinburgh
• Deputy Head of the Institute for Bioengineering, School of Engineering, The University of Edinburgh

I am a Chancellor’s Fellow in Engineering Biology. My research focuses on the development and use of cybergenetic platforms to model and control complex biological phenomena, with applications in engineering biology and precision medicine. In particular, I am interested in using data-driven approaches to understand and stear the behaviour of biological networks in dynamic environments. I hold a PhD in Bioengineering. I am an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA).

I started my studies in biomedical engineering at the University of Bologna (Italy), in 2007. Having developed an interest in cellular and molecular engineering, in 2010 I joined the MSc programme in biomedical engineering offered by the same university. In 2013 I pursued my PhD in Bioengineering, where I undertook mathematical modelling and in vivo-studies of bacterial genetic programmes operating through transcriptional or post-transcriptional control.

To improve my skills in quantitative, single-cell assays, in 2015 I visited Prof. Peter Swain's laboratory at the Centre for Synthetic and Systems Biology, University of Edinburgh. One year later, I joined the lab as a PDRA to investigate phenotypic variability in the budding yeast’s galactose metabolic network and consolidate my expertise in quantitative microscopy and microfluidics.

Having being awarded an EPSRC Postdoctoral Fellowship, in 2017 I joined the School of Engineering, University of Edinburgh. In the following three years, I researched technologies to automate the development and use of mathematical models of synthetic gene networks.

In 2021, I received a tenure track fellowship to establish my research independence.

I am the Deputy Head of Graduate School (Postgraduate Experience) (2024 -).

I am the Deputy Biological Safety Officer and the Genetic Modification Biological Safety Officer (2021 -).

I was the Postgraduate Academic Adviser for Institute for Bioengineering in the School Postgraduate Progression Committee (SPPC) and the School Postgraduate Experience Committee (SPEC) (2021 - 2024).

I was the organiser of the seminar series for the Institute for Bioengineering (2021-2024).

• PhD in Bioengineering, University of Bologna (Italy), 2013-2016
• MSc in Biomedical engineering, University of Bologna (Italy), 2010-2012
• BSc in Biomedical engineering, University of Bologna (Italy), 2007-2010

Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (AFHEA), 2020

• Engineering Principles 1 (SCEE08012)
• Lab-on-Chip Technologies (ELEE11097, PGEE11042) - Course organiser

• mathematical modelling
• optimal experimental design
• microfluidics

• MEng, MSc, PhD, Chemical Engineering, Materials and Metallurgy

• Member, Institute of Cast Metals Engineers, UK
• Member, The World Society of Sustainable Energy Technologies
• Member, The World Science and Engineering Academy and Society
• Editorial Board Member, Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Scientific & Academic Publishing Co. USA (2011-2015)
• Editorial Board Member, International Journal of Innovative Studies in Sciences and Engineering Technology (IJISSET)
• Editorial Board Member, Open Journal of Inorganic Non-metallic Materials

• Separation Processes 2, CHEE08013
• Chemical Engineering in Practice 3, CHEE09006
• Chemical Engineering Design 4 CHEE10010
• Chemical Engineering Study projects 4, CHEE10009
• Chemical Engineering Research projects 4, CHEE10009
• Chemical Engineering Industrial Projects 5, CHEE11014

• Particulate materials processing
• Multiphase flows in porous materials
• Photocatalysts
• Microwave assisted gas separation

The research of Melis mainly focuses on how geostructures can contribute to the sustainability of human activities and resilience to future climate change and energy-related challenges. Her research activities span across a range of topics including in-situ and laboratory testing of soils and soil-structure interfaces in isothermal and non-isothermal conditions, as well as development of numerical tools for the analysis and design of geostructures. During her PhD at Virginia Tech (USA) and her postdoc at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL, Switzerland), she worked on Energy Geostructures Technology, which is an innovative way of using renewable energy resources by combining geothermal heat exchange and structural foundation support. Her currently research also looks at how abandoned mines can be used for exploiting shallow geothermal energy through direct heating and cooling, as well as thermal energy storage. Her PhD research received several awards by USUCGER, Geo-Institute and ADSC. For her postdoctoral contributions to EPFL, she was awarded “Recognition for Exceptional Services”. She recently received the Bright Sparkle Award 2023 from the International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE). She is currently the coordinator of the Doctoral Network on Energy Geostructures Integration: Buildings, Infrastructure and Underground Storage (GENIUS-DN), which is funded by the European Union as a part of the Horizon Europe Programme, Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions Doctoral Networks 2024 (Agreement number 101226708) https://genius-dn.eu/

• Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne - Postdoctoral Researcher - 2016-2019, Lausanne, Switzerland
• Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University – Ph.D. in Geotechnical Engineering, August 2016, Virginia, USA
• Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University – M.Sc. in Geotechnical Engineering, January 2012, Virginia, USA
• Bogazici University – B.Sc. in Civil Engineering, May 2010, Istanbul, Turkey

• Founding Member and Executive Board Member of the International Society for Energy Geostructures (ISEG)
• Task Force Leader for Awards of the Technical Committee on Energy Geotechnics (TC308) of International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE)
• Member of the EPSRC Peer Review College
• Member of the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Talent Peer Review College
• Member of the International Energy Agency Working Group 14 (Geothermal Heating and Cooling Energy)
• Member of the Cost Action CA21156 - european network for FOstering Large-scale ImplementAtion of energy GEostructure (FOLIAGE)
• Advisory Board Member of the Journal of Geomechanics for Energy and the Environment

• Geotechnical Engineering 2
• Soil Mechanics 2

• Resilience to Future Climate Change and Energy Related Challenges
• Energy Geostructures
• Mine Water Geothermal Energy

Google Scholar

Hongye ZHANG (FHEA, MIEEE, MIET) received his BSc and MSc in Electrical Engineering from Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China, in 2015 and 2018, respectively, a Diplôme d’ingénieur from École Centrale de Lyon, Lyon, France, in 2018, and his PhD degree in Applied Superconductivity from The University of Edinburgh, UK, in 2021.

In 2021, he was awarded one of the six IEEE Council on Superconductivity Graduate Study Fellowships. He has been working on the £54-million collaborative H2GEAR project as a Research Associate at The University of Manchester since May 2021.

He is currently a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Superconducting/Cryogenic Electric Machines at the University of Edinburgh and a Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Manchester.

His research encompasses Design & Analysis & Testing of Superconducting/Cryogenic Electric Machines, Numerical Modelling & Measurement of Superconductors, Hydrogen Energy, and Artificial Intelligence.

He is currently a Board Member of the European Society for Applied Superconductivity (ESAS), a Board Member of the HTS Modelling Workgroup, and an Early Career Editorial Board member & Associate Editor for the Elsevier journal Superconductivity, etc.

He is the Chairman of the international workshop HTS 2026.

• BSc (2015) and MSc (2018) in Electrical Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, China
• Diplôme d’ingénieur (MEng, 2018) in General Engineering, École Centrale de Lyon, France
• PhD (2021) in Applied Superconductivity, The University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom

• Board Member of The European Society for Applied Superconductivity (ESAS)
• Board Member of the HTS Modelling Workgroup
• Early Career Editorial Board Member & Associate Editor of Elsevier Superconductivity (Q1)
• Programme Committee Member of SMT 2023
• Technical Editor for IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity, MT-28
• Guest Editor for a Special Issue of Crystals
• Winner of the 2021 IEEE Council on Superconductivity Graduate Study Fellowship in Applied Superconductivity
• Member, IET
• Member, IEEE

• BEng - Power Engineering 2
• MEng - Electrical Machines and Power Electronics (IDCORE)

Hongye ZHANG’s interdisciplinary research combines Electric Machines & Drives, Clean Energy Conversion, Superconductor Technology, Cryogenic Techniques, Hydrogen Energy, and Artificial Intelligence to contribute to low/zero emission technology.

His interests centre on Net Zero Transport and Hydrogen Energy with a focus on power-dense and highly efficient next-generation propulsion electric machines. His current research focuses on the design, analysis, build, and testing of cryogenic/superconducting motors for sub-regional electric aircraft exploiting hydrogen propulsion.

His long-term vision is to build a world-leading research group at the interface of academia and industry that will further advance the decarbonisation of future transport.

• Numerical modelling of high temperature superconductors
• Design and analysis of electric machines
• High-speed propulsion machines for electric aircraft
• Hydrogen energy application
• Engineering AI

Srinjoy Mitra received his B.S. degree in physics and electronics from Calcutta, India and his M.Tech. degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, India. After spending a short time in the electronics industry (in India and Japan), he received his Ph.D. from the Institute of Neuroinformatics, ETH Zurich in 2004. Between 2008 and 2010 he worked as a post-doctoral researcher at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA.

He then joined the medical electronics team at IMEC, Belgium and worked there as a senior scientist until early 2016. At IMEC he had taken up leadership roles in various industrial and public-funded projects primarily related to bio-potential recording. Electro-encephalography (EEG) measurement ICs developed by him have been successfully validated in a clinical environment and is now commercialized. Dr. Mitra also led multiple projects on neural implants for central and peripheral nervous systems. This resulted in the development of generations of CMOS neural recording probes with the highest electrode density. Prof Mitra returned to academia as a Lecturer in the Biomedical Engineering Division at the University of Glasgow. In 2017 he moved to the Integrated Micro and Nano Systems, University of Edinburgh.

Prof Mitra has two parallel research tracks.

His technological research interests are in low-power sensor interfaces, medical/neural electronics, neuromorphic systems and in engineering education. Dr Mitra is the Program Director for the MSc in Sensors and Imaging System. He is also a founding member of Edinburgh Neuroprosthetics Lab.

He is also deeply interested in technological innovation, its global implications, and its pedagogy. This includes a critical analysis of relentless growth in digital technologies and its impact on the planet and people, both historical and in future. He is the convenor of the Decolonisation Working Group in the College of Science and Engineering. Read recent paper here [1],[2],[3].

Post-Docs

• Bartas Abaravicus
• Ahmet Erdogan
• Fan Yang
• Ildar Rakhmatulin
• Ju Wei

Present PhD students

• Rigi Amin
• Amlan Nag
• Pablo Ledsema Lopez
• David Vaca-Benavides
• Nur Sakinah Asaad (Nina)
• Xin Sun (Susie)

Past team members (PhD and Post-Doc)

• Andrew Mugisha
• Bogdan Raducanu (IMEC, Belgium)
• Zie Zhang (MIT, USA)
• Claudio Accarino (Leonardo, Edinburgh, UK)
• Priya Gupta (UCL, UK)
• Jamie Marland (University of Edinburgh, UK)
• Chandrasekaran Gunasekaran (Renesas Electronics, UK)
• José Cortés Guzmán (academic, Mexico)
• Sadeque Reza Khan (Hariot-Watt University, UK)
• Adarsh Nigam
• Anil Kumar
• Shouyu Xie
• Mike Huang
• Urwah Arif

Ongoing Projects

• AUTOCAPSULE
• Advanced Care Research Center (ACRC)
• SPADs in Neuroscience
• Sonobeamer
• Hoovertron, a FND diagnostic device
• Smart Socks for incontinence management

Past Projects

• IMPACT Implantable Microsystems for Personalised Anti-Cancer Therapy
• SONOPILL Ultrasonic capsule endoscopy
• Multicorder Point of Care devise for multimodal analysis
• Smart Stent
• AQUASENSE

Public Outreach (Podcasts)

• Decolonising Engineering curriculum and decentering scientific knowledge from Eurocentric perspectives
• Ultra-high density silicon probes for neural recording

• PhD (Institute of Neuroinformatics, ETH, Zurich)
• MTech (Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai)

• Analogue VLSI Project (4) / Analogue VLSI Lab
• Analog Electronics (Circuits) 4 / Analog Circuit Design
• Applications of Sensor and Imaging Systems
• ACRC Grand Challenge

• Analog circuit design
• Technosocial aspects of Engineering
• Decolonisation in Engineering

Soft Systems Group website

• BEng(hons), MRes, PhD

• Member of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Young Academy of Scotland (MYAS)

• Programme Director: MSc Electronics

https://elliotjcrowley.com