Academic staff

Senior Lecturer
Hwakian.Chai@ed.ac.uk
+44(0)131 6507153
3.16 William Rankine Building
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Infrastructure and Environment
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Dr Hwa Kian Chai

I am a Senior Lecturer in Civil Engineering. I spent years working as researcher, engineer and university academic in Malaysia and Japan before joining Edinburgh. I have amassed good experience in research and application in the fields of structures and construction materials, with specific focuses in structural repair and retrofit, low carbon cementitious materials, condition monitoring and non-destructive evaluation of structures.

BEng(Hons) in Civil Engieering (Universiti Sains Malaysia) MEngSc in Concrete Materials (Universiti Malaya) PhD in Civil Engineering (Osaka University)

  • Chartered Member of Institution of Structural Engineers
  • Fellow of Higher Education Academy
  • Senior Member of International Union of Laboratories and Experts in Construction Materials, Systems and Structures (RILEM)
  • Member of British Institute of Non-destructive Testing "Civil Engineering Group"
  • Graduate Member of Board of Engineers Malaysia
  • Detailed Design of Structures 3 CIVE09029 - Lecturer
  • Structural Design Philosophy 3 CIVE09033 - Course Organiser and Lecturer
  • Plastic Analysis of Frames and Slabs CIVE10003 - Course Organiser and Lecturer
  • Concrete Structures 4 CIVE10029 - Course Organiser and Lecturer
  • Interdisciplinary Group Design Project (Engineering) SCEE11010 - Lecturer
  • Interdisciplinary Group Design Project 4 SCEE11014 - Course organiser and Lecturer
  • Reinforced concrete structures modelling, analysis and design
  • Acoustic emission monitoring and data analysis
  • Low carbon cementitious composite materials development
  • Elastic wave tomography development and implementation
  • Structural appraisal, strengthening and retrofit

Accepting PhD projects.

Senior Lecturer in Composite Design & Testing
ed.mccarthy@ed.ac.uk
1.077 Sanderson Building
Mechanical Engineering
Materials and Processes
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Edward D. McCarthy

Dr. Edward McCarthy FHEA is Senior Lecturer in Composites Design and Testing at the University of Edinburgh and Lead of the FASTBLADE Fatigue Test Facility, Port of Rosyth, UK. He is University of Edinburgh Principal Investigator of Horizon 2020 project MAXBLADE, featuring a consortium of ten partners across the EU and UK led by tidal energy company, Orbital Marine Power. This project aims to consolidate the next generation of floating tidal stream energy generators, increasing power yield and reducing levelised cost of energy to levels more competitive with conventional energy sources. He is also Co-investigator in projects COTIDE and Morphing Blade, both of which are also focused on engineering research underpinning tidal energy development.

Previously he has led CAMREG Flexifund project Tideflex, studying the implementation of passively adaptive or morphing trailing edge sections on tidal blades for improved energy harvesting performance, and has also led the Oil, Gas and Innovation Centre (OGIC) project CompClamp looking at the use of composite material in novel deep sea clamping applications.

He was lead of EU project Powderblade focused on development of epoxy resin technology for deployment in offshore wind blades in partnership with Suzlon Energy and Eirecomposites Teo, Ireland. He was also Co-Investigator of Wave Energy Scotland project Rotohybrid in 2017-18 examining the deployment of rotomoulded thermoplastic structures in wave energy devices, and characterised novel elastomer-fabric materials for Elasto, a project examining the use of elastomeric diaphragm technologies for wave energy generation.

His research includes investigating strategies for impact-damage reduction in laminated composites (PhD graduate, Dr. Evanthia Pappa), development of submarine composite joint designs (PhD graduate, Dr. James Davidson), and properties of thick section composites (PhD candidate, Mr. James Quinn). He is also supervising a PhD project (PhD student, Mr. Michael O'Sullivan) in the use of fluid-structure interaction modeling to improve the design of marine structures subject to complex sea loading.

He is interested in all aspects of composite testing, with specific personal expertise in fibre fragmentation problems under uniaxial loading. Having a chemical engineering background, he is also involved in polymerisation and polymer characterisation: the synthesis of ionomer scaffolds by ring opening polymerisation for ultimate deployment in grafting of biological tissue, and reactive injection moulding of thermoplastics as a cost-effective alternative to resin transfer moulding CIMComp Synergy Project with University of Nottingham, 2022-23).

Prior to his present post, he was Project Leader of the Innovate UK-funded Concept Integration Project (‘Wings of the Future’) at the National Composite Certification and Evaluation Facility (NCCEF) at the University of Manchester. This project was focused on detection and benchmarking of barely visible impact damage in aerospace preimpregnated carbon fibre reinforced epoxy composites.

Between 2010 and 2013, he was Guest Researcher at the Polymer Division of the National Institute of Standards and Technology in the United States, researching novel polymer nanocomposites and the micromechanics of continuous-fibre polymer composites at the fibre-matrix interface level.

In 2009, he worked on a polymer composite fire modelling project at University of Bolton, and developed extensive industrial experience in elastomer formulation and characterisation at Perlast Ltd, Blackburn, UK, (2007-2009) and in gas plant process design at Costain Ltd., Manchester, UK (1998-1999).

Notes

  • McCarthy ED, Zammarano M, Fox DM, Nieuwendaal RC, Kim YS, Polymer 54: 90-101 (2013).
  • McCarthy ED, Kim, JH, Heckert NA, Leigh SD, Gilman JW, Holmes GA, Composites Sci. Tech. 121: 73-81 (2015).
  • McCarthy ED, Soutis C, Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing, 118: 281-292 (2019).
  • McCarthy ED, Kandola BK, Edwards G, Myler P, Yuan J, Wang YC, 47: 2371-2384 (2013).
  • McCarthy ED, Sealing Technology, 12: 7-10 (2008).

PhD Chemical Engineering, Newcastle University, 2007

M.Res Process Intensification, Newcastle University, 2002

B.Eng (Hons) Chemical and Process Engineering, Newcastle University, 2000

Fellow, The Higher Education Academy (FHEA).

Member, Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering (SAMPE UK).

Currently, Dr. McCarthy teaches Computational Methods and Modelling 3 in Semester 1, 2017-present, in addition to Advanced Composites Material 5 in Semester 2, 2017-present.

PUBLICATIONS

Revealing the interface in polymer nanocomposites M Zammarano, PH Maupin, LP Sung, JW Gilman, ED McCarthy, YS Kim, ... ACS Nano 5 (4), 3391-3399, 2011

Flame retarded poly (lactic acid) using POSS-modified cellulose. 2. Effects of intumescing flame retardant formulations on polymer degradation and composite physical properties DM Fox, M Novy, K Brown, M Zammarano, RH Harris, M Murariu, ... Polymer Degradation and Stability 106, 54-62, 2014

Application of an intensified narrow channel reactor to the aqueous phase precipitation of barium sulphate ED McCarthy, WAE Dunk, KVK Boodhoo Journal of Colloid and Interface science 305 (1), 72-87, 2007

Fiber-reinforced epoxy composites exposed to high temperature environments. Part II: modeling mechanical property degradation E Kandare, BK Kandola, ED McCarthy, P Myler, G Edwards, Y Jifeng, ... Journal of Composite Materials 45 (14), 1511-1521, 2011

Modelling flaming combustion in glass fibre-reinforced composite laminates ED McCarthy, BK Kandola, G Edwards, P Myler, J Yuan, YC Wang, ... Journal of Composite Materials 47 (19), 2371-2384, 2013

The fiber break evolution process in a 2-D epoxy/glass multi-fiber array ED McCarthy, JH Kim, NA Heckert, SD Leigh, JW Gilman, GA Holmes Composites Science and Technology 121, 73-81, 2015

Formation of extended ionomeric network by bulk polymerization of l, d-lactide with layered-double-hydroxide ED McCarthy, M Zammarano, DM Fox, RC Nieuwendaal, YS Kim, ... Polymer 54 (1), 90-101, 2013

Investigation of factors affecting the thermal expansion of perfluoroelastomer seal materials E McCarthy Sealing Technology 2008 (12), 7-10, 2008

Characterization of green poly (lactic acid)-layered double hydroxide system having both linear and crosslinked polymer structure ED McCarthy, JW Gilman, M Zammarano, YS Kim, PH Maupin Polym Prepr 52, 42, 2011

Detection of impact damage in carbon fibre composites using an electromagnetic sensor Z Li, AD Haigh, MN Saleh, ED McCarthy, C Soutis, AAP Gibson, R Sloan Research in Nondestructive Evaluation, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09349847.2016., 2016

The Break Evolution Process in Composite Microcomposites Gale A. Holmes, Edward D. McCarthy, N. Alan Heckert, Stefan D. Leigh, Jae H ... Composites at Lake Louise-2015, 2015

Determination of Interfacial Shear Strength in Epoxy/Glass Composites by Multi-Fiber Fragmentation Test (MFFT) ED McCarthy, JH Kim, NA Heckert, SD Leigh, GA Holmes, JW Gilman

RESONANCE ENERGY TRANSFER AS A TOOL FOR PROBING INTERFACE FORMATION IN NANOCOMPOSITES M Zammarano, ED McCarthy, DM Fox, PH Maupin, LP Sung, YS Kim 44th International Symposium on Macromolecules (MACRO 2012), 2012

Use of Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) as a New Characterization Method for the Interface in Sustainable Nanocomposites JW Gilman, M Zammarano, PH Maupin, LP Sung, E McCarthy, YS Kim, ... Meeting Abstracts, 244-244, 2012

Rheology of novel poly (L, D-lactic acid (PLDLA) nanocomposite formed from in situ bulk polymerization of L, D-lactide by stearate layered double hydroxide ED McCarthy, DM Fox, GA Holmes, M Zammarano, PH Maupin, ... ABSTRACTS OF PAPERS OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY 243, 2012

Studies of cellulose fibers in polymer nanocomposites: Probes of interface formation PH Maupin, M Zammarano, LP Sung, ED McCarthy, YS Kim, DM Fox, ... ABSTRACTS OF PAPERS OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY 243, 2012

Chapter 14: Application of Modeling and Simulation in Predicting Fire Behavior in Fiber-Reinforced Composites ED McCarthy, BK Kandola Modeling and Simulation in Fibrous Materials: Techniques and Applications 1 ..., 2012

Extent and Quality of Interface in Cellulose-PE Nanocomposites M Zammarano, PH Maupin, LP Sung, JW Gilman, ED McCarthy, YS Kim, ...

Extent and quality of interface in Cellulose-PE nanocomposites using FRET JW Gilman, M Zammarano, PH Maupin, LP Sung, ED McCarthy, YS Kim, ... ABSTRACTS OF PAPERS OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY 242

Senior Lecturer
H.Ahn@ed.ac.uk
+44(0)131 6505891
1.139 Sanderson Building
Chemical Engineering
Materials and Processes
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Dr Hyungwoong Ahn

Currently,

  • Adjunct Professor of Chemical Engineering, Yonsei University, 2024 - Present
  • Exchange Programme Coordinator for Chemical Engineering
  • Cohort Lead for 2024 incoming cohort of chemical engineering students

In the past,

  • KOFST Brain Pool Fellow
  • Senior Research Engineer, SK Energy R&D Center, Korea
  • KOSEF/Research Fellow, University College London

Member of KIChE, AIChE and IChemE.

Currently, I am teaching

  • Advanced Chemical Engineering Design 5/MSc: course organiser
  • Separation Processes for Carbon Capture 5/MSc: course organiser
  • Separation Processes 5/MSc: teaching half of the lectures
  • Engineering Mathematics 2A: seminars
  • MSc project/Study project 4/Research project 5/Industrial project 5: project supervisors

In the past, I had taught

  • Interdisciplinary Group Design Project (Engineering): Power Station with Carbon Capture and Storage for chemical, mechanical and electrical engineering students / course organiser and project leader
  • Chemical Engineering Design 3: chemical process design using UniSim
  • Chemical Engineering Design Project 4: organising reactor design exercise using Matlab and heat exchanger design exercise, design group supervisors / course organiser
  • Chemistry and Processes 2: supervising the student visits to plant sites
  • Chemical Engineering in Practice 3
  • Thermodynamics 2 Laboratory
  • Engineering Mathematics 2B: seminars
Reader
Rodrigo.ledesma@ed.ac.uk
2.2411 James Clerk Maxwell Building
Chemical Engineering
Multiscale Thermofluids
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Dr Rodrigo Ledesma Aguilar

I am a Reader in Chemical Engineering within the Institute for Multiscale Thermofluids. My research interests include multiphase flows, phase changes, capillarity and wetting, and engineered surfaces.

If you are interested in becoming a PhD student or a postdoc in my group, please contact me via email.

PhD Physics, University of Barcelona

DEA Physics, University of Barcelona

Dip Chemical Engineering, National Autonomous University of Mexico

Member of the Institute of Physics

Fellow of the Higher Education Academy

Member of the EPSRC College of Reviewers

Member of the UK Consortium of Mesoscale Engineering Sciences

Undergraduate

  • Process Dynamics and Control
  • Chemical Engineering Research Projects

Postgraduate

  • MSc Chemical Engineering Research Projects
Lecturer in Structural Engineering
mtaffeta@ed.ac.uk
3.12 Alexander Graham Bell Building
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Infrastructure and Environment
Lecturer in Chemical Engineering
ericci@ed.ac.uk
1.073 Sanderson Building
Chemical Engineering
Materials and Processes
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Dr Eleonora Ricci profile photograph

Eleonora Ricci joined the University of Edinburgh as a Lecturer in 2023. Previously, she was a Marie Skłodowska-Curie postdoctoral fellow at the National Centre for Scientific Research “Demokritos”, Athens, Greece. In 2021 she was a postdoctoral researcher and Adjunct Professor of Molecular Simulation Fundamentals at the university of Bologna. She obtained a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Bologna, Italy (2020).

  • PhD in Chemical Engineering, 2020, University of Bologna, Italy.
  • Master's Degree in Chemical and Process Engineering, 2016, University of Bologna, Italy.
  • Bachelor's Degree in Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, 2014, University of Bologna, Italy.

Course Organiser for the following subjects:

  • Batchwise and Semi-batch Processing
  • Materials Simulation and Design (NEW 2026/2027)

Multi-scale and multi-method modeling strategies, combining molecular, thermodynamic, and data-driven techniques to develop innovative materials for the energy transition, including polymeric and nanocomposite membranes for gas separation, electrochemical devices, and hydrogen transport and storage.

Reader
Parvez.Alam@ed.ac.uk
+44(0)131 6504862
1.084 Sanderson Building

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Mechanical Engineering
Materials and Processes
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Dr Parvez Alam

I am a Reader in Mechanical Engineering at The University of Edinburgh, UK. My activities and interests are in the fields of biomimetic design, mechanical metamaterials, comparative biomechanics, and composites engineering.

Fellowships:

Fellowship of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, UK (Elected 2020)

Fellowship of the Royal Society of Biology, UK (Elected 2019)

Senior Fellowship: Marie Curie Very-Experienced Researcher (IAPP/MER), The University of Edinburgh, UK (2016-2018)

Fellowship of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining, UK (Elected 2015)

Other Appointments:

Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Biology, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia

Adjunct Professor of Composite Materials and Biostructures, AAU, Finland

Chair: Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining - Natural Materials Group

Committee Member: Institute of Mechanical Engineers - Edinburgh and SE Scotland

2017: Professional Certificate: Innovation and Technology - Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA

2013: Docent, Habilitation - Abo Akademi University, FINLAND

2004: Doctor of Philosophy: The reinforcement of timber for structural applications and repair - University of Bath, UK

2000: Bachelor of Engineering (Honours): Materials Science and Engineering - University of Bath, UK

Fellow: Institution of Mechanical Engineers, UK

Fellow: Royal Society of Biology, UK

Fellow: Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining, UK

Board Member: Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining, UK - Natural Materials Association

Chartered Engineer: Engineering Council, UK

Member: Suomendosenttiliito (Association for Adjunct Professors in Finland)

Mechanical Engineering Group Project 4

Sustainable Energy Design Project 3

Mechanical Engineering Design 2A

BEng Theses (Year 4)

Group Projects (Year 4)

MSc Theses (Year 5)

Director of International Partnerships
I.Underwood@ed.ac.uk
+44(0)131 6505631
3.11 Scottish Microelectronics Centre
Electronics and Electrical Engineering
Integrated Micro and Nano Systems
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Professor Ian Underwood

Ian Underwood carried out pioneering research and development in the field of liquid crystal microdisplays between 1983 and 1999.

His early career achievements were recognized by:

  • Fulbright Fellowship (1991) held at The University of Colorado
  • Photonics Spectra Circle of Excellence Award (1994) with Boulder Nonlinear Systems
  • British Telecom Summer Fellowship (1997)
  • Ben Sturgeon Award of the UK Chapter of the SID (1999)

In the late 1990's he contributed to the formation of Micropix Technologies (now Forth Dimension Displays) and consulted with them to design their first generation product line.

He is a co-founder of MicroEmissive Displays (MED) founded in 1998 and co-inventor of its P-OLED microdisplay technology. He served as Product Development Director, Director of Strategic Marketing then CTO.

MED's distinctions include:

  • 2004 Guinness World Record for the world's smallest colour tv screen
  • European Semiconductor Start-up Award (2004)
  • the inaugural IEE Innovation in Engineering Award for Emerging Technology (2005)

MED raised in excess of 40M GBP Sterling and at its peak employed around 70 staff. MED went into administration in late 2008, an early victim of the global financial crisis, shortly after beginning to ship product for its first major order.

In 2005, while with MED, Ian was appointed in absentia to the Chair of Electronic Displays at The University of Edinburgh.

Recent personal recognition includes:

  • Ernst & Young Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year, Scotland (2003)
  • Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (2004)
  • Gannochy Medal for Innovation winner (2004)
  • Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering (2008)
  • Fellow of the Institute of Physics (2008)

In late 2007 he took up the Chair, becoming Head of the Institute for Integrated Micro and Nano Systems (IMNS) while remaining part-time at MED as Chief Scientific Adviser.

Until recently he sat on the Council of the Scottish Optoelectronics Association and the Steering Committee of ADRIA (Europe's Network in Advanced Displays).

He is known worldwide as an authority on microdisplay technology, systems and applications and is co-author of a recently released book entitled Introduction to Microdisplays (Wiley, 2006).

In late 2008 he was appointed to the Scottish Science Advisory Council the body that offers strategic advice on science and related matters to the Scottish Government.

Today he is employed by the University of Edinburgh for four days per week, seeking gainful employment on the fifth day as adviser, consultant, or non-executive director with pre-spin-out technology projects and early stage technology companies.

He is an Associate Editor of the Journal of the SID and sits on the technical program committee of the International Solid State Circuits Conference, the International Displays Research Conference and the Society for Information Display's Annual International Symposium.

In recent years he has made invited presentations and tutorials on microdisplays and related topics at major conferences and events throughout the world including:

  • Eurodisplay 2005 and 2009
  • IMID Korea 2006
  • SID USA 2007 and 2009
  • IEEE ISSCC USA 2009

Contact Ian by email at i.underwood@ed.ac.uk.

  • 2008 Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, FREng
  • 2004 Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, FRSE
Personal Chair in Sustainable Materials
Dipa.Roy@ed.ac.uk
+44(0)131 6505682
1.140 Sanderson Building
Mechanical Engineering
Materials and Processes
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Dr Dipa Roy profile picture

Dr. Dipa Roy joined School of Engineering, University of Edinburgh, in January 2017 as Lecturer in Composite Materials and Processing.

She obtained her B.Sc degree (Chemistry Honours), B.Tech and M.Tech degree in Polymer Science and Technology from University of Calcutta, India. She completed her PhD from Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science (IACS), Jadavpur University, India, in 2002. Between 2003 and 2005 she worked as Research Associate with Government of India fellowship at IACS.

She started her job as Lecturer in the Department of Polymer Science and Technology, University of Calcutta in 2005 and continued in that position till September 2011. She received Young Scientist Award from the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, in 2006 and Career Award for Young Teachers from All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), Government of India, in 2007. She successfully completed seven Government of India funded research projects as Principal Investigator during this tenure. In 2011 she joined Irish Centre for Composites Research (IComp) at University of Limerick, Ireland, as Research Fellow (2011-2016). At IComp she conducted industry focused research in the area of polymer composites.

In her career, she has published over 80 peer reviewed journal papers and 14 book chapters. She has edited a book on biocomposites with Elsevier. She has an EU patent on Dielectric heating of polymers in 2016.

She is currently supervising 3 PhD students as the Principal Supervisor, 4 PhD students as Co-Supervisor and 3 Post Doctoral researchers at the University of Edinburgh.

She is the Fellow of the Institute of Materials, MInerals and Mining (IOM3).

Dr Dipa Roy is the recipient of “The 2021 Top 50 Women in Engineering: Engineering Heroes (WE50)” award in 2021.

  • Fellow of the Institute of Materials, MInerals and Mining (IOM3).FIMMM
  • Member of Society for Advancement of Materials and Process Engineering (SAMPE)
  • Member of The Society for Polymer Science, India
  • Member of Indian Physical Society
Lecturer in Experimental Thermofluids
rschwind@ed.ac.uk
2.2015 James Clerk Maxwell Building
Mechanical Engineering
Multiscale Thermofluids
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Dr Rachel Schwind

PhD in Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan MSc in Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan BSc in Mechanical Engineering, University of Cincinnati