Engineering for the Marine Environment

Interactions between man-made structures and the sea

Our engineering expertise covers a broad array of research on man-made structures and devices that are deployed in marine and coastal settings:

COAST Engineering Research Group

The COAST group is focused firmly on major problems facing society regarding rising sea levels, flood risk, and marine renewable energy which have been highlighted in recent government reviews. COAST contains internationally recognised specialists in:

coastal engineering
renewable energy
flood risk and coastal protection
field experimentation
instrument design and laboratory modelling
numerical modelling
theoretical analysis.

Marine Renewable Energy

The University is a leader in marine renewable energy research.

The COAST Engineering Research Group has particular strengths in physical and numerical modelling of marine renewable energy devices, supported by our state the art COAST Lab facilities.

The University is also a key partner in the Partnership for Research in Marine Renewable Energy (PRIMaRE).

Autonomous Marine Systems

The Autonomous Marine Systems (AMS) research group comprises a multidisciplinary team working on the application of AI techniques to the navigation, guidance and control of autonomous vehicles, wave energy devices and marine propulsion systems. The group has expertise in a number of areas:

artificial intelligence (AI)
optimisation techniques
advanced control systems engineering theory
multi-sensor data fusion, dynamics, industrial dynamics
marine vehicle performance prediction
propulsors
integrated navigation systems.

Springer, an autonomous surface vehicle

Marine Composites

The Advanced Composites Manufacturing Centre (ACMC) is a leading composites R&D facility at the University. The group has a particular strength in composites for the marine environment, although their work has a wide range of applications. The ACMC works closely with all members of the composites industry in implementing new technology, improving processes, testing materials and components and solving manufacturing and materials problems.

Materials and Structures Research Group

The research carried out in this area covers many aspects of mechanics in materials and structures.

This includes structural integrity focusing on fatigue and fracture of materials, durability of marine reinforced concrete (RC) structures, multi-scale and multi-phase modelling of materials, and structural modelling using finite element analysis.

Engineering and Society Research Group

Research in this group focuses on the interaction between engineering, society and the environment. Our current work is focused on both the impact of engineering solutions on society and the impact of society on the success of engineering solutions, exploring the following themes:

Marine science and engineering education
Industry engagement with marine science and engineering research
Gender, equality and hazard issues in marine science and engineering
Marine science and engineering philosophy.

Engineering for the marine environment staff

Dr Fethi Azizi

Lecturer in Geomechanics (Education)
Professor Andrew Chadwick

Honorary Professor
Dr Keri Collins

Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering
Dr Alistair Cree

Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering (Education)
Dr Ming Dai

Associate Head of School - Mechanical Engineering
Dr Luciana Dalla Valle

Associate Professor of Data Science and Statistics
Dr Jasper Graham-Jones

Associate Professor in Mechanical and Marine Engineering
Professor Deborah Greaves OBE FREng

Head of School
Dr Martyn Hann

Associate Professor of Coastal and Offshore Renewable Energy Engineering
Professor Gregorio Iglesias Rodriguez

Honorary Professor
Professor Neil James

Professor of Mechanical Engineering (Research)
Dr Asiya Khan

Associate Professor of Multimedia Communication and Intelligent Control
Mr Adam Kyte

Lecturer in Mechanical & Marine Engineering Design (Engineering)
Dr Jon Miles

Associate Head of School
Dr Richard Pemberton

Lecturer in Mechanical and Marine Engineering Design
Professor Alison Raby

Professor in Environmental Fluid Mechanics
Dr Edward Ransley

Senior Research Fellow
Dr Jahir Rizvi

Lecturer in Mechanical & Marine Engineering
Dr Antony Robotham

Associate Professor in Mechanical Engineering
Dr Sanjay Sharma

Associate Professor (Reader) in Intelligent Autonomous Control Systems
Dr David Simmonds

Associate Professor in Coastal Engineering
Professor John Summerscales

Professor of Composites Engineering
Professor Robert Sutton

Emeritus Professor
Dr Jian Wan

Lecturer in Control Systems Engineering