Engineering and the Environment

Research impact

Whilst much of our research begins with concepts at a fundamental level, we are passionate about pulling through the findings of that research to make a real impact on society. Such a process can take years as research progresses through theory, simulations, laboratory experiments, prototype development, trials (industrial, clinical or field trails), design and implementation. Whether this happens in large focused teams with strong industry backing, or forward-looking individuals with a drive to collaborate across disciplines, the breadth of impact from this research is illustrated in the selected example below:

  • The University is in the top three Universities in the world for generating spin-out companies, and Engineering and the Environment is at the forefront of this effort. Example companies are: Dezineforce and Plexus Planning Ltd.
  • We have contributed to UK performance in world sport, with the development of the skeleton bob sled used by Amy Williams to win Gold in 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. We directly supported the British Cycling, Rowing, Sailing and Canoeing teams in the 2008 Summer Olympics (Beijing) which between them accounted for 15 of the 19 Gold medals won by Team GB. On the spectator side, our expertise in urban transport has been used by the Olympic organisers to develop traffic management policies for the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics.
  • We produced the design for a key component (the bleed valve silencer) in the best-selling jet engine of all time made by Rolls Royce (the Trent XWB).
  • To date, 770 profoundly deaf people have received cochlear implants (a bionic ear technology) at the South of England Cochlear Implant Centre, which has given them sufficient hearing ability to understand speech and appreciate music.
  • Our designs for dampers to reduce the vibrations of (and hence noise emitted by) railways tracks have been developed commercially by Corus. Since 2004, these dampers have been installed in the Netherlands, France, Germany, Sweden, and in 2009 Australia adopted this damper design. Installation in the UK is also foreseen within the Thameslink project.
  • Work on structural integrity of joints in fibre reinforced plastic ships was used by the Royal Navy in ship design and maintenance, and has since been translated for use in civil construction applications.
  • Software toolkits developed by our researchers have been supplied by Rolls Royce to its staff worldwide for the design and development of jet engines.
  • Our expertise on light alloys led, with UK companies Airbus UK, Westland Helicopters and QinetiQ (and UK elements of the multinational company Alcoa), to the introduction of light Al-Li based alloys on the Airbus 380, the world's largest passenger aircraft.
  • Our operation of a waste management pilot plant was just one of the evidences of expertise in the area which placed Engineering and the Environment at the heart of advising national bodies on waste management, including DEFRA, the Environment Agency, and other branches of local and national Government.
  • Software developed by our researchers was included by the major manufacturer on the ‘anti-sound' systems incorporated into propeller aircraft. The manufacturer recently announced the installation of their 1,000th such system.
  • Computer tools developed by our researchers for predicting the effect of railway station enhancements and additions is used in network planning in London and in South East Wales.
  • Our work on the wash produced by the passage of high speed ferries and other vessels has been incorporated into the policing and mitigation of the detrimental effects of wash by the Port of London Authority and others. This has made river and harbour traffic less damaging to small boats, generate less erosion of banks and coasts, and operate with a lower carbon footprint.
  • Equations we developed led to the development of a patient injection system that operates without needles, currently in use for the migraine drug Sumatriptan which has a current global market of over $1 billion per year.
  • Coastal implications of climate change have been assessed for a range of organizations including the UK Government (AVOID and Foresight programmes), the European Commission (ClimateCosts), the World Bank, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development. The work has been widely cited in the reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
  • Working in collaboration with Guys' and St Thomas' Health Trust, we developed an award-winning sensor for the real time monitoring of kidney stone treatments, which to date has been used on over 200 patents.
  • Our expertise in the response of the ground to the passage of railways trains has been used by many designers, most recently for the specification of a testing regime for the harmful effects of sand on a proposed new railway in the United Arab Emirates.
  • We help to protect the £20 billion worth of orbiting satellites from damage by debris. Our simulation model DAMAGE is being used by UK Government and others to help manage the orbital environment in a sustainable manner for generations to come.
  • We are enthusiastic about two-way communication with the public, with a permanent Outreach office to assist its engineers and scientists in the school visits, public lectures, TV and radio appearances etc., and in the Open days where we host several hundred visitors for themed explorations of the work they do (e.g. solving a forensic mystery).
  • Our work on electricity generation through wave and marine current energy conversion has been incorporated into the development of protocols for device development by the UK Government and the International Energy Authority.
  • Our computational techniques for predicting wear were adopted into the biggest design programme in DePuy's history for their knee replacements.
  • In collaboration with Oxford Instruments, we set a world record for superconducting magnets without using superfluid helium at temperature below 2 Kelvin, and produced prototypes for High Temperature Superconductor current leads for CERN's Large Hadron Collider.
  • We provided the Royal National Lifeboat Institution with engineering assessment of boat construction and materials which is now incorporated into the RNLI's design manual and is used in the production of new lifeboats.
  • We produced a design guide in 2003 for British Nuclear Fuels Ltd. and Sellafield Ltd. for the transport of nuclear waste slurry. Since this guide came into usage, there have been no failures or shutdowns in transferring slurry from holding ponds to a processing plant.
  • We produced electrostatic sensors which are now marketed by GE Aviation to several aircraft engine manufacturers to monitor lubrication and the health of bearings.
  • Our laboratory measurements of the vibration of equipment during deep water offshore oil extraction for BP, Allbrown Universal (UK) and Petrobras (Brazil) are now used throughout the oil industry for benchmarking software.