Dr Alex Dickinson MEng, PhD, CEng MIMechE
Associate Professor in Mechanical Engineering
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Dr Alex Dickinson is an Associate Professor at the University of Southampton, researching the biomechanics and design of prosthetic limbs, and teaching engineering design and structural analysis. He co-founded the People Powered Prosthetics group, works in the Bioengineering Science Research Group, and he is a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and the Higher Education Academy.
The needs of the user should be at the core of any new health technology.
He graduated in 2006 with an MEng degree in Mechanical Engineering including a semester studying computer aided engineering at ESTACA, Paris. He completed a PhD in 2010 whilst working in industry, in the Research and Development team at Finsbury Orthopaedics Ltd. He then completed postdoctoral research positions at the University of Southampton supported by the EPSRC Doctoral Prize scheme and a Fraunhofer Institute Fellowship with the Biomechatronic Systems group at Fraunhofer IPA, Stuttgart.
Since 2013 Alex has set up a research team investigating the biomechanics and design of prosthetic limbs, thanks to a prestigious Royal Academy of Engineering Research Fellowship from 2015-20 (RF/130). This led to several research projects including EPSRC/NIHR Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) project “A Step Change in LMIC Prosthetics Provision through Computer Aided Design, Actimetry and Database Technologies” (EP/R014213/1) (2018-2021), for which he is Principal Investigator. In this project he leads a multidisciplinary team of researchers across the University of Southampton, University of Salford, the Cambodian School of Prosthetics and Orthotics, and global NGO Exceed Worldwide. This team set up the People Powered Prosthetics research group, for which Alex is the Technology Lead.
Alex’s teaching activities include undergraduate courses relating to Engineering Design and Computing, Biomaterials, and Biomedical Implants and Devices. An enthusiastic communicator of his research, he runs frequent outreach activities and is a STEM Ambassador.
Qualifications:
MEng Mechanical Engineering, University of Southampton, 2006
PhD, University of Southampton, 2010
