Mon, 19 June, 2023
NSIRC Research & Innovation Conference 2023 captures the full impact of the unique research being conducted by doctoral students at TWI
Cambridge, United Kingdom – The latest industry-led postgraduate engineering research has been exhibited at the NSIRC (National Structural Integrity Research Centre) Research and Innovation Conference 2023, which took place at the headquarters of TWI (The Welding Institute) on the 14 and 15 June 2023.
Delegates included SMEs, TWI Innovation Network Subscribers, TWI Industrial Members, NSIRC partner universities, as well as many other academic and industrial institutions with a shared interest in high-level industry-focused academia.
NSIRC PhD students, from many of the top universities in the United Kingdom for engineering, presented their latest findings, exploring topics such as additive manufacturing, advanced coatings, joining technologies, artificial intelligence and robotics.
Over 20 presentations represented the range of complex challenges that NSIRC postgraduates, supported by TWI, are working to address. Titles included; sensitivity of neutrons to hydrogen in steels, bridging the simulation to reality gap in robotics, examination of environmental cracking in additively manufactured materials and much more. A complete list of the titles can be found on the conference webpage.
Prof Tat-Hean Gan welcomed delegates and introduced NSIRC. Photo: TWI Ltd / Simon Condie Photographer
Prof Tat-Hean Gan, NSIRC Director and TWI Director for Membership, Innovation and Global Operations, said, “NSIRC is evolving in 2023, and through our International programme we have signed several Memorandums of Understanding, including in Greece where our first NSIRC International Students, Fivos Simopoulos and Georgios Kampourakis, have begun their projects.”
“At the conference, I was delighted to meet Fivos and Georgios in person and welcome them to TWI in Cambridge. And we look forward to welcoming more students to our international family as we continue to recruit for our latest topics in Thailand, Malaysia and India.”
As interest in the International Programme continues to rise, NSIRC has also announced that an MoU towards NSIRC International in Thailand has been co-signed by Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) in the UK. MMU is TWI's partner in the Advanced Manufacturing and Digitalisation Innovation Centre.
During the 2023 conference, three keynote talks were delivered by renowned organisations from across the UK engineering sector. Dr Christina Guindy, Associate Director of Research Programmes and Awards at the Royal Academy of Engineering, stressed the importance of overcoming obstacles that obstruct academic and industrial collaboration.
Dr Tim Slingsby, Director of Skills and Education at Lloyd's Register Foundation, presented on how we can successfully train future workforces to adapt to a changing climate and enhance the resilience of existing infrastructure.
NSIRC also had the pleasure of welcoming Neil Golding, Executive Director of the EIC (Energy Industries Council), who provided insightful information on the challenges and trends confronting businesses throughout the UK.
To learn more about the NSIRC, its projects and conferences, visit the NSIRC News page. You can also sign-up for the NSIRC newsletter, where you will receive the latest news and PhD from across the organisation.
Official conference sponsors in 2023
AeonX AI, AccentPro, Anglia Ruskin University, The Welding Institute, Brunel University London, Brunel Innovation Centre, Brunel Composites Centre (BCC), Carrs Welding Technologies, Central Scanning, Castalia, Goliath Tipper Bodies, Lloyd's Register Foundation, Malvern Panalytical, NquiringMinds, Olympus Innovation, University of Leicester, University of Essex, Zentech Incorporated
Research Poster Session. Photo: TWI Ltd / Simon Condie Photographer