Thu, 26 January, 2023
NSIRC welcomes first students in Greece as part of exciting global expansion of industry-led PhD programme with TWI Ltd and Lloyd's Register Foundation.
Athens, Greece - TWI Ltd and Lloyd's Register Foundation (LRF) are pleased to announce that the NSIRC PhD Programme commenced for students in Greece with Hellenic Mediterranean University (HMU), Crete.
The new international centre 'NSIRC Greece', will be based at the office of TWI Hellas in Athens, and is the latest location to open it's doors to industrial PhD research, as part of a new international programme, with students, Fivos Simopoulos and Georgios Kampourakis being the first to begin their PhD Studentships.
Both industrial PhD students will receive academic supervision from HMU Associate Professor Dr Lazaros Tzounis, who will provide guidance and valuable insight from the perspective of the academic community. While at the same time, representing TWI Ltd, Dr. Panagiotis Chatzakos, Regional Manager of TWI Hellas, will act as the Industrial Supervisor, offering his guidance based upon the needs and interest of industry.
This unique mix, available only to NSIRC PhD students, give them an advantage compared to students from typical, university PhD programme, mainly by enhancing the impact of their research projects, as the topics are deliberately relevant to many companies and industries.
Sponsorship for students at NSIRC Greece is provided by LRF, a global charity that supports education that can address some of the world's most complex engineering safety challenges.
NSIRC students sponsored by LRF are engineering a safer world, and making research and innovation breakthroughs that are aligned with the charities annual foresight reviews.
Read about the Industrial PhD Projects
3D printed multi-functional short fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composites with nanoadditives towards hierarchical multi-scale structures with controlled mechanical and electrical properties.
In the first half of his industrial doctorate, Fivos Simopoulos will explore the development of novel thermoplastic and photopolymerisable (thermoset) polymer nanocomposites, mainly with 1D and 2D nanomaterials utilised for fused filament fabrication (FFF) and stereolithography (SLA) 3D printing.
The second half of his degree will be focused towards testing the 3D printed FRPs’ multifunctional character, manufactured via FFF or SLA processes. The results of this PhD degree could advance FRP structural materials, additive manufacturing and inherent structural component properties.
Fivos commented, “This PhD will offer my career a unique opportunity to explore a multi-disciplinary scientific topic combining applied physics and materials science with mechanical engineering and 3D printing manufacturing methods towards advanced and multi-functional structures for emerging sectors like aerospace, aeronautics and robotics.”
After gaining a BSc in Physics from the University of Ioannina, Fivos undertook a full-time Master's Degree with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Hellenic Mediterranean University,with a focus on screen printed thermoelectric Generators (TEGS) based on organic and carbon allotrope nano-materials.
Georgios Kampourakis (left) and Fivos Simopoulos. Photo: TWI Hellas
3D printed continuous fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composites with unique structural and functional properties.
Georgios Kampourakis' study investigate manufacturing continuous fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites by 3D printing, performing tests on the 3D printed FRP composites through mechanical testing, morphological investigation, fractography and thermogravimetric analysis
The results of Georgios' research could impact innovations in structural integrity and systems performance as well as in robotics and autonomous systems.
Speaking about his project, Georgios says, “This PhD will expand my career as a Mechanical Engineer to new and advanced 3D structures and components enabled by 3D printing, with unique, mechanical, sensing, and electrical properties."
"New 3D printed FRPs will be manufactured by combining my background in engineering and 3D printing Process optimisation with enhanced self-diagnostic mechanisms and inherent structural health monitoring (SHM) of lightweight parts.”
Additive manufacturing (AM) and 3D printing. Photo: TWI Ltd
Get Involved with Industry Focused Postgraduate Research
Find out how your university or cooperation can be enhanced by our industry focused PhD programme by emailing enquiries@nsirc.co.uk.