The applicant's vision is that this fellowship will allow him to build a team of industrially aware academic researchers in infrared (IR) optoelectronics, providing leading research in manufacturing imaging, thermometry and related automation. This will be within a thriving and stimulating multidisciplinary environment, where researchers and industrialists from electronic engineering, signal processing, image processing, molecular materials and engineering research can come together to collaboratively bridge the 'innovation gap' and solve problems that are vitally important to manufacturing. As competition increases with developing nations, manufacturers in the west must increase efficiency, quality and reduce energy costs. 'Smart' instruments that can visually sense their environments, make decisions and communicate over wide areas will be required. The fellowship will allow the applicant to develop the resources, contacts, technology and skills required to meet these requirements. Non-contact IR temperature measurement is an indispensable tool for manufacturing. It can improve product quality, reduce energy consumption, automate processes and make high temperature manufacturing safer. In spite of the great utility of the technique, there are significant barriers to achieving its huge potential. The dominant problem is that thermometers are calibrated using ideal IR radiators, known as blackbody reference furnaces (emissivity>0.995). All real 'bodies' in manufacturing are non-ideal radiators, such as billets of aluminium; where not only are measurement errors of up to 200 Celsius common but it is currently impossible to accurately assess the measurement uncertainty. A two-fold research strategy is proposed. Firstly, the material science of emissivity must be studied on a fundamental level; where emissivity changes during a manufacturing process, algorithms must be developed to account for this change, for all materials that are important to industrial processes, such as titanium, steel, zinc and many more. Secondly, innovations in instrument components must be achieved. Detector inventions have been key to 'step changes' in how IR thermometer technology can be applied; with around one new useful detector to appear commercially every ten years. These slow to market inventions have successively brought practicality, faster measurement speed and sub zero Centigrade measurement. The unique aspect to this proposal the applicant's link with the world leaders in detector research, who's innovations can be brought within IR instruments, moving IR measurement forward as soon as new detector materials are proven, rather than waiting for commercial suppliers to market new technologies. This will open up a vast array of pioneering manufacturing research in automation, image processing and optoelectronics.

The proposed Industrial Doctorate Centre aims to provide Research Engineers (Engineering Doctorates) with skills and expertise at the forefront of knowledge in machining science. These individuals will enable UK industry to develop and maintain a world-leading capability in high value manufacturing sectors that involve machining processes. Furthermore the unique training experience that is provided will enable the Research Engineers to foster a stronger collaboration between the UK's fundamental engineering science research, and the manufacturing engineering community.Machining, in particular metal removal processes, are sometimes perceived as a 'traditional' manufacturing process that have been evolving for many decades and rely upon mature technology. However, this view is short-sighted as it fails to consider the significant developments in engineering science that have taken place over the past few decades and the impact that they can make to step-changes in machining performance. In almost every sphere of engineering science - from nonlinear dynamics to electrical machines and tribology - there are recent significant developments that are of direct relevance to machining applications, which could contribute further step changes in productivity and profitability. A failure to successfully translate these technology developments into machining applications would hinder the future competitiveness of the UK manufacturing sector.The proposed IDC will address this central vision by combining the world class research in the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Sheffield, with the well proven and unique industry-facing activities at the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre with Boeing (AMRC). The expertise of the proposal investigators who form the supervisory pool for the IDC can be applied to a wide spectrum of research problems in the field of machining science. Examples include: Machine tool designCutting tool geometryTool and work-piece characterisationStandard features machiningAdaptive control of cutting processesMetal cutting tribologyCoatings technologyMachine and machining dynamicsWork-holding dynamicsElectrical machines and drivesMachine visionStress analysis of machining Fluid mechanics of coolantsDigital control systems The core engineering science behind these machining-focussed issues (tribology, dynamics, experimental mechanics, control) are all areas where the faculty of engineering has demonstrated world leading or internationally excellent research activity. Meanwhile, the AMRC's track record for industrial collaboration allows this research to be tailored and applied to the needs of manufacturing industry. An IDC provides a unique opportunity for the University of Sheffield to offer industrially-focussed research training at an Engineering Doctorate level. In particular, the IDC will have, from its outset, the most comprehensive network of companies involved in all aspects of machining worldwide via the existing AMRC membership.The proposed IDC complements existing UK training centres, where there is no existing capability that specifically focuses on training manufacturing engineers on advanced aspects of machining. The IDC would align fully with the University's strategic aim to foster research collaborations across the Engineering disciplines, following the recent implementation of a Faculty based management system.