Professor/Reader in Manufacturing Automation

Department of Design Manufacturing and Engineering Management, University of Strathclyde

 

Location: Glasgow, UK
Position: Professor/Reader in Manufacturing Automation
Responsibilities: Research, Teaching, Knowledge Exchange, Global Engagement and Citizenship
Apply Online: here 
Application Deadline: 12 September 2024
Interviews: 04 October 2024

 

Informal enquiries about the post can be directed to Professor Anja Maier (anja.maier@strath.ac.uk),
Head of Department DMEM, Design, Manufacturing and Engineering Management, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland, UK
The so-called Further Particulars for the position can be downloaded on the application site

Details

We are the University of Strathclyde. Our vision is innovative and ground breaking, placing us amongst the world’s leading international technological universities. We are dynamic and passionate about solving the challenges facing society and industry through our cutting-edge, multi-disciplinary research, education and knowledge-exchange with global partners. The University is situated in the heart of Glasgow, with an international community including 22,000 students and more than 3,000 staff from 100 countries. Strathclyde is ‘the place of useful learning’ and is recognised internationally for its close working relationships with businesses and its partnerships with industry, government and industry. The University is focused on recruiting the best academic talent to enhance both research intensity and leadership in areas of strategic importance.

The Department of Design, Manufacturing and Engineering Management (DMEM) is an internationally leading department, Delivering Total Engineering for responsible and sustainable futures. We seek to appoint a Professor/Reader in Manufacturing Automation. This post is envisaged to start as soon as possible and is part of a wider talent and thought leader recruitment strategy. DMEM brings together expertise in creative- and engineering design, manufacturing and engineering operations management. Our research centres and groups focus on through-life product- and system development, with core research themes spanning across the scientific disciplines being creativity and innovation, materials exploration, sustainability and technology. We are proud of our substantial and well-established collaborations with academic and industrial partners throughout the world. With more than 150 staff including the technical specialist centres, more than 100 Postgraduate Research (PGR) students both PhD and EngD/Industrial Doctorates, and more than 650 students from over 30 nations, we are a vibrant, international community. Come join, collaborate, innovate, and lead.

Are you passionate about working on global challenge and societal transitions, including manufacturing, space, or agri-food systems, industrial and healthcare logistics, or smart construction as it relates to manufacturing? And are you thriving on theory-driven and empirically-validated research excellence, learning and teaching with and for engineering leaders of the future? We’d love to hear from you with and your research interests, particularly in Net Zero and regeneration of sustainable design and manufacturing/production systems and the industrial ecology more widely. Come join us with your passion for tackling societal challenges and your disciplinary expertise esp. in sustainable futures.

This may include but not limited to Robotics, Autonomous Systems, Manufacturing Automation, and their applications to Smart Manufacturing, e.g., AI/Data-driven Manufacturing Processes and Control, Advanced Metrology and Inspection, Systems/Tools for Quality Control, Robotic Handling and Production Systems, Autonomous Devices/Systems, Human-Machine Interfaces, Highly Resilient and Reconfigurable Manufacturing Systems, as well as IoT and Cloud-based Production Systems, Digital Factory, or Digital Supply Chain Management.

Manufacturing automation with its interfaces to design and engineering management across the supply chain are central within DMEM with a focus on ensuring connectivity between the engineering and product design activity and the manufacturing processes that will ultimately be used to make the products and ultimately be used to re-make and re-manufacture the products, impacting supply-chain configurations, and thereby waste and emissions. Given the global challenge of climate change and the significant impact of products and their manufacturing processes on the environment there is an increasing focus on research, KE and education and skills training within the field. The opportunities are anticipated to increase over the coming years aligned with the global transition to a net zero economy.  

DMEM is currently well positioned in the manufacturing automation and robotics area and has successfully built a mechatronics systems lab and robotics and autonomous systems research group with applications in smart collaborative applications esp. within industrial application areas including space, health, and agri-food.  The proposed post would complement this activity and would focus on the development of manufacturing automation strategies and methods, including smart, digital manufacturing.  Furthermore, the postholder would work with manufacturing teams within the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS Group) to provide sustainable design and manufacturing expertise for collaborative research and industrial projects and related High Value Manufacturing Catapult activity. There will also be additional opportunities through Glasgow City Innovation District (GCID) and the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District Scotland (AMIDS) and the regional deals all of which have a net zero focus.  

Over recent years, Strathclyde in general and DMEM in particular has positioned itself well to deliver across these areas with collaborative teams across the University incorporating resources and expertise from Business, Humanities and Social Sciences, Science and Engineering faculties. This capability is exemplified through cross-department and cross-faculty initiatives such as the EPSRC Centre for Continuous Manufacturing and Crystallisation (CMAC), the Scottish Institute for Remanufacturing (SIR), and the Advanced Forming Research Centre (AFRC), with significant opportunities the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS), Glasgow City Innovation District (GCID), the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District Scotland (AMIDS), and wider strategic engagements such as with the Ayrshire Regional Deal and the Rosyth Innovation Park. The successful candidate is keen to build on this platform for further new initiatives and research excellence. Major opportunities also include links with Health & Care Futures / Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Centre, large infrastructure investments Scotland and the UK, public-public-private large partnerships for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  

Informal enquiries about the post can be directed to Professor Anja Maier, Head of Department, (anja.maier@strath.ac.uk).  

To find out more about the Department visit our website: www.dmem.strath.ac.uk

Interviews have been scheduled to take place on 04 October 2024.