Research themes
Professor G Thompson
Generic research interests include design for reliability and maintainability, creativity and concept generation. Design for reliability research focuses on methods to generate and develop strong concepts for mechanical and electro-mechanical systems. The research also includes failure analysis and visualisation, and reliability and maintainability evaluation, using CAD and VR systems. Functional reliability, applied to Total Care Systems, is of particular interest. The research includes the characterisation and modelling of integrated systems comprising hardware and soft business systems. The creativity research involves the significance of cognitive style on solution generation and the appropriate use of divergent and convergent design methods.
Dr AW Gale
Generic research interests include organisational and cross-cultural aspects of project management and managing diversity in projects and the design of service systems and application of project management principles in total care (functional) products. Also, undertaking research into conceptual design team project management and the interdisciplinary benefits of artists working with engineers. This includes inter-disciplinary research on the spatial imagination. Undertaking, industry-led applied research into the measurement of benefit metrics in project management development programmes.
Dr T Alonso-Rasgado
Research interests include design, maintainability and reliability, business-engineering, risk with particular focus on Total Care Products, services, intelligent systems and nano-systems. The design, maintainability and reliability research aims to provide a single, unified methodology that can be utilised at every stage concept generation to market launch and beyond. Fundamental to this goal is the use of mathematical modelling and simulation, which in this context finds application in the architecture and business aspects of Total Care Products and services in general, intelligent systems including X-by-wire and robotics and nano-systems. The research is directly related to the aerospace, medical, food processing and automotive industries and the service industry in general amongst others.The combination of the main research interests listed above provides a strong basis for the through life support of both hard and soft systems.