Fellow Detail

I see inside things using X-rays. I lead a group that uses advanced materials science and engineering techniques to work collaboratively and interdisciplinarily with diverse researchers. We image internal structures non-destructively at the microscale; analysing and interpreting the morphology and function from the 3-dimensional data. I work with a wide variety of materials and specimens, from mummified animals to jet engine components. Through the use of X-ray microtomography we investigate the engineered and natural world – revealing structures that have never been seen before in 3D.

Our research is intimately intertwined with software. It is essential for running our equipment, reconstructing, visualizing, and analysing the large 3D datasets that we generate. Current projects I lead or co-investigate include abradable coating materials in Rolls-Royce gas turbines, volcanic ash deposition, imaging the human remains of the Mary Rose, bioinspired structures for nature and 3D printing, calcified marine structures, additive layer manufacturing, medical device optimization, nickel superalloys, and model organisms for bone, among other projects.

Our research data and outputs are large, complex, and visual. This demands that we consider the reader/viewer/user when analysing and representing the research. X-Ray microtomography is multidisciplinary, and requires sharing of data and software with researchers in disparate fields.