Boffins
The people who still know how
Professors, readers, industrial fellows, and the occasional knight who has not retired from the problem.
Academic and industrial experts, described the way a colleague would describe them: what they are good at, what they are looking for, what they would decline, and how much notice they need.
- Each profile says what a first engagement actually looks like, and roughly what it costs.
- The 'probably not for' field is there deliberately. Reading it will occasionally save you a fortnight.
- Search a technique, a material or a problem rather than a job title.
Showing 29 entries
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Professor of Aerospace Structures · Imperial College London · South Kensington
Prof. Harriet Pemberton
Knows what a composite wing does when you ask it to work on a Monday. Advises on structures that must be light, honest, and certifiable.
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Reader in Quantum Sensing · The University of Manchester · Manchester
Dr Idris Okonkwo
Builds sensors that notice things the rest of us walk past. Particularly good at taking a laboratory miracle outdoors without it sulking.
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Senior Lecturer in Electrochemical Engineering · The University of Edinburgh · Edinburgh
Dr Fiona MacLeod
Treats batteries and electrolysers as engineering, not as a personality. Excellent on the bit between a promising electrode and a plant that pays for itself.
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Professor of Photonic Systems · University of Cambridge · Cambridge
Prof. Rajesh Nair
Puts light to work. Satellites, factories, and the occasional stubborn biomedical problem all look the same to a well-behaved waveguide.
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Associate Professor of Medical Devices · University College London · Bloomsbury
Dr Amina Shah
Translates devices that clinicians will actually use. Knows the difference between a clever sensor and a product that can be sterilised, billed, and trusted.
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Industrial Fellow, Propulsion · Formerly Rolls-Royce · now independent · Derby
Sir Geoffrey Walsh
Has seen more combustors than most people have seen combustor slides. Now introduces the next generation to the ones that still work.
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Principal Scientist, Steel & Circularity · Swansea University · Swansea
Dr Tomos Evans
Takes steel seriously in a decade that keeps pretending it can do without it. Particularly good on coatings, scrap, and things that rust in Welsh rain.
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Lecturer in Industrial Machine Learning · University of Oxford · Oxford
Dr Priya Venkat
Teaches models manners. Her work lives on the shop floor, where a false positive has a cost and a false negative has a larger one.
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Senior Research Fellow, Marine Energy · University of Strathclyde · Glasgow
Dr Callum Fraser
Works with water that has opinions. Tidal and wave devices, moorings, and the North Atlantic's gift for finding the weak bolt.
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Associate Professor of Robotics · University of Bristol · Bristol
Dr Sophie Chen
Builds robots that can be trusted near people and parts. Inspection, assembly, and the gentle art of not dropping a £40,000 optic.
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Senior Lecturer in Spacecraft Engineering · University of Glasgow · Glasgow
Dr Eleri Vaughan
Gets small spacecraft through qualification without cooking the payload. Thermal design, test procedures, and the schedule nobody costed properly.
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Professor of Infrastructure Asset Management · University of Leeds · Leeds
Prof. Nkechi Adeyemi
Decides whether a Victorian structure has another twenty years in it. Evidence for deferral, or the argument for acting now.
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Independent Consultant, Regulatory Science & Quality Systems · Independent · formerly a notified body · Cambridge
Dr Ruth Ellison
Has read more technical files than is entirely healthy. Tells device companies what they will be asked for, while there is still time to have it.
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Reader in Power Systems · Newcastle University · Newcastle upon Tyne
Dr Sarah Whitcombe
Explains why the grid connection, not the technology, is the long lead item. Then helps you design around it.
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1920 Professor of Physical Chemistry · University of Cambridge · Cambridge
Professor Tuomas Knowles
Leads work on the physical chemistry and kinetics of biomolecular assembly at Cambridge Chemistry and the Cavendish.
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NIHR Professor of Clinical Pharmacology and Global Health · University of Liverpool · Liverpool
Professor Catriona Waitt
Integrates clinical trials with pharmacometric and PBPK methods for medicine use in under-studied populations, including breastfeeding mothers and infants.
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Professor of Systems Pharmacology · University of Manchester · Manchester
Professor Amin Rostami-Hodjegan
Director of Manchester’s Centre for Applied Pharmacokinetic Research; internationally known for PBPK and IVIVE in drug development.
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Professor of Translational Pharmacokinetics · University of Manchester · Manchester
Professor Aleksandra Galetin
Deputy Director of CAPKR; specialises in transporter/metabolism IVIVE and PBPK for complex patient populations and regulatory use.
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PBPK / IVIVE Lead, CAPKR · University of Manchester · Manchester
Dr Daniel Scotcher
Leads PBPK/IVIVE work at CAPKR, translating in vitro metabolism and excretion data to clinical predictions.
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Professor of Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics · University of Manchester · Manchester
Professor Leon Aarons
Long-standing CAPKR lead in population pharmacokinetics and computational PK/PD modelling.
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Proteomics Lead, CAPKR · University of Manchester · Manchester
Dr Jill Barber
Leads proteomics at CAPKR, quantifying metabolising enzymes and transporters that underpin mechanistic PK models.
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Professor of Pharmacology and Therapeutics · University of Liverpool · Liverpool
Professor Saye Khoo
Leads infection pharmacology at Liverpool, including clinical trials, population PK and the Liverpool Drug Interactions programme.
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Professor of Structural Bioinformatics · University of Oxford · Oxford
Professor Charlotte Deane
Leads Oxford Protein Informatics Group (OPIG), applying statistics and ML to protein structure and small-molecule discovery.
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Visiting Professor of Molecular Informatics · University of Cambridge · Cambridge
Professor Andreas Bender
Molecular informatics and ML for efficacy and safety/tox endpoints; Visiting Professor at Cambridge Chemistry (also Khalifa University).
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Associate Professor of Bioengineering · Imperial College London · London
Dr Pedro Ballester
Develops machine-learning methods for drug discovery and bioactivity prediction at Imperial’s Department of Bioengineering.
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Professor of Computational Medicine · Imperial College London · London
Professor Robert Glen
Computational medicine and molecular informatics; formerly founded Cambridge’s Unilever Centre for Molecular Sciences Informatics.
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Professor of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics · University College London · London
Professor Oscar Della Pasqua
Chair of Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics at UCL; quantitative approaches across early and late drug development.
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Professor of Pharmacometrics · University College London · London
Professor Joseph Standing
Leads pharmacometrics at UCL GOS Institute of Child Health, including clinical and data-science approaches to dose optimisation.
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Reader in Cancer Pharmacometrics; Modelling Lead, CAPKR · University of Manchester · Manchester
Dr Kayode Ogungbenro
CAPKR Modelling Lead; population PK for empirical and PBPK models, oncology pharmacometrics, and MSc Model-Based Drug Development.
