Swansea Met professor receives first University of Wales Alliance Research Chair

A Swansea Metropolitan University Professor has become the first recipient of a University of Wales sponsored Alliance Research Chair which will further enhance University's work with industries across Wales. 

Professor Kelvin Donne is the Dean of Swansea Met's Faculty of Applied

Design and Engineering, which is comprised of seven schools with over one hundred academic and support staff and approximately two thousand students.

The Chair has been created as part of the University of Wales's commitment to working in partnership with the institutions in Wales that offer University of Wales degrees; Swansea Metropolitan University, Glyndŵr University, University of Wales Institute Cardiff (UWIC), Trinity University College in Carmarthen and University of Wales Lampeter. This has led to the creation of the ‘University of Wales Alliance' whose primary goal is to develop new strategic initiatives that will contribute to the economic, social, cultural and intellectual well-being of Wales.

This is the first out of a total of five University of Wales Research Chairs; one of which will be based in each Alliance partner institution. The Chairs will act as focal points for work on pan-Alliance initiatives and will also work with the University of Wales' prestigious industry-based programme, the Prince of Wales Innovation Scholarships (POWIS).

Professor Donne has extensive research experience in the Computer Aided Modelling and Visualisation of radiation and thermal transport, Boundary Element and Finite Element analysis and the modelling of crack growth in brittle materials. In 2007, he was awarded the prestigious National Agency for Finite Element Methods and Standards (NAFEMS) World Congress award for Most Innovative Use of Simulation Technology.

Congratulating Professor Donne on his appointment, University of Wales Vice-Chancellor, Professor Marc Clement said: "The University is delighted to welcome Kelvin Donne as the holder of the first of its Alliance Research Chairs. The work he is planning at Swansea Met exemplifies the University of Wales Alliance approach to supporting and benefitting Welsh industry through innovative thinking and applied research. I am looking forward to the announcement of more appointments very soon."

Professor Donne added: "The Faculty has a well established reputation of supporting Wales' high-tech economy, in particular the medical devices, automotive manufacturing, design and digital media industries. The University of Wales sponsored Research Chair will enable us to expand our research group so that we can enhance our engagement with Knowledge Transfer activities. It will also provide us with a solid base, over the next five years, to progress our applied research in computer simulation and visualisation techniques that will support the Welsh manufacturing and creative industries."

Ongoing research activities within the Faculty include the establishment of a Knowledge Transfer Centre in cutting and fabrication, which is funded by the Welsh Assembly Government, the European Regional Development Fund (EDRF), with further support from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). Professor Donne has led a research group in the Faculty's Welsh School of Architectural Glass, investigating novel product development methods including the use of recycled glass waste.

Swansea Met is also engaged in research for the automotive windscreen repair and replacement industry, which is sponsored by the world market leader Belron®. As the parent company of many recognised brands globally, which includes Autoglass®, Belron® is increasingly an inward investor in the Welsh manufacturing sector and Swansea Met has become one of the key research partners for the company's worldwide research programme.

In addition, Professor Donne's research group works with United Aerospace Ltd in Pembroke, Wales, investigating the manufacture of advanced composite materials for the country's aerospace industry. The University, in partnership with The Welding Institute (TWI), is also a lead academic partner in the Non Destructive Testing and Evaluation Validation Centre, based in South Wales.