Academic Lecture Announcement: Academic Lectures by Professor Dragos Axinte and Associate Professor Liao Zhirong from the University of Nottingham, UK

At the invitation of Professor Geng Yanquan from the Department of Mechanical Manufacturing, School of Mechatronics Engineering, at our university, Professor Dragos Axinte and Associate Professor Liao Zhirong from the University of Nottingham, UK, will conduct academic exchanges and deliver special academic lectures at Harbin Institute of Technology on the morning of December 18, 2024. All faculty and students on campus are welcome to attend the lectures.

Time: 9:00 - 11:30, Wednesday, December 18, 2024

Venue: Room 318, Manufacturing Building, Main Campus, Harbin Institute of Technology

Moderator: Geng Yanquan

Lecture Information

Report 1: Workpiece Surface in Machining of Advanced Materials: From Macro to Nano Studies

Report Time: 9:00 - 10:00, December 18, 2024

Introduction to Professor Dragos Axinte:

Dragos Axinte is a Professor of Manufacturing Engineering at the University of Nottingham UK. Graduating from the University of Galati, Romania, after working in industrial research for eight years, he held two NATO Research Fellowships in Italy and Denmark and then moved to the UK to carry out research with the University of Birmingham and later with the University of Nottingham. He was appointed Lecturer in Manufacturing Engineering (2005) and successively promoted to Associate Professor (2007), Reader (2010) and Professor (2011). Since 2009 Dragos has been  Director of The Rolls-Royce UTC in Manufacturing and On-Wing Technology at the University of Nottingham. Dragos is a Fellow of CIRP and Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Machine Tools and Manufacture as well as the Journal of Materials Processing Technology. He has over 200 journal papers and over 30 granted international patents field with industry partners.

Dragos research interest is in the main following areas: Advanced Machining and Finishing Technologies, Time-Dependent Processes such as Laser Ablation, Abrasive Waterjet Machining, Monitoring of Manufacturing Processes, Design and Construction of Miniature Machine Tolls, Design of Innovative Robotics for Aerospace Manufacture and In-Situ Repairs in Hazardous Environments and Workpiece Surface Integrity Analysis.

Report 2: Applications of Lasers in Machining Processes

Report Time: 10:00 - 11:00, December 18, 2024

Introduction to Associate Professor Liao Zhirong:

Liao Zhirong obtained his Ph.D. degree from Harbin Institute of Technology in 2017. He is currently an Associate Professor and a doctoral supervisor at the University of Nottingham, UK. From 2016 to 2018, he conducted postdoctoral research at the Rolls-Royce University Technology Centre (UTC) at the University of Nottingham. In 2019, he was awarded the Nottingham Research and Anne McLaren Fellowship (part of the Nottingham 100 Scholars Programme) and the Beacon of Excellence Fellowship, becoming an independent researcher. In 2022, he was promoted to Associate Professor ahead of schedule. He serves as a Corresponding Member of the International Academy for Production Engineering (CIRP) and the Chair of the CIRP UK National Chapter, a Member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE), a Chartered Engineer, an Associate Editor of the International Journal of Machine Tools and Manufacture (IJMTM), a Senior Editor of the Journal of Materials Processing Technology (JMPT), an editorial board member for both the Chinese and English versions of the Chinese Journal of Mechanical Engineering and has repeatedly served as an academic committee member for CIRP international conferences. He has published over a hundred papers in top international mechanical engineering journals, including Nature Communications, IJMTM, Acta Materialia, Materials & Design, JMPT, and CIRP Annals, with an H-index of 30. His research interests encompass the cutting, micro-machining, laser processing, and water jet machining of aerospace and biomedical materials. As a Principal Investigator (PI), he has led projects funded by the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), Innovate UK-Eureka key projects, the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the UK Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF), and various industry-sponsored projects. He has also co-led multiple projects under the European Horizon 2020 Programme, Innovate UK key projects, and the UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). His cumulative research funding exceeds eight million pounds, and he has been recognized as a Rising Star at the University of Nottingham.

School of Mechatronics Engineering

December 14, 2024