New University Professorships within the Faculty

Three new University Professorships within the Faculty are further recognition of the quality of research and teaching within FCET. 

Dave Cheshire, Professor of Design Technology, joined Staffordshire University 20 years ago from an Engineering background specialising in Computer Aided Design and Manufacture (CADCAM). This proved to be a solid foundation for his research, particularly with the ceramic industry who took a very traditional approach to product development – preferring the pen to the mouse. This meant they were missing out on many of the speed and quality advantages that such techniques bring. Today the use of CADCAM and associated technologies such as Rapid Prototyping are common place and design is given a much higher priority within the industry.
This work has expanded into other diverse uses for ceramic based materials including the machining of hydroxyapatite (a medical ceramic used to encourage bone regrowth) and natural materials such as marble for historic artifact reconstruction. He has published 4 books, 10 journal papers and over 50 conference proceedings on this work and held grants totaling over £1m.

Professor of Physical Electronics Torfeh Sadat-Shafai's research is predominately in the fields of Electronic Material and Thin films Technology and with Optoelectronics, and Photonics.  He has conducted various research projects concerning characterization of phthalocyanine, metal free phthalocyanine, conjugated polymers and methods of device fabrications since 1987. Currently we are one of the leading UK Universities with an impressive research track records in this field.

Technological advances in electronics and related industry is as much dependent on the progress in material characterizations as fabrications of new devices.  Understanding electronic material, physical and chemical properties is fundamental in progress of most engineering disciplines. For many years inorganic materials such as Silicon, Germanium and Gallium arsenide have dominated research but now organic based molecules are being considered for their novel properties.

The optical properties of many semiconductors such as Gallium arsenide have led to the development of the new electronic discipline - optoelectronics. This field has produced lasers, flat panel displays, thin film transistors, optical detectors etc. Torfeh has researched in this field since 1981 starting with a project concerning Semiconductor Laser Degradation. Over the last decade, optoelectronic devices have started to make an impact on the information processing scene. Photonic crystals are currently employed in optical filters as well as being investigated for their potential applications in optical switches, and micro cavities for lasers. Currently Torfey is investigating a novel approach to the fabrication of these devices using Radio frequency sputtering as well as transmission measurements using 2d photonic crystals.

Lorna Uden is both Professor of Information Technology here and a recent Adjunct Professor at the University of Vaasa, Finland in the Technology Management department. Lorna Uden's professorship will focus on curricula development, the growth of generic and livelong learning skills, income generation, widening participation and the flexible delivery of courses whilst she heads a new Service Science research group and conducts further research into employability and entrepreneurship

Lorna has been collaborating with colleagues in the Computer and Technology Management departments at the University of Vaasa, Finland for over five years working closely with Professors Marja Naaranoja, Kimmo Salmenjoki , Tauno Kekäle, and Petri Helo in Vaasa and has published many joint papers with each of them. The work involves mobile designing, knowledge management, semantic web, ontology, e-learning and innovation and as a visiting professor there Lorna has been helping with research supervision and working on projects for some time.