Research Chair in Advanced Forming and Forging

The University of Strathclyde has established the Advanced Forming Research Centre (AFRC) to support world leading research in the cognate area of forming and forging. The Centre will work with leading edge industrial companies to support fundamental and applied research, effectively providing a capability pipeline which develops low maturity research concepts and technologies through to a level where they can be readily deployed in industry. The AFRC will address key manufacturing process challenges in the forming and forging field. These challenges include:- Materials utilisation for economic and environmental benefit- New materials with improved metallurgical properties- New product designs demanding ever more accurate and repeatable formed components- Mass customisation requiring adaptable and flexible processesResearch will be undertaken in a new purpose built facility (2500sqm) currently being contructed near Glasgow airport that will house state of the art equipment and dedicated support staff. The facility will accommodate up to 50 staff members. The Centre intends to be a cross sectoral collaborative partnership involving leading industrial companies and government research and knowledge exchange support agencies. To date four companies, Rolls-Royce, Boeing, Mettis Aerospace and Timet have concluded contracts as Tier 1 partners and will provide financial support for the core research programme over the next 5 years (value 4m). Additionally seven companies have committed to Tier 2 partnership committing support to the AFRC in cash and in kind. It is the intention to grow the partnership to at least 8 Tier 1 partners within 5 years. AFRC will commence full research operations on 1 August 2009 and will move to the new facility in May 2010. Financial support for the building and initial equipment procurement is being provided by Scottish Enterpise.This application is for a STAR Professorship appointment to lead the research activities of the Centre. The appointee will be a researcher of world leading research standing in the forming and forging field - essential to ensure that the AFRC rapidly establishes itself as a global centre of excellence in forming and forging research. As research director of the AFRC the appointee will be responsible for leading the core research programme (funded by industrial partners), securing a portfolio of funded research projects and building the global research reputation of the Centre. Rolls-Royce, as the initial founding partner of the AFRC will provide specific support for this position.

The key beneficiaries of the of the research are as follows; 1. AFRC partners who consist of a) companies who use forging and forming in their supply chain b) forming and forging companies and c) companies who provide inputs into the forming and forging process eg materials suppliers. The core research programme will be developed with input from partner companies and as such the research outputs will be of direct relevance to partners' commercial interests. This will be predominantly achieved through enhancing existing processes and introducing new processses and materials. Ultimately this will contribute to ensuring that the manufacturing capability in UK stays ahead of key global competitors with consequential impact on business growth. The AFRC will develop fundamental research outputs, utilising members' contributions, to a level where they can be utilised within production capability. Partners will access fundamental and applied research outputs through access to the AFRC knowledge base, direct interaction with AFRC staff and seminars/short courses. All partners sign a collaboration agreement which defines how background and foreground IPR will be managed and exploited. Foreground IP developed through the core research programme is accessible by all partners. Current partners include Rolls-Royce, The Boeing Company, Mettis Aerospace, Timet, GKN, Renishaw, Microsoft, Bodycote, EKES, Mitutoyo, Fanuc Automation. Partners input to the research agenda setting process via the AFRC Technical Board which is chaired the the Research Director (Research chair) 2. The forming and forging industry in the UK and overseas This will be achieved predominantly through access to knowledge and expertise within the AFRC. The AFRC is open to partnership from all companies with interests in forming and forging. The collaboration agreement defines the contribution expected from partners/members as well as the expected benefits (refer to section above). Companies who do not wish to 'sign up' to partnership will be able to access AFRC outputs through the planned annual research conference, short course series and masters programmes. The AFRC will also actively utilise the KTP programmes as a knowledge exchange mechanism. 3. The AFRC research team, University and network of research partners in other UK and overseas institutions. Staff within the AFRC will work closely with industry partners as a part of the AFRC research programme. As such they will have a good understanding of both academic and industrial working practices as well as key expertise within a forming and forging related field - allowing for future career development in either industry or academia. The collaborative nature of the AFRC will involve joint projects with other manufacturing research centres and as a consequence help develop in a coordinated manner UK manufacturing research capability. The AFRC will actively seek to attract promising graduates into manufacturing research through PhD study, thereby providing UK industyr and academia with a supply of highly capable researchers. The University and other research partners will benefit from the Centre's research outputs and knowledge exchange activities in the normal manner. 4. The Scottish and UK economy The AFRC aims to become a global centre of excellence in forming and forging research. As a consequence this will attract interest in 'local' investment from global players - this investment could take the form of investment in the AFRC, the University, partner companies or direct investment in new capability. The AFRC also aims to bring an understanding of the challenges and capabilities of forming to the wider community (secondary/tertiary education, industry, general pullic) through roadshows, workshops and seminars.