FEATURED AUTHOR

Richard Leach

Professor of Metrology
University of Nottingham

I am an internationally established metrologist who has researched, designed and developed state-of-art hardware and software measurement systems significantly advancing capability, accuracy and quality control in advanced manufacturing. I promote several international organisations' work in advanced manufacturing through conferences, collaborative R&D and increasing UK influence. I lead the Manufacturing Metrology Team at Nottingham and have published widely including high-quality text books.

Subjects: Computer Science & Engineering, Engineering - Mechanical, Nanoscience & Technology, Physics

Biography

I am currently a professor in metrology at the University of Nottingham and prior to this spent 25 years at the National Physical Laboratory. I obtained a BSc in Applied Physics from Kingston University in 1989, an MSc in Industrial Measurement Systems from Brunel University in 1994, a PhD in Surface Metrology from University of Warwick in 2000 and a DSc from Warwick in 2014. I am on the Council of the European Society of Precision Engineering and Nanotechnology, the Board of Directors of the American Society of Precision Engineering (2014-2016), the EPSRC Peer Review College, the International Committee on Measurements and Instrumentation and several international standards committees. I am the European Editor-in-Chief for Precision Engineering and the founder of the new Institute of Physics journal: Surface Topography: Metrology & Properties. I have over 390 publications including five textbooks. I am a Fellow of the Institute of Physics, the Institution of Engineering & Technology, the Institute of Measurement & Control, the International Society of Nanomanufacturing, a Sustained Member of the American Society of Precision Engineering, a Chartered Engineer and a Chartered Physicist. I am a visiting professor at Loughborough University and the Harbin Institute of Technology.

Education

Areas of Research / Professional Expertise

My research is dominated by what I call "information-rich metrology": the enhancement of manufacturing metrology through the use of a priori information, often utilising concepts from artificial intelligence. My current interests are the dimensional measurement of precision and additive manufactured structures. Additive manufacturing (3D printing) allows for almost infinite design freedom; a revolution in the way things are made, but a serious headache for those that have the measure the shape of the parts. Drawing on concepts such as machine learning and sensor fusion, my research is changing the approach to quality control in manufacturing. I am recognised worldwide by my research into surface topography measurement, and my research has made a major contribution to the use of surface engineering and control in a wide range of industrial applications including advanced manufacturing, tribology, aerodynamics and even archeology. Complementing these advances in science, I have been prominent in precision engineering, with major industry collaborations involving advanced product manufacture and the recent production of an undergraduate textbook.

Personal Interests

Health & Fitness (I published a diet book), gardening and learning Farsi (Persian).

Websites

Books

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