Leonardo Centre People

The Leonardo Centre Core Academic Team

Prof Rob Dwyer-Joyce

Rob is a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. He has a first degree in Mechanical Engineering from Imperial College and a PhD in Tribology. After graduating he worked for British Gas in the Petroleum Production Division and offshore on the Rough gas field. Rob is Founder and Director of the Leonardo Centre and specialises in industrial wear and lubrication problems, and the development of sensors for tribology. He has published over 150 papers in high quality journals and many conference submission. He is a fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, holds and EPSRC Advanced Career fellowship, and is Director of the CDT In Integrated Tribology.

Professor Roger Lewis

Professor Roger Lewis joined the Department of Mechanical Engineering in 2002. He graduated from The University of Sheffield in 1996 with an MEng in Mechanical Engineering and continued to work at Sheffield towards a PhD in the Tribology Research Group. In 2001 he was awarded the Tribology Trust Bronze Medal, in 2003 the Brian Mercer Award for Innovation from the Royal Society, the Institute of Physics Innovation in Tribology Prize in 2008, and the Donald Julius Groen Prize in Tribology in 2020. In 2019 Roger was made a Royal Academy of Engineering Research Chair co-funded by the Rail Safety and Standards Board. Roger specialises in human interactions in tribology and tribology of the wheel rail interface. He is author of the essential guide to wheel/rail contacts issues, 'The Wheel/Rail Interface Handbook' which is published by Woodhead.

Dr Kate Tomlinson

Dr Kate Tomlinson is a Lecturer in Tribology in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. She is a member of the Leonardo Centre for Tribology and the Rail Innovation and Technology Centre at the University of Sheffield. Kate became a lecturer in the department in 2023, prior to that she was a Senior Lecturer in Railway Engineering Management at Sheffield Hallam University. She graduated from the University of Derby with a BSc in Mathematics (1st class) in 2017, before moving to the University of Sheffield to obtain her PhD in Mechanical Engineering. Kate’s PhD was sponsored by Network Rail and concerned the life extension of railway track components through additive manufacturing. She has since worked as a Research Associate in broader areas of Tribology, focusing on friction and biotribology.

Full size railway wheel on rail test rig

Prof Matt Marshall

Matthew Marshall is a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. He has a first class degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Sheffield and a PhD in Tribology. Upon completion of his PhD, Matthew worked for the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC), undertaking research work on behalf of Rolls-Royce investigating the manufacture of aero-engine casings in heat resistant super-alloys. He joined the department in December 2008, and specialises in manufacturing and aerospace tribology.

Professor Hui Long

Hui Long is Professor of Mechanics of Materials in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. She joined the Department as Reader in 2012. Prior to this, she worked as a Senior Lecturer and Lecturer in the School of Engineering, Durham University from 2003 to 2012. Professor Hui Long received her BEng, MSc and PhD degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Chongqing University in China. She then worked as a Lecturer and an Associate Professor in the State Key Laboratory of Mechanical Transmissions in the same University for nine years. From 1996 to 2003, she worked as a research associate and research fellow in the University of Strathclyde, Swansea University and Brunel University London. Hui specialises in transmissions, wind energy, and machine element tribology

Professor Matt Carré

Matt is an alumnus of the department, having completed a Masters degree here in 1996 and a PhD in 2000. He became a lecturer in the Department in 2001 and was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2009, before becoming a Reader in 2014 and then being awarded a personal chair in 2020. Matt is a Chartered Engineer, a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, an Elected Fellow of the International Sports Engineering Association and has previously acted as editor of the international journal, Sports Engineering. Matt leads the Human Interactions Group and specialises in bio-tribology.

Research Assistants and PhD Students

At the heart of the Leonardo team are the Research Assistants and PhD students. We have a team of 15 RA's and over 50 PhD students working across all aspects of the Centre.