A senior lecturer at The University of Sheffield's Department of Civil and Structural Engineering has been awarded an RAEng Industrial Fellowship by the Royal Academy of Engineering. Dr Abigail Hathway will work with Arup to explore how advances in model predicative control (MPC) can be applied to improving building performance with a focus on the control of naturally ventilated atria. By collaborating with industry, Dr Hathaway aims to identify the opportunities, and challenges, in implementing MPC more widely to support a low-carbon built environment.
Abigail creates energy efficient buildings and healthy indoor environments
Abigail completed her PhD at the University of Leeds, researching CFD modelling of bio aerosols released in hospital environments due to nursing activities.
Abigail's research aims to ensure that in the drive for energy efficient buildings we maintain healthy indoor environments for the occupants. Her focus is on building physics, with a particular interest in how the activity of people within a building and its interior spaces impact upon air flow. This focus on fluid flow in the built environment, incorporates building simulation with experimental and field work.
The role of human activity on indoor air continues to be an active research interest, and has developed to consider a variety of built environments, often through interdisciplinary collaboration. Her main interest is in the interactions of people with their building and the resulting impacts on air flow across the building envelope and between interior spaces. This includes researching the role of automated building systems to improve the comfort and quality of internal environments at low energy cost.
"The most powerful way to fight climate change is to provide students with the knowledge and skills to engineer buildings holistically and, to contribute to decisions that will have implications on the sustainability of buildings," says Abigail.
The opportunity to gain experience through collaboration
Nine mid-career researchers have been awarded RAEng Industrial Fellowships by the Royal Academy of Engineering, giving them the opportunity to gain industrial experience by working on a collaborative research project with industry.
The collaborations cover a wide range of engineering disciplines and industry partners, including the development and enhancement of miniaturised satellites, new methods to destroy global pollutants, and the use of state-of-the-art sensors to reconstruct facial expressions in virtual reality environments.
The RAEng Industrial Fellowships are intended to strengthen the links between the University of Sheffield and industry through the development of new collaborative partnerships. The awardees gain first-hand experience of working in an industrial environment, including knowledge of current industry practices, helping them to improve the industrial relevance of their research and teaching.
Each placement is for six months full time or one year part time with the scheme covering the salary costs of each awardee.
Promoting excellence in engineering
The Royal Academy of Engineering is the UK’s national academy for engineering and technology, which brings together the most successful and talented engineers from academia and business to advance and promote excellence in engineering for the benefit of society. The Academy harnesses their experience and expertise to provide independent advice to government, to deliver programmes that help exceptional engineering researchers and innovators realise their potential, to engage the public with engineering and to provide leadership for the profession. One of the Academy's strategies is to address the engineering skills and diversity challenge.
Join talented women like Abigail at the University of Sheffield
With a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion and gender equality, there are plenty of opportunities for strong candidates in a host of academic and support roles. Search and apply for exciting and challenging jobs with the University of Sheffield today.
Find out more
Disclosure: Where Women Work researches and publishes insightful evidence about how its paid member organizations support women's equality.