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Background:
Valerie Pinfieldis an engineer with a mathematical physics background, and has developed a broad spectrum of research interests. She is committed to the development of future professionals in engineering and beyond, through teaching, research and wider academic activities.
Valerie joined Loughborough University as a Lecturer in 2012 having undertaken postdoctoral research at the Universities of Leeds and Nottingham and was awarded a personal chair in 2023. Prior to becoming an academic, she worked in industry, at the Welding Institute (now TWI, Cambridge), and at Cadbury Ltd (Bournville). She served as Head of the Department of Chemical Engineering 2017-20 and is now Director of Student Experience for the School.
Valerie’s longstanding research interests are in physical acoustics, relating to the propagation of waves through inhomogeneous materials, exploring applications in material characterisation and in metamaterial design. She is also working in machine learning and digitalisation for material design and process optimisation, focussing on electrochemical technologies.
Qualifications:
- MA Natural Sciences, University of Cambridge
- PhD Food Science, University of Leeds
Key awards:
- Fellow of the Institute of Physics
- Chartered Physicist
- Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
- Member of the Acoustical Society of America
Outline of main research interests:
- multiple wave scattering in soft complex materials
- ultrasonic characterisation of materials
- design of metamaterials
- machine learning for design of materials for energy and electrochemical systems
- digitalisation for process optimisation
- interfacial science and nano/microbubble applications
- acoustofluidics
PhD positions
PhD applicants are welcomed in any of the above research areas or in related fields. Please contact me by email to discuss opportunities and research interests.
Teaching responsibilities
I teach a number of core engineering modules including fluid mechanics and thermodynamics, and a masters-level computational modelling module, as well as supervise group projects on process design and research projects at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
Administrative responsibilities:
- Director of Student Experience, School of AACME
Publications are available through Orcid, Google Scholar or Web of Science and most are openly available through the Figshare system, please use the links on my profile information at the top of the page.
External Collaborators
In 2023, Prof Pinfield was co-organiser of a six-month programme on the Mathematical Theory and Applications of Multiple Wave Scattering at the Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences, Cambridge, and was awarded a Simons Fellowship.