Dr Paul Cunningham

MEng, PhD, FHEA

  • Senior University Teacher
  • Automotive Engineering MSc Programme Director

Background

Paul started his career in the aerospace sector as an Airframe / Engine Craftsman, at the Royal Aircraft Establishment (Bedford) from 1987 – 1992 and then studied an M.Eng in Aerospace Systems Engineering, at the University of Southampton, graduating in 1996. He then continued at Southampton as a Research Assistant and gained his PhD “Dynamic response of doubly curved composite sandwich structures to high-intensity acoustic excitation” in 2001. Paul continued as a Postdoctoral researcher working on Infra-red techniques to detect and characterise damage in composite structures and in 2002 became part of the Academic staff in the School of Engineering Sciences, University of Southampton. In 2004 Paul joined Smiths Aerospace (Hamble), as a Principle Stress Engineer, returning to academia in 2007, by joining Loughborough University, Department of Aeronautical and Automotive Engineering, as Lecturer and subsequently Senior Lecturer in Advanced Aerospace Materials and Structures.

Qualifications

  • MEng - Aerospace Systems Engineering, University of Southampton, 1992 – 1996
  • PhD - Dynamic response of doubly curved composite sandwich structures to high-intensity acoustic excitation, University of Southampton, 2001

Key awards and accomplishments

  • William Sweet Smith Prize. Awarded by the Aerospace Industries Division of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, 2002.
  • Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA)