The Tribology Group - How we are governed

Sr Director - GE Aerospace

An aerospace professional for 35 years, Honor is renowned for her expertise in Tribo-sensing, Machinery Health Monitoring and Asset Management. She currently leads GE Aerospace’s UK Data Science Group, delivering innovative AI/ML based solutions for managing Aviation assets. Honor is also Visiting Professor in Data and Analytics, Asset Condition Monitoring and Management at the national Centre for Advanced Tribology at Southampton (nCATS), University of Southampton. 

In 2023, Honor was awarded the BINDT COMADIT Prize for significant contributions to condition monitoring and diagnostic technology. She is also included in the Engineering Icons Tube Map, a collaboration between Transport for London (TfL) and the Royal Academy of Engineering, celebrating the achievements of engineers past and present.

Senior Lecturer in Tribology, Loughborough University

Dr Kate Tomlinson is a Senior Lecturer in Tribology at the Wolfson School of Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering, Loughborough University. She holds a first class BSc in Mathematics from the University of Derby and a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Sheffield, where her Network Rail sponsored research focused on extending the life of railway track components using additive manufacturing.

Kate’s research addresses wear mechanisms and their environmental impact, spanning fundamental tribology through to applied engineering solutions. Her work includes the development of laser clad coatings for rail infrastructure repair, rolling contact fatigue and white etching layers, and wear related particulate emissions, with an emphasis on translation from laboratory research to real world application. Her overarching aim is to extend asset life, reduce emissions and maintenance costs, and support more sustainable engineering systems.

University of Central Lancashire

University of Leeds

Ardian Morina is a Professor of Engineering Tribology at the University of Leeds. His research is focused on developing experimental and numerical tools for elucidating the chemical and physical processes at tribological interfaces and their effect on friction and wear performance of industrial engineering systems. He is the author of >150 papers and has been PI/Co-I on around £15M of research grants supported by EPSRC, EU and industry. From July 2016 until April 2020, Professor Morina was Director of Research and Innovation for the School of Mechanical Engineering, and since 1st of April 2020 holds the role of Deputy Pro-Dean for International of the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences at the University of Leeds. He was the School of Mechanical Engineering lead for REF2021. Prof Morina is the programme leader of the first international joint master programme at the University of Leeds, Joint European Master on Tribology of Surfaces and Interfaces (https://www.master-tribos.eu/) and is actively involved in teaching undergraduate (Solid Mechanics module, individual and group project supervision) and postgraduate (Lubricants and Lubrication module, master project supervision) students. Prof Morina is Associate Editor of Tribology Online, published by the Japanese Society of Tribologists, and Guest Editor of the 2023 Leeds-Lyon Symposium on Tribology special issues in Tribology International and Journal of Engineering Tribology, and is on the Editorial Board of Lubrication Science and Tribology – Materials, Surfaces and Interfaces journals. He is the past chair of the IMechE Tribology Group Committee, in which he has been a member since 2011.

Imperial College London

University of Southampton

Ben is a Senior Research Analyst at the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB). Tribology is of key relevance to Ben’s role at the RSSB, this includes management of the Adhesion Research Group, a cross-industry group that promotes the understanding of wheel/rail adhesion; and helping support and deliver projects relating to wheel/rail adhesion.

Materials Science and Engineering Europe, Tribology & Turbocharger Leader
Cummins Components and Software

Dr Sarah Crossland is a Lecturer in Medical Engineering at the University of Hull. Her research spans interest in the field of biotribology, particularly with a focus on interactions of the skin. Previously she held a postdoctoral position in Diabetic Foot Biomechanics at Manchester Metropolitan University and has clinical experience in Prosthetics and Orthotics, which feeds directly into her research. She undertook her PhD at the University of Leeds investigating the tribology of the diabetic foot to work towards understand ulcer formation and continues her research in this field.

Mostafa is a research fellow at the University of Southampton with an interest tribology. His primary research involves material analysis of microstructural alterations prompted by tribological conditions in steel bearings such as white etching cracks due to rolling contact fatigue. This research contributes to the enhanced understanding the material integrity of bearings across diverse operational scenarios.

Mostafa obtained his MSc in Sustainable Energy Technologies in 2017 and completed his PhD in 2022, both at the University of Southampton. His PhD, conducted in collaboration with Schaeffler Technologies, focused on elucidating the formation mechanism of dark etching regions and white etching bands in bearing steel due to rolling contact fatigue through multiscale analysis ranging from atomic to micro-scale.  Mostafa has been involved in other projects, one of which involves the analysis of bearing and seal performance within a propellant pump designed for cryogenic applications using liquid oxygen for lubrication. A thorough examination and modelling of pertinent factors such as heat generation and wear characteristics of different materials was utilized to optimize both design considerations and operational parameters to enhance the overall performance of the system.

Throughout his research career, Mostafa has received multiple prestigious awards including the IMechE Mission of Tribology (2019), STLE best young presenter award (2021), IMechE Tribology Bronze medal (2022), IOP Innovation in Tribology (2022), Schaeffler FAG Innovation Award (2022) and Doctoral College Research Award (2023).

Mostafa is an active member in the IMechE tribology group and devoted to promoting tribology to industry and academia to benefit the wider engineering community.

Ben is a food scientist specialising in food colloids and the sensory behaviour of foods during oral processing. His work integrates culinary expertise with advanced materials science and sensory innovation, with a particular focus on improving the mouthfeel and acceptability of sustainable plant‑protein foods. Trained through a BSc and PhD in Food Science at the University of Leeds, Ben has developed an interdisciplinary skill set spanning in‑vitro mouthfeel analysis (oral tribology), sensory science, and the mechanistic understanding of alternative protein ingredients.

Ben is currently a researcher at the National Alternative Protein Innovation Centre (NAPIC), where he collaborates with industry partners to develop novel processing technologies and strategies for integrating alternative proteins into foods without compromising taste, texture, or nutrition. His research focuses on how proteins interact with oral surfaces across multiple length scales, using advanced tools such as QCM D, AFM imaging, soft matter tribology, rheology, and 3D printed biomimetic tongues. He complements these methods with sensory panels, neural imaging, and emerging predictive sensory models.

Ben’s applied research has contributed to product development in industry and co-invented a patent leading to lubrication-driven fat replacement technologies in MicroLub Ltd, a University of Leeds spin out. He is also an active science communicator, delivering school workshops, multiple public talks and art science activities to promote understanding of his research across the UK.

Ben is a committee member and former Chair (2025–26) of the Society of Tribology and Lubrication Engineers (STLE) UK Student Chapter, an organisation that supports early career researchers in tribology and promotes their academic, professional, and career development.

Professor of Materials Engineering and Tribology, University of Glasgow

Daniel is Professor of Materials Engineering and Tribology at the University of Glasgow James Watt School of Engineering. Following undergraduate studies in mechanical engineering, he completed a doctorate in Engineering Science at the University of Oxford in 2012. He subsequently undertook postdoctoral periods at the University of Limerick, EPFL Switzerland and the University of Cambridge prior to joining Glasgow in 2016. His interests are mainly focused on tribology and materials engineering as well as materials and tribology for energy applications. His work in tribology has included contributions on friction, wear, surface topography, triboelectrification and adhesion. Daniel is a former Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) Tribology Trust Bronze Medalist (2013). He is a ‘novel materials editor’ for Chemical Engineering Journal (Elsevier) and also editor for Results in Engineering (Elsevier). He has been a chartered member of the institution since 2017.

Lloyds Register 

Associate Director, bp-ICAM

Mandar Thakare is the Associate Director of ICAM. He joined bp in Sep 2019, as the Materials Science Programme Manager, and in Nov 2021 was appointed as the Associate Director. He is responsible for ensuring that the bp-ICAM continues to deliver business value and maintains alignment with bp’s strategy for net zero transition.  He has over fifteen years’ experience in materials engineering, innovation strategy, and new product development. Prior to joining bp, he worked as an Innovation Programme Lead at Element Six Ltd., where he supported a multi-site global team of scientists in developing and commercialising novel polycrystalline diamond products for oil and gas applications.

University of Cambridge