Dr James L Brighton
Senior Lecturer and Research Engineer
Location: Building 61, Cranfield campus
E: j.l.brighton@cranfield.ac.uk
T: +44 (0)1234 752910
Environmental Science and Technology
Current activities
- Off road tyre performance - including off road tyre testing and force modelling
- Off road vehicle performance - including vehicle performance benchmarking, objective testing and traction system development
- Agricultural mechanisation - including the design of precision drills, tillage equipment, harvesting machines and crop processing methods
- CAE methods including CAD and structural FEA
- Engineering design and management.
Clients
- Advanced Powertrains PTY
- Airbus
- BioRegional
- Goodyear
- Land Rover
- Jaguar
- Millbrook Proving Ground
- MoD (UK)
- PMC Harvesters
- QinetiQ
- Scania.
Background
Dr James Brighton studied Agricultural Engineering at Rycotewood College and followed this with a BEng from Silsoe College, during which he spent 12 months as a design engineer at Massey Ferguson. He then completed an EngD in Agricultural Mechanisation and Soil Dynamics from Cranfield University in 1997. He subsequently took up the role of lecturer at Cranfield University teaching a range of research and design related modules.
His research covers two predominant areas namely Agricultural Engineering and Mechanisation and Off Road Vehicle Dynamics. This includes the development of mechanisation systems for a wide variety of crops including Lavender, Hemp and Myrica Gale, Precision seeding and weeding systems, and off road vehicle dynamics investigating machines interaction with off road environments from aircraft to Range Rovers, tanks to pea harvesters.
In 2004 he was awarded £1.5 million to construct an Off-Road Dynamics Facility, which he project managed as well as conducting the conceptual design work. The equipment within this facility is globally unique and has attracted a further £1.5 million of investment in 2008. In 2007 the group won the Ford Motor Company European Technical Achievement Award.
He has supported OEM machinery and vehicle test teams in Australia, Arizona, California, Dubai, England, Scotland and Sweden and regularly consults on a range of TV productions including Top Gear, Fifth Gear, Scrapheap Challenge, The Garage and Smash Lab.
