Dr Iain James
Senior Lecturer
Location: Building 42a
E: i.t.james@cranfield.ac.uk
T: +44 (0)1234 750111 x2736
Natural Resources
Current activities
Dr Iain James is Head of the Centre for Sports Surface Technology at Cranfield University, which aims to advance the engineering and management of natural and synthetic sports surfaces.
His current research includes:
- Engineering sustainable sports surfaces: investigating human - sport surface interactions’ (funded by EPSRC Grant EP/C512243/1)
- ‘The optimization of cricket pitch rolling’ funded by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and EPSRC
- ‘The maintenance of synthetic turf’ funded by the Institute of Groundsmanship (IOG) and EPSRC
- 'Aeration of cricket pitches' funded by IOG and ECB
- ‘The physical and financial benefits of mole drainage as an alternative to sand slitting in slowly permeable soils’ funded by the Football Foundation
Iain is a core member of the SportSURF Network, supported by EPSRC.
Clients
- EPSRC
- England and Wales Cricket Board
- Football Foundation
- Institute of Groundsmanship
- All England Club, Wimbledon
- British Horseracing Authority and the Racecourse Association Ltd.
Background
Dr Iain James joined Cranfield University from NRM Ltd, a contract analytical company in 2002. He graduated in Earth Sciences at Oxford University and subsequently studied for an MSc and PhD in Soil Science and Agricultural Engineering at Cranfield University. Iain is a Chartered Scientist and a member of the International Sports Engineering Association, the International Turfgrass Society, and is on the Council of the Institute of Professional Soil Scientists.
Selected publications
- James, I.T. & Blackburn, D.W.K. & Godwin, R.J. (2007) "Mole drainage as an alternative to sand slitting in natural turf sports surfaces on clays", Soil Use And Management, 28-35.
- Bartlett, M.D. & James, I.T. & Harris, J.A. & Ritz, K. (2007) "Interactions between microbial community structure and the soil environment found on golf courses", Soil Biology & Biochemistry, 1533-1541.
- McLeod, A.J. & James, I.T. (2007) "An evaluation of surface performance for second generation sand-filled synthetic hockey pitches in the United Kingdom", Second International Conference on Turfgrass Management and Science for Sportsfields.
- James I T; Dixon S J, Blackburn D W K, Pettican N (2006). The Measurement of Applied Pressure at Depth with Two Natural Soil Surfaces at Different Densities. The Engineering of Sport 6 (Vol. 2). E F Moritz & S Haake (Eds.), Springer, USA. p 173-178
- Shipton, P.M.R. & James, I.T. & Vickers, A.W. (2006) "The Mechanical Behaviour of Cricket Soils During Preparation by Rolling", The Engineering of Sport 2006.
