Professor Gareth Appleby-Thomas

Areas of expertise

• Armour systems
• Defence manufacturing
• Test and Evaluation
• Vehicle Engineering & Mobility
• Weapons Engineering

Background

• 1999 – 2003: MSci in Physics and Astronomy, Durham University
• 2003 – 2007: D.Phil in Materials Science, Department of Materials, University of Oxford. Thesis title: Advanced Materials for Plasma Facing Components in Fusion Devices. Graduated 7th of November 2009. Thesis available at: https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:f8ba1ae1-f303-4c32-877e-dca421a3cb5c
• 2007 – 2012: Research Fellow, Dynamic Response Group, Cranfield University
• 2012 – 2015: Lecturer and Head of the Dynamic Response Group
• 2015 - 2017: Senior Lecturer and Head of the Dynamic Response Group
• 2017 - 2018: Senior Lecturer and Head of Survivability and Advanced Materials (CDE)
• 2018 - 2019: Reader and Head of Survivability and Advanced Materials (CDE)
• 2019 - 2021: Reader and Head of the Centre for Defence Engineering (CDE)
• 2021 - present: Professor of High Strain-Rate Material Response for Defence Applications and Head of the Centre for Defence Engineering (CDE)

Research opportunities

Current activities

As Head of the Centre for Defence Engineering, I am responsible for the growth and development of the Centre, with the overarching aim of creating world-leading academic knowledge within the multiple disciplines that make up defence engineering and technology.

My research in understanding the dynamic behaviour of materials provides a unique underpinning for this role and is particularly helpful when designing structures that are subjected to ballistic impact or shock-wave loading. 

This element of my work is based around the fields of Survivability, Lethality and Materials - bridging across several of the groups within the Centre and more widely.  A particular focus of my own research is an interest in the dynamic behaviour of materials used in armour systems, vehicular and aerospace structures, and munitions.  

Further, I have a background in the shock behaviour of biological structures which has led to a substantial body of research including two PhDs, an MSc by Research and several publications to-date.

These interests, collectively encompassing material behaviour under extreme conditions, has led to an emerging focus on material behaviour under hypervelocity impact (2-8 km/s) - and has led to the opportunity to co-found a 'Consortium for Organotypic Research on Ageing and Microgravity' (https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/activity/chemical-engineering/healthcare/consortium-organotypic-research-ageing-microgravity.aspx) alongside Dr Alexandra Iordachescu from Birmingham.

I'm currently involved with the ShockWaves and Extreme Conditions (SWEC) group of the IoP (a founding member of the Committee, I served as Chair from 2018-2022) and am directly involved in the promotion of physics and engineering to the wider community: https://www.iop.org/physics-community/special-interest-groups/shock-waves-extreme-conditions-group#gref 

As part of the above, I have successfully stood up a series of SWEC research talks / seminars.  Details are available at the following link (all are welcome to attend): https://www.iopconferences.org/iop/frontend/reg/tOtherPage.csp?pageID=1044688&eventID=1689&traceRedir=2 

Recordings of the some of the recent talks include

• 4th webinar - 'Modelling the bone response to extreme environments using organotypic cultures', Alexandra Iordachescu: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89QVmPvgTGo
• 5th webinar - 'Tissue analogue selection for ballistic applications', Gareth Appleby-Thomas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mr5m8iYUy0g 

Publications

• Articles in journals
• Conference papers