Professor Mark Jolly

CEng, CEnv, FIMMM, FICME

Professor and Director of Manufacturing

Sustainable Manufacturing Systems Centre

Areas of expertise

Aerospace Manufacturing
Advanced Casting Science and Technologies
Computing, Simulation & Modelling
Aerospace Materials
Sustainable Manufacturing

Background

Bachelor of Metallurgy (BMet) from Sheffield University

PhD in Metallurgy at Cambridge University CASE Award with International Tin Research Institute (Rapidly Solidified Tin Alloys)

4 years at AE Developments (Tier 1, Automotive components supplier)

2 years in Battelle Research Centre, Geneva Switzerland (Squeeze Cast Fibre Reinforced Metal Matrix Composites 19 clients including, Alcan, Billiton, Isuzu, Fiat, Bohn, Comalco, Baekart, Alusuisse, Zollner and Morgan Ceramics)

2 years at Foseco International Limited, Birmingham (Manager of Light Alloys Technical Development)

5 years at Foseco (FS) Ltd., Tamworth (UK operating company, product group manager for sand products, coatings and technical software)

In 1995 he set up and managed the Casting Centre (CC) at University of Birmingham. For the first 3 years seed-corn funding from ERDF of £0.5 M was used to support local and UK companies within the foundry sector and supply chain. He developed the CC as a business and was managing 6 staff, controlled the finances, developed contracts and marketing and sales materials. The CC delivered over 120 contracts in its 10 year life. The contracts ranged from one week to two years in duration, thus suiting both SMEs and Large Size Enterprises (LSEs). During this time he was instrumental in setting up and running part of the Luxfer ATC, a collaboration of 5 universities, Birmingham, Manchester, Oxford, Southampton and Warwick to support the Luxfer group research. From 1999 Professor Jolly has managed 14 EPSRC grants (10 as the PI), including 3 (~£1.65 M pre-FEC) under the Materials Processing for Engineering Applications (MaPEA) call; all had multiple industrial partners and one was also with Swansea University. He was PI for an EU FP7 Industry Academia Pathways to Progress (IAPPS) technology transfer project of ~1.7 M with one industry partner (Deputy-Synthes J&J) entitled 'Development of Foundry Casting Methods for Cost-Effective Manufacture of Medical Implants' (MEDCAST). He has led 6 KTP projects and over 50 Industry sponsored contracts outside of the Castings Centre. As well as the KTP projects, Professor Jolly has also run and been involved in other technology/knowledge transfer projects and networks in the UK and EU including MASMEQA, SKISOFOT, VIF and 'Blast from the Past' (an EPSRC PPA project).

Current activities

Mark's main areas of current research are:

Resource efficient manufacturing

Circular economy

Process modelling

Novel casting processes

Resource efficient manufacturing targets traditional and disruptive processes and aims at reducing the materials usage and energy with the ultimate aim of lowering carbon and water footprints of final components. This has been carried out across biomedical, aerospace, automotive and food & drink sectors. Research funding comes from a range of sources including EPSRC, InnovateUK and commercial organisations.

Process modelling is primarily focused on the application of CFD techniques to simulating liquid materials processes as a support tool for designing for manufacture and materials efficiency. Research on how it can also used as a tool for identifying where surface turbulence during casting leads to reduced quality of final components is also being supported. Both Newtonian and non-Newtonian behaviours are being modelled which means that both liquid metal and polymers can be simulated.

He is Director of the recently announced UKRI Transforming the Foundation Industries Research and Innovation Hub (TransFIRe) (EP/V054627/1), co-Director of the Circular Economy Network plus in Transport Systems (CENTS) (EP/S036237/1) and co-Director of the Engineering and Physical sciences Research Council Centre for Doctoral Training in Sustainable Materials and Manufacturing (EP/L016389/1). which offers a triple degree with the Universities of Warwick and Exeter. Mark has sat on the EPSRC Peer Review College since 2003 and sits on the council of the Cast Metals Federation, is a reviewer for the European Space Agency (ESA) and Enterprise Ireland.

He was PI for the EPSRC funded 'Small is Beautiful' projects (EP/P012272/1 & EP/M013863/1) and a KTP project with Midland Lead Operations Ltd (KTP009855) aimed at improving materials' efficiency and cutting energy demand in the casting of Pb sheet and CoI for Cranfield in the EPSRC CIM in Industrial Sustainability lead by Cambridge (EP/I033351/1).

Mark is a reviewer for European Space Agency ISS programmes, Enterprise Ireland, NSERC (Canada) and is on the EU Joint Research Centre Eco Management Audit Scheme (EMAS) working group for Metal Fabrication processes.

Mark is a Chartered Engineer, a Chartered Environmentalist, a Fellow and Trustee of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3), he sits on IOM3 Executive Board and Advisory Council (AC) and is Chair of the IOM3 Materials Science and Technology Division (MSTD) Board and sits on the Light Metals, Casting and Solidification and Sustainable Development Group Boards. Mark is also a Fellow of the Institute of Cast Metals Engineers, a Member of TMS and chaired the TMS Solidification Committee from 2016-2018 and a member of the American Foundry Society. Mark has sat on the EPSRC Peer Review College since 2003.

Mark is also a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Founders

Awards

2019 ICME John Campbell Gold Medal for 'continual advancement in sustainable manufacturing and promotion of excellence in casting technologies'.

2013 Diploma (ICME) for a technical paper in the Int Foundry Trade Journal

2013 Long & notable Service Award (ICME)

2010 Josiah Mason Award for Business Advancement (University of Birmingham)

2008 Recipient of the Oliver Stubbs Medal (ICME)