Professor Jon Willmott
PhD, MPhys
School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Professor of Metrology
+44 114 222 5436
Full contact details
School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering
- Profile
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My Sensor Systems Research Group is part of the University’s Advanced Detector Centre. Within the ADC we are able to grow novel semiconductor detectors and use them as the sensing element for novel thermal imaging and other optoelectronic devices.
I received my masters and PhD degrees in physics from the University of Southampton in 1999 and 2003 respectively.
After two years as a Post-Doctoral Research Associate in Liquid Crystal research at the University of Cambridge I moved to the company Land Instruments International (now part of AMETEK Inc.)
In industry, I designed thermal imaging cameras, radiation thermometers and other ‘non-contact’ scientific instruments. In addition to optical, mechanical and electronic design skills, I also developed a fundamental understanding of temperature measurement science (metrology).
Following more than a decade in industry, I moved to the University of Sheffield in 2015 with an EPSRC Established Career Fellowship. My group’s aim is to push forward temperature measurement science and imaging, particularly within manufacturing.
However, we are interested in all areas of scientific instrumentation and optical imaging. Our research philosophy is that if we can design and build novel instruments then we can enable new scientific measurements to be made that have not been possible before.
In this way, we have undertaken new research in fields as diverse as medical imaging, volcanology and additive manufacturing.
- Research interests
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Optoelectronic and Optomechanical Instrumentation Including:
- Thermal Imaging Metrology
- Temperature Science
- Emissivity and Optical Properties of Materials
- Applications of Thermometry to Manufacturing
- Aerosol Printed Electronics
- Liquid Crystals
- Publications
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Journal articles
- Innovative P(3HB)/carbon-based material composites for bone tissue regeneration: Biocompatibility, thermo-mechanical, and structural insights. Materials Today Advances, 29.
- Towards automated chemical analysis of materials using secondary electron hyperspectral imaging and unsupervised learning. IEEE Access, 13, 173976-174000. View this article in WRRO
- InAsSb photodiode-based infrared radiation thermometer for the investigation of droplet surface temperature dynamics within an enclosed combustion chamber. Sensors, 25(18). View this article in WRRO
- Additive Manufacturing on Kapton Substrate for Rapid Prototyping of Low-Cost mmWave Antennas. IEEE Open Journal of Antennas and Propagation, 1-1.
- A Novel method for spectral and spatial Characterisation of flames using a Custom-Developed hyperspectral imaging system. Fuel, 393, 135057-135057.
- Multi-Feature Engineering and Machine Learning for Equivalence Ratio Prediction in Methane Premixed Flames. Engineering Letters, 33(6), 2089-2099.
- Experimental investigation of kerosene single droplet ignition and combustion under simulated high-altitude pressure and temperature conditions. Fuel, 401. View this article in WRRO
- Factor Screening for Equivalence Ratio Measurement Modeling: A Hybrid Approach Integrating Random Forest Algorithm and Support Vector Regression. IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement, 74, 1-11.
- Capturing microalgae within aerosols provides carbon capture bio-functionality. Journal of CO2 Utilization, 92. View this article in WRRO
- Development of Equivalence Ratio Measurement Model of Premixed Methane Flames Using Hyperspectral Imaging of C
2
* and CH* Chemiluminescence and Random Forest Algorithm. Combustion Science and Technology, 197(9), 2223-2245.
- Advanced visualisation of biomass charcoal combustion dynamics using MWIR hyperspectral and LWIR thermal imaging under varied airflow conditions. Fuel, 378, 132901-132901.
- Si APD-based high speed infrared radiation thermometry for analysing the temperature instability of a combustion chamber. Sensors, 24(23). View this article in WRRO
- Smartphone-based hyperspectral imaging for ice sheet and proglacial applications in South-West Greenland. Science of The Total Environment, 951. View this article in WRRO
- Experimental studies of confined detonations of plasticized high explosives in inert and reactive atmospheres. Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, 480(2294). View this article in WRRO
- Characterisation of wood combustion and emission under varying moisture contents using multiple imaging techniques. Fuel, 373, 132397-132397.
- Revealing the morphology of ink and aerosol jet printed palladium-silver alloys fabricated from metal organic decomposition inks. Advanced Science, 11(10). View this article in WRRO
- Experimental investigation on the effects of a mesh in the downstream region of a combustion-driven Rijke tube on self-excited thermoacoustic oscillations. Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science, 150. View this article in WRRO
- InAsSb photodiode fibre optic thermometry for high-speed, near-ambient temperature measurements. Sensors, 23(23). View this article in WRRO
- Investigating the fire-retardant efficiency of intumescent coatings on inclined timber: a study on application strategies and heat transfer mechanisms. Construction and Building Materials, 407. View this article in WRRO
- Combustion inhibition of biomass charcoal using slaked lime and dolime slurries. Fire Safety Journal, 140. View this article in WRRO
- Continuous measurement of ferrous sinter size distributions using an optical sensor system. Ironmaking & Steelmaking, 50(8), 1104-1111. View this article in WRRO
- Experimental and Simulated Study of the Relationship Between Color Camera Imaging and Color-Modeled Equivalence Ratio Measurement. IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement, 72, 1-11.
- A Non-Contact Phosphor Thermometry Technique for Determining the Optical Absorptivity of Materials. Materials, 18(20), 4806-4806.
- Additive Manufacturing on Kapton substrate for rapid prototyping of low-cost mmWave antennas. IEEE Open Journal of Antennas and Propagation.
- Genetic Algorithm-Optimized Background Elimination for Equivalence Ratio Measurement in Hydrocarbon Flames: Validation with Methane-Air Combustion. Combustion Science and Technology, 1-20.
- Machine Learning-Based Spectral Reconstruction for Equivalence Ratio Measurement in Premixed Air-Methane Flames Using RGB Imaging. Combustion Science and Technology, 1-19.
Conference proceedings
- A Spray-on Reconfigurable Reflectarray Element Using Polymer Dispersed Liquid Crystal. 2025 19th European Conference on Antennas and Propagation (EuCAP) (pp 1-5), 30 March 2025 - 4 April 2025.
- Aerosol jet printing on Kapton for affordable millimeter wave antenna prototyping. 2024 IEEE Microwaves, Antennas, and Propagation Conference (MAPCON). Hyderabad, India, 9 December 2024 - 9 December 2024. View this article in WRRO
- Experimental and numerical studies of confined blast from detonation of plasticised high explosives in reactive and non-reactive atmospheres. Proceedings of The 19th International Symposium on Interaction of the Effects of Munitions with Structures (ISIEMS). Bonn, Germany, 9 December 2024 - 9 December 2024. View this article in WRRO
- Cutting-edge infrared thermometry: InAsSb photodiode fiber optic sensors for high-speed, near-ambient temperature monitoring. Infrared Sensors, Devices, and Applications XIV (pp 37-37), 18 August 2024 - 23 August 2024.
- Aerosol jet printed ionic liquid-doped polymer dispersed liquid crystal devices in optical systems. Liquid Crystals XXVIII (pp 57-57), 18 August 2024 - 23 August 2024.
- 3D-Printed Antenna Arrays and Interconnects for Millimeter-Wave Applications. REACT 2025 (pp 8-8)
Preprints
- Exploring the impact of thermal and surface characteristics of burning wood on water droplet evaporation, Springer Science and Business Media LLC.
- Innovative P(3HB)/carbon-based material composites for bone tissue regeneration: Biocompatibility, thermo-mechanical, and structural insights. Materials Today Advances, 29.
- Professional activities and memberships
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- EEE PGR Admissions Tutor
- Royal Society Industry Fellow