Dr Geoffrey Neale (he/him)
School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering
Royal Academy of Engineering Research Fellow and Lecturer in Aerospace Engineering
Full contact details
School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering
E107 Sir Frederick Mappin Building
Sir Frederick Mappin Building
Mappin Street
Sheffield
S1 3JD
- Profile
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Originally from Trinidad and Tobago, my journey in aerospace engineering began at the University of Bristol, where I graduated with an MEng in Aerospace Engineering. Driven by a fascination with advanced structural materials, I moved to Northern Ireland to pursue a PhD in Advanced Composite Materials at Ulster University. My doctoral research was embedded in the EU Horizon 2020 Marie Sklodowska-Curie ITN ICONIC network, giving me an early opportunity to collaborate with international partners while developing crashworthy, functionally graded 3D woven composites.
Following my PhD, I stepped into a multidisciplinary Postdoctoral Research Fellow role at Ulster University and then at Cranfield University's Centre for Materials. At Cranfield, my research expanded into smart manufacturing architectures, notably contributing to several EU and UK funded research programmes including SEER, PLEIADES and FIBSTAR, all with a common thread of multifunctional composite structures for aerospace applications.
Throughout my career, I have studied and worked across the UK (spanning England and Northern Ireland), while managing strong research ties with academic and industrial consortia across Europe. I have now brought this expertise to the University of Sheffield, where I serve as a Royal Academy of Engineering Research Fellow and Lecturer in Aerospace Engineering, anchoring my research around next-generation multifunctional and high-temperature composite structures.
- Research interests
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Through-thickness reinforcement, Multifunctional Composites, Ceramic Matrix Composites
My research is about rethinking what composite materials can do. Instead of just making components that are strong and lightweight, we engineer them from the inside out so they can also manage extreme heat, conduct electricity, and actively monitor their own structural health.
Multifunctional & Hybrid Composites: Designing structural materials that perform non-structural tasks, specifically achieving multi-physical properties (such as z-direction electrical and thermal conductivity) through innovative material hybridization.
Through-Thickness Reinforcement: Enhancing out-of-plane mechanical properties and structural integrity using 3D weaving architectures, macroscale metallic pinning, and novel z-direction manufacturing methodologies.
Ceramic Matrix Composites (CMCs): Developing next-generation, high-temperature structural materials and low-cost carbon/carbon processing methods tailored for extreme aerospace environments.
- Publications
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Journal articles
- Thermoelastic optimisation of fibre-steered composite mirrors for space-based laser communication systems. Materials & Design, 268, 116430-116430.
- An evaluation of large diameter through-thickness metallic pins in composites. Composite Structures, 337, 118066-118066.
- Insertion of large diameter through-thickness metallic pins in composites. Materials & Design, 216, 110559-110559.
- Experimental Investigations of 3D Woven Layer to-Layer Carbon/Epoxy Composites at Different Strain Rates. EPJ Web of Conferences, 250, 01029-01029.
- Influence of binder float length on the out-of-plane and axial impact performance of 3D woven composites. Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing, 147, 106459-106459.
- Review of recent innovations in portable child growth measurement devices for use in low- and middle-income countries. Journal of Medical Engineering & Technology, 45(8), 642-655.
- Improved crush energy absorption in 3D woven composites by pick density modification. Composites Part B: Engineering, 192, 108007-108007.
- Effect of weave parameters on the mechanical properties of 3D woven glass composites. Composite Structures, 223, 110947-110947.
- ML-based surrogate cure simulation for predicting process time and temperature overshoot in resin transfer moulding. Journal of Reinforced Plastics and Composites.
Book chapters
- Three-dimensional woven composites, Design and Manufacture of Structural Composites (pp. 189-206). Elsevier
- 8 Three-dimensional woven composites, Design and Manufacture of Structural Composites (pp. 189-206). Elsevier
Conference proceedings
- Photonic sensors-assisted ML pipeline for precise control of curing process in advanced thermosetting composite manufacturing. Optical Sensing and Detection VIII (pp 34-34), 7 April 2024 - 12 April 2024.
- Photonic sensor-based machine learning for precise forecasting of cure time and temperature overshoot in resin transfer moulding. Photonic Instrumentation Engineering XI (pp 77-77), 27 January 2024 - 1 February 2024.
- Z-DIRECTION HEAT TRANSFER IN COMPOSITES HYBRIDISED WITH LARGE DIAMETER METALLIC PINS. Iccm International Conferences on Composite Materials
- 3D weaving and consolidation of carbon fibre T-piece stringers. Eccm 2018 18th European Conference on Composite Materials
- Improved Energy Absorption in 3D Woven Composites by Weave Parameter Manipulation. Procedia CIRP, Vol. 85 (pp 284-289)
- Influence of textile architecture on the mechanical properties of 3d woven carbon composites. Iccm International Conferences on Composite Materials, Vol. 2019-August
- Energy absorption mechanisms in layer-to-layer 3D woven composites. Iccm International Conferences on Composite Materials, Vol. 2019-August
- Thermoelastic optimisation of fibre-steered composite mirrors for space-based laser communication systems. Materials & Design, 268, 116430-116430.
- Professional activities and memberships
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Royal Academy of Engineering Research Fellow
MIMMM - Member of the Institute for Materials Minerals and Mining (IOM3)
Member of the IOM3 Composites Leadership Team