Laurence Ketteringham

Research and development of prototypes, products and processes. Research, with commercial and/or academic partners, and consultancy / product development activities for customers. Output included: - Designed and built monitoring, logging and control systems incorporating combinations of embedded software, microcontrollers, single-board computers, PLCs, sensors and other inputs/outputs, providing monitoring, logging and/or control of parameters including temperature, relative humidity, barometric pressure, gas concentration, light intensity, soil moisture and conductivity; - Created loggers designed for lab use, measuring a large number of data channels, or for use over wide areas, using sub-GHz wireless, as well as loggers that both saved data locally and sent data to remote servers via mobile broadband modems, creating new types of system or improving on existing commercial products in terms of performance, usability and accessibility; - Control systems included devices for refrigerant charging into cabinets, automated door/drawer opening, anemometer head movement, refrigerant release, air handler control, lighting control and CO2 concentration control; - Designed, laid out, and built over 12 different PCB designs for sensing, data logging, control and communication purposes, together with displays, user input devices, data storage and real-time clocks; - Created and installed PLC-based systems for accurate control of test room temperature, humidity and airflow, with two rooms installed at ECH Engineering and five more at two other sites, took part in testing and development of supermarket refrigerated cabinets for manufacturers in these rooms; - Created refrigeration duty meters and PC software, eliminating complex analysis and lengthy downloading of data during cabinet testing; - Shorter consultancy projects for customers, to develop new products and processes; - Produced CAD for, and 3D printed, many parts to assist with activities and as part of prototypes.

Teaching and supervision of Mech. Eng. students, at all stages of their 3-/4-year BEng/MEng course, mainly in the subject areas of computer-based modelling, heat transfer and thermodynamics. Roles included: - Teaching a section of the Heat Transfer course to third year Mechanical Engineering undergraduates; - Teaching in labs and problems classes at various stages of the course; - Production of learning materials for lectures and labs, including follow-up self-study materials, and end-of-module exam questions; - Marking coursework and end-of-module exams, providing feedback to students on their work; - Supervising students on their third and fourth year projects; - Personal Tutor to first and second year students – hosted regular tutorials with small groups, providing pastoral care, discussing work and workloads, as well as discussing matters personally or by email.

Development of a low cost adsorption refrigeration system, using heat from solar radiation to drive its refrigeration cycle. Design of the entire refrigeration system, within the requirements of the initial project proposal. Design work included identification of the optimal adsorbent-refrigerant pair, optimisation of the system configuration to obtain suitable heat and mass transfer pathways, and sourcing and making of parts while ensuring mechanical and chemical compatibility between all components. Located and commissioned specialist manufacturers to assist with creation of aspects of a novel, compact adsorbent-heat exchanger composite section, enclosed within a hand-blown glass envelope. Testing and assessment of the system characteristics after completion, reporting and making recommendations for future work in the field.

Building on previous research into measuring and controlling tremor in individuals with multiple sclerosis, creating devices to alleviate tremor in the upper limbs during activities of daily living (ADL). Created and tested a prototype orthosis with variable damping to reduce upper-limb tremor. This project led to a longer, three-year study to develop clinical measurement tools and tremor-reduction interventions, developed from the software and hardware created in this project and my PhD.

Research into measuring and controlling tremor in the upper limbs of individuals with multiple sclerosis, using inertial measurement unit (IMU)-type sensors. The arms of subjects were a particular focus in this study, as arm movements affect many of the activities of daily living (ADL). Created systems to measure, log, analyse and present data on body position and movement, together with electromyogram (EMG) data representing muscle activity. Body segment orientations in 3D space were measured using body-worn MTx sensors (Xsens Technologies B.V., The Netherlands), logged at 50 Hz. Muscle activity data was recorded at 5 kHz from biceps brachii and triceps brachii. A five-joint, 15 degree of freedom (DoF), rigid body model was created to calculate the movements in 3D space from the sensor orientations. This movement data was also extended, using segment masses, to include estimates of the torques that drove the movements in each of the joint axes. These torques were examined for signs of the "origins" of the tremor during movement, and to estimate requirements for tremor suppression devices. My PhD research was recognised by the Multiple Sclerosis Society when I was awarded MS Researcher of the Year at the MS Society Awards in April 2010. The research was also shortlisted for Best MS Research Project.

Various consultancy and research projects on refrigeration, decontamination and processing in the food and refrigeration industries, including: - Creation of mathematical modelling software for simulating refrigeration and cold storage rooms; - Design and construction of novel, experimental food processing equipment, together with associated control and data logging equipment; - Creation of user-friendly software for monitoring and controlling novel refrigeration equipment for buildings; - Programming of ABB industrial robots to improve automated food cutting processes; - Research into novel methods for microbial decontamination of foods; - Research into enhanced cooling of foods using heat pipes, thermosyphons and other inserts for improving heat transfer; - Presentation of research work in written form, in several journal papers, conference proceedings, book chapters, project reports and online, as well as in verbal form, at conferences and in project meetings.