People

Our research

Meet our research team

Academic staff | Postgraduate researchers

James Brownjohn

Professor of Structural Dynamics

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My research expertise includes:

vibration serviceability
structural health monitoring (SHM)
system identification
human biomechanics
wind engineering
measuring and evaluating the performance of structures at full scale, including deformation and extreme loads
ambient vibration testing and operational modal analysis using minimal portable equipment, including calibrated humans

Alex Pavic

Professor of Vibration Engineering

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My research expertise includes:

vibration serviceability - looking at how large structures vibrate in day to day usage
human comfort when using structures and buildings
slender civil engineering structures, such as long-span floors, footbridges and grandstands, which are occupied and dynamically excited by humans
human-induced dynamic forces applied on human musculo-skeletal systems

Paul Reynolds

Professor of Structural Dynamics and Control and EPSRC Leadership Fellow

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My research expertise includes:

vibration serviceability, specifically control and mitigation of vibrations using technology
building structures that use fewer materials but still perform well. We can use VSimulators to explore those limits in a more rigorous and in depth manner.
dynamic testing and monitoring - I have tested a number of UK sports stadia and examined solutions to the London Millennium Bridge problem.

Prakash Kripakaran

Senior Lecturer

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My research expertise includes:

Data analytics for structural health monitoring
Machine learning and statistical techniques for anomaly detection
Model updating, system identification and uncertainty propagation
Bridge scour assessment and monitoring
Evaluation of debris impact forces on bridge structures
Numerical and experimental characterisation of drag and lift forces on bridge piers and decks”

Ki Young Koo

Lecturer

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My research expertise includes:

structural health monitoring (SHM)
civionics: wireless sensors for field measurements of civil infrastructures
machine learning for structural health monitoring
structural degradation detection and quantification
finite element model updating
system identification

Stana Zivanovic

Associate Professor

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My research expertise includes:

human motion analysis
human response to vibration and other perturbations in built environment
human-structure and human-human interaction and synchronisation
vibration serviceability assessment
dynamics of lightweight (e.g. fibre-reinforced polymer and aluminium) structures and human-structure systems

James Bassitt

Senior Experimental Officer and Laboratory Manager

Emma Hudson

Senior Consultant (Full Scale Dynamics Ltd)

Adam Brownjohn

VR/Lab Technician

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My role involves me working within the Structures Lab, providing general assistance with projects, from helping to build field apparatus to various metal related work such as welding.

Alongside my role in the lab, my main responsibilities are related to our state of the art virtual reality kit, including working within 3D modelling software and the Unity game engine to create environments suitable for testing purposes. Determining the impact of human factors in work environments and medical science work such as rehabilitation are just some of the ways in which virtual environments can benefit science and technology.

Sina Safari

PhD Student

Sina is a PhD student in the College of Engineering, Mathematics, and Physical Science (CEMPS) at the University of Exeter. He graduated from the University of Tabriz with a MSc in Hydraulic structures. He joined the Vibration Engineering Section (VES) in December 2018 under the supervision of Dr. Julian M. Londono Monsalve, being awarded a fully funded scholarship from the College.

Sina carried out research on fluid-structure interaction (FSI) in underground and ground liquid storage tanks under seismic loading, inelastic behavior of structures equipped with damping and base-isolation devices.

Sina's current research topic is titled “Modeling modern engineering structures under extreme operational conditions”.

His research interests include: Structural Dynamics, Earthquake Engineering and Seismic Design, Structural Control, Structural Health Monitoring, Nonlinear System Identification (NSI), Experimental Testing, Modelling and Simulation of Nonlinear Systems.

Atheer Al-Anbaki

EMPS Visiting Scholar

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Atheer joined the University of Exeter in 2014 to pursue a PhD under the supervision of Prof Aleksandar Pavic, which he successfully completed in 2018. Atheer is now an EMPS Visiting Scholar, working remotely from Iraq, where he holds a full-time Lecturer position at the University of Anbar.

His main research interests are in the field of vibration serviceability of civil structures, including

vibration serviceability of building floors, such as lightweight and ultra-lightweight floors
human-induced dynamic forces
dynamic testing and structural modelling of full-scale civil structures (e.g. building floors, grandstands, and footbridges)
footfall excitation of slender civil structures

Nimmy Abraham

PHD student

Nimmy Mariam Abraham graduated with a Master of Science in Civil Engineering from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, subsequent to gaining a Bachelor of Technology degree in Civil Engineering from the TKM College of Engineering, Kollam, India. She has worked as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences, Bangalore, India.

Nimmy joined the Vibration Engineering Section at the University of Exeter in September 2019 to pursue her PhD under the supervision of Professor Stana Zivanovic and Prof Genevieve Williams. Her studies focus on pedestrian-structure dynamic interaction on wobbly bridges.

Naser Taleshi

PhD student

Naser Taleshi obtained his B.Sc. degree in Electronic Engineering in 2012. He received an M.Sc. degree in Electrical Engineering- Biomedical Engineering from the University of Tehran in 2017. During his MSc study, he worked on the effects of attentional focus on muscle synergies and their recruitment during learning a balance control task.

He joined the Vibration Engineering Section (VES) at the University of Exeter in September 2019 and is currently conducting an EPSRC-funded PhD study under the supervision of Prof James Brownjohn and Dr Genevieve Williams. His research is supported by the state-of-the-art VSimulators facility at Exeter Science Park and is set to explore the dynamics of human-structure interaction.

Specifically, his study will explore the mechanisms of balance and stability for different types of floor motion (roll, pitch, heave, and sway) at different levels and frequencies representing real life situations in transport and on structures.

Naser's research interests include nonlinear dynamics of human-structure interaction, nonlinear time series analysis on the human kinematic and kinetic measurements, bioinspired modelling, human balance control and sensory integration.

Sigong Zhang

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Sigong is a research fellow in the Vibration Engineering Section.

He obtained his PhD in Civil Engineering at the University of Waterloo in Canada followed by postdoctoral training in timber engineering at the University of Alberta.

In 2020, Sigong received a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship. His current research interests include human-structure interaction, mass timber panels and analytical modelling of structural elements with complicated boundary conditions, attachments, and discontinuities.

Academic staff list

Name	Research expertise
James Brownjohn Professor of Structural Dynamics	vibration serviceability structural health monitoring (SHM) system identification human biomechanics wind engineering measuring and evaluating the performance of structures at full scale ambient vibration testing and operational modal analysis using minimal portable equipment
Alex Pavic Professor of Vibration Engineering	vibration serviceability human comfort when using structures and buildings slender civil engineering structures such as long-span floors, footbridges and grandstands human-induced dynamic forces applied on human musculo-skeletal systems
Paul Reynolds Professor of Structural Dynamics and Control and EPSRC Leadership Fellow	vibration serviceability, specifically control and mitigation of vibrations using technology building structures that use fewer materials but still perform well dynamic testing and monitoring
Stana Zivanovic Associate Professor	human motion analysis human response to vibration and other perturbations in built environment human-structure and human-human interaction and synchronisation vibration serviceability assessment dynamics of lightweight (e.g. fibre-reinforced polymer and aluminium) structures and human-structure systems
Prakash Kripakaran Senior Lecturer	data analytics for structural health monitoring machine learning and statistical techniques for anomaly detection model updating, system identification and uncertainty propagation bridge scour assessment and monitoring evaluation of debris impact forces on bridge structures numerical and experimental characterisation of drag and lift forces on bridge piers and decks
Ki Young Koo Lecturer	structural health monitoring (SHM) civionics: wireless sensors for field measurements of civil infrastructures machine learning for structural health monitoring structural degradation detection and quantification finite element model updating system identification
Ying Wang Research Fellow	system identification of telecoms masts generating 3D model of civil infrastructures
Wai Kei Ao Research Fellow	dynamic behaviour of offshore structures dynamic testing of tall timber buildings around UK and Europe

Postgraduate researchers in VES

Researcher	Research area
Mr Atheer Al-Anbaki	Vibration serviceability of lightweight floors
Mr Jose Capilla	Designing dynamic issues in high guyed masts
Ms Karen Faulkner	Quantifying the resilience of the built environment to extreme weather events, through direct field measurements of environmental conditions and structural impacts
Mr Márcio Santos Goncalves	Realistic modelling of floors and walking loads towards optimal vibration serviceability
Mr Ahmed Mohammed	Using a probabilistic approach for vibration serviceability assessment of civil structures due to multiple-pedestrian loading
Mr Mubarak Patel	Monitoring human motion using wearable sensors to reduce risk of trips and falls
Mr Jorge Perez-Aracil	Control and isolation of low level vibration in civil engineering structures

Interested in a PhD with VES?

Our PhD students have access to the UK’s most advanced facilities and training in vibration testing, analysis and control

You will be supported by supervisors at the forefront of their field, work on industry-led projects and network with global engineering consultancy companies.

We are always keen to hear from candidates with a PhD project idea related to one of our areas of expertise.