Adam Rushworth

Dr Adam Rushworth

Assistant Professor in Materials and Manufacturing

Dr Adam Rushworth has been an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical, Materials and Manufacturing Engineering since 2016. He is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, demonstrating his commitment to enhancing the learning experience. In 2019, Adam’s module ‘Design, Manufacture and Project’ was awarded the ‘Provincial First Class Module’. 

Adam received his PhD from the University of Nottingham in 2016, while working as a research fellow in the Rolls Royce University Technology Centre (UTC) in Manufacturing and On-Wing Technology. He received a MEng in Mechanical Engineering with Mathematics from the Nottingham in 2011. Prior to that, he studied Physics at University College, Oxford.

Adam’s teaching philosophy focuses on ‘getting students’ hands dirty’ – emphasising practical applications of material taught in lectures and having students design and make products and systems for themselves. In ‘Design, Manufacture and Project’ module, students are required to design and manufacture small amphibious vehicles, making use of the machine tools available in the university’s manufacturing labs. The vehicles are then tested outdoors on the road and in a pool to see how well they perform. They are then ‘drop-tested’ to see how robust the designs are. For many students, this event is the highlight of their time studying at UNNC.

Adam’s lectures are always interactive, making use of questioning and gamified elements. Adam encourages participation by offering rewards to students who answer well. A particular emphasis is placed on the role of feedback, particularly before the final deadline for coursework so that students have opportunities to improve their work.

Adam works closely with industrial partners based in Ningbo, giving students an opportunity to work on real, industrial engineering projects and benefit from exposure to industrial perspectives.

Adam’s research interests lie in robotics, 3D printing and advanced manufacturing. During his PhD studies, Adam worked on the ‘MiRoR’ project, an EU funded project on the development of a walking, six-legged robot for inspection and repair in hazardous environments. He subsequently completed his post-doctoral Research Fellowship while working on the Rolls Royce project ‘REINER’, focusing on a device for performing the inspection of aeroengines during the pre- and post-flight cycles. During this time, he also supervised a project on aeroengine Tail Bearing Housing (TBH) repair using the portable 6-legged machine tool, ‘FreeHex’ and participated in a medical project called ‘SpineBot’, a feasibility study looking at using parallel kinematic robots to assist with scoliosis correction surgery.

Since coming to UNNC, Adam has diversified his research by working on projects related to LASER machining, materials testing and additive manufacturing. This year, Adam was awarded two projects focusing on the development of a new kind of 3D printer for metals: 60,000 RMB from the UNNC Seed Funding for Individual Research scheme (A Printhead for GRCop-84/Alloy 718 Bimetallic Structures Developed by Metal Droplet Extrusion) and a 500,000 RMB Li Dak Sum Innovation Fellowship (A Novel Low-Cost 3D Printer for Stainless Steel and Aluminum Alloy). Adam is continuing his research in robotics, leading projects such as RoboBIM (100,000 RMB) – wheeled Robots for building site inspection and Buildings Information Modelling.

Adam is always keen to involve students in his research and normally supervises Mechanical and EEE final year students as well as undergraduates in various years of their study for Undergraduate Research Placements. Topics include 3D printing, robotics, industrial automation (with Ningbo-based industrial partners), applied design and control. Adam considers these projects to be essential to the university experience and in preparing students for the workplace. These projects often involve skills such as teamwork and communication, project management, independent critical thinking and awareness of engineering significance that can’t be learned by other methods.

Adam and his students designed an autonomous delivery vehicle