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A New Chapter in Joint Scientific Research! The Joint Laboratory between University of Nottingham Ningbo China and Lodz University of Technology Officially Inaugurated

Powerful alliance for shared development. 29 October – Marking a significant step forward in collaboration between the two institutions in the fields of Mechanical Engineering, Dynamics, and Control, the inauguration ceremony for the Joint Lab on Nonlinear Dynamics and Vibration Suppression, established by the University of Nottingham Ningbo China (UNNC) and Poland's Lodz University of Technology (LUT), was held grandly at UNNC. Professor Przemysław Perlikowski from LUT attended the ceremony and delivered an academic report.


 

Successful Inauguration of the Joint Laboratory

At the inauguration ceremony, representatives from both sides expressed their strong expectations for the future development of the joint lab. The laboratory will be dedicated to the research and application of nonlinear dynamics and advanced vibration control technologies, providing innovative solutions to complex vibration problems in modern engineering fields.

UNNC's Mechanical Engineering programme is ranked in the Shanghai Ranking's Global Ranking of Academic Subjects. Faculty within the department have recently secured nearly 20 research projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China. Furthermore, UNNC's Engineering discipline is ranked within the top 0.2% globally by ESI, recognizing it as a world-class programme. Established in 1945, Lodz University of Technology is one of the top five technological universities in Poland. It has been awarded the titles of National Leader of Innovation and Leader of Technological Innovation in Poland, and holds the record for the highest number of patent applications and grants among Polish universities. Additionally, LUT is the only Polish university in the European Consortium of Innovative Universities. The university boasts 2 members of the Polish Academy of Sciences and 1 young member in the field of dynamics.

The establishment of this joint laboratory will not only promote in-depth cooperation between the two universities in scientific research projects, talent cultivation, and academic exchange but will also leverage the strengths and resources of both institutions to produce internationally influential research outcomes and advance related engineering technologies.

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Featured Academic Report: Tuned Mass Damper with Variable Inertance

Following the inauguration ceremony, Professor Przemysław Perlikowski, the foreign lead of the joint laboratory and a professor in the Department of Dynamics, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, LUT, delivered an insightful academic report titled "Tuned Mass Damper with Variable Inertance" for the attending faculty and students.

Professor Perlikowski eloquently introduced solutions for addressing resonance phenomena in mechanics and structures under external excitation. He pointed out that while classical Tuned Mass Dampers (TMDs) are highly efficient when the excitation frequency is matched, their effectiveness decreases outside this range. To overcome this limitation, his team proposed a novel vibration absorber incorporating an inerter. This device combines a classical TMD with a Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) system. The CVT enables continuous variation of the gear ratio, thereby allowing stepless adjustment of the inertance, which in turn allows the TMD's natural frequency to be precisely tuned according to the current excitation frequency. This capability enables the TMD to maintain high efficiency over a broader range of excitation frequencies. The report demonstrated how the team combined mathematical and numerical modeling with laboratory tests to validate the device's impact on system dynamics and its wide application potential.

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Introduction to the Leads of the Joint Laboratory

Professor Przemysław Perlikowski

Professor Przemysław Perlikowski is a professor in the Department of Dynamics, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, LUT, and a Young Member of the Polish Academy of Sciences. His main research areas include vibration control and the dynamics of non-smooth systems. He has authored one academic monograph and published 94 articles in JCR-indexed journals. His research progresses from conceptual work to the development of functional prototypes, such as new types of vibration dampers, reflecting a close integration of theory and practice. He has led numerous research projects and is committed to international collaboration, having conducted research at Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany, and the National University of Singapore. He currently serves as the Chair of the Discipline Council for Mechanical Engineering at LUT.

Professor Jian Yang

Professor Jian Yang's primary research directions include nonlinear dynamics, advanced structural dynamics, and high-performance vibration control. He has published over 80 SCI-indexed papers in authoritative journals in the dynamics field and has been consecutively listed in the 'World's Top 2% Scientists' ranking for multiple years. He has led three national-level projects, including projects under the National Natural Science Foundation of China, as well as several provincial and municipal research projects. Professor Yang currently serves on the editorial board of Nonlinear Dynamics (Springer) and as the Lead Guest Editor for the International Journal of Mechanical Sciences (an Elsevier JCR Q1/CAS Q1 journal). He also holds the position of Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society (FRAeS) and Chair of the Academic Awards Committee.

Professor Giampaolo Buticchi, Associate Dean for Research & Knowledge Exchange in the Faculty of Science and Engineering at UNNC, commented on the collaboration: " Our university actively champions international collaboration as a cornerstone of our development strategy. We are committed to fostering research and knowledge exchange that transcends borders, and this joint laboratory serves as an excellent exemplar of this commitment in action. Such initiatives are vital to advancing our global engagement and academic excellence. "

The inauguration of the joint laboratory and the high-level academic report not only provided UNNC faculty and students with cutting-edge research insights but also laid a solid foundation for future in-depth cooperation between the two universities. Amid the wave of global innovation, the Faculty of Science and Engineering at UNNC is actively expanding new patterns of international collaboration to advance its engineering disciplines towards world-class standards.

Looking ahead, the Faculty will further deepen this Sino-European bridgehead for innovation, support the establishment of more joint laboratories, and collectively address global engineering challenges. We anticipate that under the leadership of both the Chinese and foreign leads, the Joint Lab will achieve more groundbreaking results in the field of Nonlinear Dynamics and Vibration Control.

Published on 06 November 2025