Rate My Professor Brian Shaw

Professor Brian Shaw is Professor of Transmission Materials Engineering in the School of Engineering at Newcastle University. He earned a PhD in Materials Engineering from Newcastle University between 1990 and 1993, and a Bachelor's degree in Materials Engineering from the University of Sheffield between 1987 and 1990. Since March 2006, he has served as Director of the Design Unit, a specialist centre for design, development, and research consultancy in mechanical power transmission systems, as well as Director of the Gear Technology Centre. He also holds the position of Director of Business and Engagement for the School of Engineering, fostering external links with industry to support research, teaching, and consultancy. His career at Newcastle University encompasses leadership in gear technology research and extensive supervision of postgraduate research degrees.

Professor Shaw's research centres on advanced characterisation of gear materials to elucidate failure mechanisms and improve transmission performance. This includes analysis of residual stresses and microstructure via combined X-ray and magnetic methods, evaluation of manufacturing-induced surface topography, and component testing under realistic conditions involving lubricants, temperature, speed, and dynamic loading. Techniques such as Magnetic Barkhausen Noise enable non-destructive evaluation of fatigue, micropitting, and contact fatigue. His findings have shaped current ISO standards and UK Naval Standards for gear design, with impacts extending to defence applications in the UK and internationally. Ongoing work involves Innovate UK-funded industrial projects, collaborations with the British Gear Association, and academic partnerships with institutions like RWTH Aachen, University of Bremen, Cardiff University, Imperial College London, University of Sheffield, University of Strathclyde, Tampere University, and Xi'an Jiaotong University. He delivers teaching on transmission materials engineering, gear manufacture, characterisation, surface engineering, performance testing, and failure modes at undergraduate, master's, and bespoke industrial courses through the British Gear Association. Key publications include 'Case depth prediction of nitrided samples with Barkhausen noise measurement' (Metals, 2019), 'Internal spur gear root bending stress: A comparison of ISO 6336:1996, ISO 6336:2006, VDI 2737:2005, AGMA, ANSYS finite element analysis and strain gauge techniques' (Journal of Mechanical Engineering Science, 2019), 'Filtering effects on involute gear form measurement' (Measurement Science and Technology, 2023), 'Effects of Surface Engineering on the Efficiency of Involute Helical Gears – An Experimental Investigation' (2023), and 'Bending fatigue strength of aerospace quality gear steels at ambient and elevated temperatures' (2022). His work has garnered over 2,000 citations.