Rate My Professor Charles MacLeod

Professor Charles MacLeod is a Professor in the Centre for Ultrasonic Engineering within the Faculty of Engineering's Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering at the University of Strathclyde. He holds the Babcock International Group / Royal Academy of Engineering Chair in Sensor-Driven Automated Welding, awarded competitively in March 2022. As Director of the Sensor Enabled Automation & Robotics Control Hub (SEARCH), a £24 million research innovation and technology transfer laboratory, MacLeod leads high-profile interdisciplinary projects on the inspection and manufacturing enhancement of high-value assets and components. He also serves as Course Director for the Autonomous Robotic Intelligent Systems (ARIS) MSc programme, Module Registrar for EE987 Sensors & Instrumentation, and Lecturer for EE312 Instrumentation and Microcontrollers. Additionally, he is the Principal Investigator and designer of the Engaging Robotic Interactive Cell (ERIC) STEM outreach facility and contributes as Academic Director to the Advanced Nuclear Research Centre (ANRC).

MacLeod's research specializations encompass non-destructive evaluation, in-process inspection of fusion welding and metal additive manufacturing components, and the integration of sensors—including ultrasonic, electromagnetic, tactile, and visual—with automation, robotics, and advanced manufacturing processes. He has driven the co-development of core robotic and ultrasonic technologies from EPSRC-funded fundamental research, resulting in technology licensing to a leading industrial organization and the creation of an innovative inspection robot for critical life-extension inspections at the Sellafield Reprocessing Facility. His contributions extend to nuclear through-life asset management, data analytics, AI-driven industrial informatics, and sensing for advanced modular reactors. Key awards include Innovation of the Year (March 2026), The Engineer Collaborate to Innovate Finalist for the AWESIM project (2022), BINDT Annual Conference Award (2019), University of Strathclyde Faculty of Engineering Knowledge Exchange Award (2016), and Knowledge Exchange Award (2016). Representative publications feature 'Phased Array Ultrasonic Method for Robotic Preload Measurement in Bolted Connections of Wind Turbines' (2024, Heliyon), 'Near-Surface Defect Detection in Additively Manufactured Components Using Air-Coupled Ultrasonic Testing' (2023, Materials & Design), 'Dry Coupled Ultrasonic Non-Destructive Evaluation Using an Over-the-Air Ultrasonic Lens' (2022, Ultrasonics), 'Inspection of Nuclear Assets with Limited Access Using Air-Coupled Ultrasonic Inspection Robots' (2022, NDT & E International), and 'Sensor-Enabled Multi-Robot System for Automated Welding and Inspection' (2021, Sensors).