Rate My Professor Gabriel Lodewijks

Professor Gabriel Lodewijks is a Professor of Aerospace Systems in the School of Engineering at the University of Newcastle, joining the institution in 2022. He completed his PhD in 1996 at Delft University of Technology on the dynamics of belt systems, such as moving sidewalks and escalators, and holds a Master of Science from the same university. Post-PhD, he worked in the USA for a small engineering company as an engineer specializing in large-scale transport systems. In 1999, he returned to the Netherlands and was appointed Professor of Transport Engineering and Logistics at Delft University of Technology in 2000. He subsequently served as Head of the School of Maritime and Transport Technology from 2003, Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Mechanical, Maritime, and Materials Engineering, Chief Technology Officer of the Schiphol Group in 2007, and Scientific Director of the Delft Centre of Aviation from 2008. He also holds adjunct or chair professor positions at the University of the Witwatersrand (South Africa), Wuhan University of Technology, Beijing University of Science and Technology, China University of Mining and Technology (China), and the University of New South Wales (Australia). Prior to Newcastle, from 2017 to 2022, he was Professor and Head of the School of Aviation at UNSW Sydney.

Professor Lodewijks' research focuses on logistics and transport engineering in the aerospace and aviation industry, encompassing optimization of maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) processes, aircraft systems, automation of air cargo handling, perishable product supply chains, tracking and tracing of equipment, components, and personnel, gate and baggage handling to reduce aircraft turnaround times, safety and security in airport logistics, and passenger experience enhancement. His earlier research addressed bulk materials handling, belt conveyor dynamics and control, automated guided vehicles (AGVs), conveyor monitoring, and sustainable transport systems. He has produced extensive publications, including the book 'The Delft Systems Approach: Analysis and Design of Industrial Systems' (2008, with H.P.M. Veeke and J.A. Ottjes), and prominent papers such as 'Detecting fatigue in car drivers and aircraft pilots by using non-invasive measures: The value of differentiation of sleepiness and mental fatigue' (2020, Journal of Safety Research, 313 citations), 'DEM speedup: Stiffness effects on behavior of bulk material' (2014, Particuology, 292 citations), 'Physical properties of solid biomass' (2011, Biomass and Bioenergy, 232 citations), and 'Condition monitoring approaches for the detection of railway wheel defects' (2017, 188 citations). His scholarship has garnered over 5,000 Scopus citations, influencing mechanical and aerospace engineering.