Rate My Professor Ronan O’Higgins

O’Higgins specializes in composite materials, with research interests in thermoplastic composites, innovative manufacturing techniques such as laser-assisted automated tape placement and autoclave processing, mechanical characterisation, fracture toughness, open hole tension characteristics, crack propagation in fibre-reinforced laminae, ballistic impact response of hybrid panels, viscoelastic modeling for polymers and nanocomposites, and welding techniques for carbon fibre-reinforced polymers like PEKK. He has produced 76 research outputs, featured in prestigious journals including Composites Part B: Engineering, Composite Structures, Materials & Design, and Polymer Testing. Notable publications include “Mechanical characterisation of carbon fibre–PEEK manufactured by laser-assisted automated-tape-placement and autoclave” (2015, 325 citations), “Comparison of open hole tension characteristics of high strength glass and carbon fibre-reinforced composite materials” (2008, 235 citations), “A study of the influence of processing parameters on steering of carbon Fibre/PEEK tapes using laser-assisted tape placement” (2019, 147 citations), “An experimental/numerical investigation into the main driving force for crack propagation in uni-directional fibre-reinforced composite laminae” (2014, 142 citations), “Ballistic impact response of Elium® thermoplastic composites reinforced with high-performance fibres in monolithic and hybrid configurations” (2026), “Comparison of welding techniques for carbon fibre-reinforced PEKK composite” (2026), and “Ballistic impact performance of Kevlar®/UHMWPE hybrid composite panels with a liquid thermoplastic resin, Elium®” (2025). O’Higgins is an inventor on patents assigned to the University of Limerick related to composite technologies. His work has significantly influenced the development of lightweight, durable materials for aerospace structures.