PhD Student Joins TWI as a Project Leader

Owen Rees-Lloyd, a PhD student at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David under the Knowledge Economy Skills Scholarship (KESS), has become a Project Leader at TWI’s Technology Centre in Wales.

Owen joined TWI Wales as a PhD student in 2016, after obtaining an MSc in Physics from Swansea University. This opportunity was a result of the partnership between TWI Wales and the University of Wales Trinity Saint David under the KESS operation, which is supported by the European Social Fund (ESF) through the Welsh Government.

Owen’s PhD focussed on the development of computational simulation models of Electro-Magnetic Acoustic Transducers (EMATs). He created experimentally validated simulation models of EMATs for surface-wave inspection of ferromagnetic and non-ferromagnetic materials. The models can be used to predict the impact of scanning velocity on the EMAT's performance.

Owen has presented his PhD work at conferences, as well as in The British Institute of Non-Destructive Testing (BINDT)’s academic journal publication – Insight.

“I’m very pleased to be joining TWI Technology Centre Wales as a Project Leader and to participate in the wide variety of NDT work that is undertaken here.”

Owen Rees-Lloyd, Project Leader, TWI Wales

KESS 2 involves all universities in Wales, and is led by Bangor University. Following the highly successful KESS project between 2009 and 2014, KESS 2 is now in the second round of funding and will provide 645 scholarships over the course of six years. Knowledge Economy Skills Scholarships (KESS 2) is a major pan-Wales operation supported by European Social Funds (ESF) through the Welsh Government. KESS 2 links companies and organisations with academic expertise in the Higher Education sector in Wales to undertake collaborative research projects, working towards a PhD or Research Masters qualification. Research elements are integrated with a higher-level skills training programme, leading to a Postgraduate Skills Development Award.