Andrew Kennedy joined the Department of Engineering at Lancaster in September 2017. A graduate of Imperial College and Cambridge University, prior to coming to Lancaster he was an academic in the Faculty of Engineering at Nottingham University.

The main theme of his research is the development and optimisation of novel manufacturing methods for materials.  This activity is underpinned by process development, material characterisation and property measurement, supported in most aspects by numerical modelling.  The typical focus for such projects might include material or cost reduction in manufacturing processes, material performance enhancement, process optimisation for multiple constraints, or development of completely new approaches to manufacturing with new materials.

Within this area, much of the focus of his work has been on multi-phase materials such as metal matrix composites, metal foams and porous materials using liquid metal, powder processing, additive manufacturing and novel gel casting manufacturing methods.  Research is directed towards products for lightweight and energy absorbing structures, novel batteries and energy storage systems, thermal and fluid flow management and medical devices.

As well as leading a nationally important group in porous material research, he is collaborating with experts in artificial intelligence, robotics and machine learning to improve the performance, quality and material and process development in both joining processes (within the TWI-Lancaster Joining 4.0 Centre) and additive manufacture (including with novel Meltio DED technology).

He has led or been actively engaged in more than 65 research projects, varying in complexity from Ph.D. supervision (supervising more than 40 Ph.D. students to completion) to leading EU projects with more than 10 industrial and academic partners. Research has led to worldwide collaborations involving joint research, technology transfer and exchange of personnel.  These include universities and research institutes in in Spain, Germany, Finland, Romania, Greece, Italy, Switzerland, China, Thailand, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Chile, Australia and Canada.  Further international collaborations are very much welcomed.

He has published more than 140 peer-reviewed journal papers, multiple book chapters and holds 2 patents.  Key papers published since 2014 are listed below, for a fuller listing please follow the ORCID link above. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM³), a Chartered Engineer, a regular consultant to UK industry and a Senior Fellow of the HEA.

.