Prof Margaret Lucas she/her

My research is in the field of power ultrasonics, which aims to explore, understand and utilise the many beneficial effects of ultrasonic vibrations in medical and industrial applications. My group research novel device configurations that can elicit vibrational characteristics that maximise these benefits. For example, recent research has focused on miniaturising ultrasonic surgical devices, which are seen as the ‘gold standard’ in many soft and hard tissue surgical procedures because they are precise, require low force and induce low blood loss. But all these devices can’t be integrated with surgical robots, which is the future of surgery. By creating new dynamic configurations, we were able to reduce the size by over 70%, integrate with a surgical robot and demonstrate performance comparable with the much larger current commercial offerings.

My group have also worked across many industrial applications, including ultrasonic welding and joining technologies and planetary drilling. I have worked in close partnership with industries for my whole career and enjoy the focus real world applications bring to my group’s research.

I have been an academic in engineering for more than 35 years and have supervised and graduated many PhD students. Most have moved into industry careers, many with our project partners. We recently created a spin-out company based on the miniature ultrasonic scalpel innovations and some PhD graduates are now working there. Several PhD graduates have gone on to academic careers, some initially as post-doctoral researchers and several are now professors.

Since starting my own PhD, I have been involved with many initiatives to champion women in engineering and encourage more women to consider careers in engineering. I am a strong advocate of mentoring and I have mentored many academics at different career stages. I have also had some great mentors myself. I was a member of the James Watt School of Engineering EDI Group for several years, including through the initial Athena Swan applications. I currently Chair the College of Science & Engineering EDI Committee. I am passionate about improving inclusive practices in research.