Biography
Sam is the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Senior Research Fellow in Turbomachinery. His research at the Whittle Laboratory helps to develop new technologies for power and propulsion applications such as electricity generation and zero-carbon flight.
Sam obtained his PhD from the Whittle Laboratory in 2013 for his work on axial compressor bleed and has since continued to collaborate with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI). The aim of this work is to make large compressors used in power generation more efficient, flexible and reliable so they can be used in the zero-carbon energy transition. This is achieved by studying the complex flow phenomena found in compressors, using experimental tests performed at the Whittle Laboratory and at MHI’s R&D centre in Japan, and with computational simulations run on the University’s supercomputer.
Alongside this work, Sam co-leads a group at the Whittle Laboratory working on electric jet engines for zero-carbon flight. This work is supported by the UK government and by Greenjets, a British SME, with which the group is collaborating to commercialise the technology.
Underpinning much of his research, Sam is experienced in both time-averaged and unsteady measurement techniques and has developed novel methods to improve the accuracy of pneumatic probe measurements in unsteady and non-uniform flow fields.
Sam’s current teaching responsibilities include supervising Girton undergraduate engineers in first and second year, as well as fourth year Masters Projects and PhD. He is the first year Director of Studies for Engineering at Girton and leads the College’s Engineering Admissions. Sam regularly gives outreach talks for schools and colleges and established the Whittle Laboratory project with the Clifton Scientific Trust to provide groups of English and Japanese school children with the opportunity to experience a week-long research project in a university laboratory setting.
Away from work Sam enjoys playing hockey and cricket (though he is starting to slow down) and is involved in coaching, umpiring and administration for Cambridge University Hockey Club. Sam’s love of sport, and cricket in particular, has spilled over into his research as he investigates the aerodynamics of cricket ball swing.
Awards:
- 2014 ASME Turbomachinery Committee Best Paper Award for “Bleed Induced Distortion in Axial Compressors”.
- 2016 ASME Education Committee Best Paper Award for “A Computational and Experimental Compressor Design Project for Japanese and British High-School Students”.
- 2017 ASME Turbomachinery Committee Best Paper Award for “The Role of Tip Leakage Flow in Spike-type Rotating Stall Inception”.
- 2025 University of Cambridge Sports Awards for Outstanding Contribution
- 2025 Freeman Prize for Innovation at the Whittle Laboratory
- 2025 ASME Turbomachinery Committee Best Paper Award for “A Unified Framework for Compressor Stall Inception”.