Professor James Njuguna
| Biography | Professor James Njuguna is the Director of Research and Innovation at the National Subsea Centre (NSC) and a faculty member at Robert Gordon University (RGU). He previously served as the Associate Dean for Research & Knowledge Exchange at RGU and led the Integrated Energy Programme at the NSC. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) and the Institute of Materials, Minerals, and Mining (FIMMM). Professor James Njuguna research focuses on the experimental study of composite materials, including reinforcement, toughness, and materials design. His work on structural composites involves designing new products for industrial applications and evaluating their integrity and durability under extreme conditions such as high temperatures, high pressures, and impacts. Professor James Njuguna and his Team also investigates integrated energy systems design and inherent materials related issues. This includes applications in hydrogen storage, technology road mapping, and extending energy asset lifespans. Additionally, his research examines the behavior of materials in failure scenarios, particularly the emission and diffusion of nanofillers in polymer fiber-reinforced nanocomposites, contributing to the understanding of nanomaterial durability and Safety of Materials. Professor Njuguna played a key role in securing and establishing the £40 million National Subsea Centre, overseeing its planning and development and ensuring its long-term future at RGU. He is the Project Lead for HyOne , Scotland's Hydrogen Storage Testing Facility (https://www.hy-one.co.uk/). Professor Njuguna has led over 90 engineering research projects administering multimillions pounds research funded by industry, UK Research Councils and Governmental Bodies (> £35 million, including significant in-kind and equipment support valued at over £10 million. As Principal Investigator on 70% of these projects, he has developed several commercialized solutions and products. His extensive publications address issues related to composites, nanocomposites, and structural integrity, focusing on damage, failure analysis, and real-world performance in engineering applications. |
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| Research Interests | Composite Materials Offshore Materials Automotive Materials Polymer Nanocomposites Structural Materials Safety Materials and Structures Impact and Ballistic resistance performance New Products Development |
| Teaching and Learning | Engineering Product Design Finite Element Analysis Causal Chain Analyis Learning from Engineering Design Failure Composite Materials Material and Manufacturing |
| ResearcherID | A-9486-2010 |
| Scopus Author ID | 6602342165 |
| PhD Supervision Availability | Yes |
| PhD Topics | PhD topics in this areas: Composite materials applications in Automotive, Energy and Biomedical applications - Graphene fibre-reinforced composites - polymer nano-composites including nanoparticles release and emissions - Sandwich composites, Biocomposites - High performance elastomers - Data driven design - machine learning approaches Pipe & Pipelines: - Pipe-in-Pipe / Flexibles - Thermoplastic pipes - Casings Circular Economy: - Waste drilling fluids/muds - Raw materials recovery from waste - Bio-polymers from waste streams |