Dr Owen Williams BSc, MRes, PhD

Responsible for the Undergraduate and Postgraduate Motorcycle Engineering programmes and the operation of the Universities Motorcycle Race Teams.

Born and educated in South Wales, Owen obtained his BSc in Particle Physics and Cosmology at Swansea University. He carried out his Masters in Research at the Materials Engineering department at Swansea University, staying to obtain a PhD in material physics with EPSRC funding from the nuclear power industry.

Owen spent 9 years as a Senior Lecturer in the field of Automotive Engineering, developing the Motorcycle Engineering programme in 2004. He has been the Head of Department of two of the Academic Schools in Engineering at UWTSD and is now a Senior Research Fellow responsible for all thing 2-wheeled.

• Member of the Institute of Physics

Owen’s main teaching interests are in the areas of Motorcycle Dynamics and Engine Development and Combustion.

and currently teaches:

• Advanced Motorcycle Dynamics
• Advanced Computational Methods
• Motorcycle Dynamics
• Powertrain and Sustainability
• Powertrain and Control

and is a Project Supervisor for PhD, MSc, MEng and BEng Engineering Students.

Owen’s current research interests are in:

• Motorcycle Dynamics and Simulation
• Vehicle Integrated Data Acquisition

Owen’s main areas of expertise are in motorcycle dynamics and simulation and he currently works with a small team of engineers from the motorcycle industry and up to the highest levels of motorcycle sport in the world. The combination of motorcycle dynamics and advanced data acquisition is a current research interest and a subject of particular interest to the industry.

Recent activities include:

• Project ENDURO – Gravity Bike for Paraplegic Riders
• 2 Years Research Work in the area of Composites Manufacture and CNC Mould Design
• KTC Project Work – Cutting and Fabrication Centre
• KTC Project Work – Non-Destructive Testing
• KESS –  Glass / CNC Machining
• ASTUTE – Composites Development Work

Lake K. et al,. ‘The influence of compliant chassis components on motorcycle dynamics’, Vehicle System Dynamics: International Journal of Vehicle Mechanics and Mobility, 50, Issue 7, 2012.

Williams. O., Oseng. T., et al.’ The application of lean thinking to the Prototype Design and Manufacture of Motorsport Composite Structures’ 13th International Conference on Modern Information Technology in the Innovation Processes of industrial enterprises, MITIP 2011.

Oseng. T., Williams. O., et al. 'Quality Implications of Concept Design to Prototype Manufacture of a Low Cost Automotive Panel – A Case Study'. 7th International Conference, Quality Reliability and maintenance. QRM 2010.

Williams G.O. and Randle V., Grain boundary crystallography in two Fe-C-P alloys, Materials Science and Technology, 20, no.5, pp. 599-604. (2004).

Williams G.O., Randle V., Cowan J. and Spellward S. The role of grain boundary misorientation and phosphorus content on grain growth and intergranular fracture in iron-carbon-phosphorus alloys, Journal of Microscopy, 213, no.3, pp. 321-327 (2004).

His other interests include Motorcycles in all their many forms, Music (Guitar and Bass), Cosmology and Particle Physics, growing chillies, bonsai trees and other exotic stuff and generally technical computing with any form of non-standard operating systems.