05 January 2011

University staff awarded OBEs in New Year Honours

Three members of University of Sheffield staff have been recognised in Her Majesty The Queen´s New Year Honours List.


Emeritus Professor Geoff Tomlinson, from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Adrian Allen, Commercial Director at the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) with Boeing, and Professor Chris Franklin, from the School of Clinical Dentistry, were all awarded OBEs (Order of the British Empire).

Professor Tomlinson was awarded his OBE for services to technology. He is currently Director of the Dainton-Boucher Institute (the DBI), which is acting as a hub for research developments in Singapore, and is an Adviser to the Malaysian Government on Aerostructures Manufacturing. He was Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research at the University from 2001-2008, and Head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering from 1996 to 2001. Professor Tomlinson was Director of the Rolls-Royce University Technology Centre in Materials Damping Technologies from 1998 to 2007.

Professor Tomlinson is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, the Royal Aeronautical Society, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and a Chartered Engineer. His work has been concerned with nonlinear dynamics and the vibrations of engineering structures, including the reduction of vibration levels via novel damping technologies. Professor Tomlinson has worked closely with a worldwide range of industries and universities and continues to promote technological developments in Aerospace engineering.

Adrian Allen was awarded an OBE for services to industry in the Yorkshire and Humber region. He is currently Commercial Director of the AMRC, a world-leading research centre based in Rotherham, which is developing solutions to the forming of advanced materials. Adrian worked in the aerospace industry in South Yorkshire for over 20 years, managing a Sheffield-based engineering consultancy firm. Alongside Professor Keith Ridgway OBE, he co-founded the AMRC with aerospace manufacturer Boeing, in a £45 million partnership.

Professor Chris Franklin was awarded an OBE for services to Healthcare. He is Professor Associate at the University´s School of Clinical Dentistry and is member of the Board of the Faculty of Medicine and the Board of Dental Studies. He is Regional Postgraduate Dental Dean for South Yorkshire and the East Midlands and is an Honorary Consultant Pathologist, in Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, at the Sheffield Teaching Hospitals Trust. He was President of the British Society for Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology from 2006 to 2009. He is currently Chair of the UK Committee of Postgraduate Dental Deans and Directors (COPDEND) and is an invited Board Member of the Faculty of Dental Surgery, Royal College of Surgeons of England. He is Co-Chair, with the Chief Dental Officer, England of The Medical Education England Dental Programme Board.

Professor Tomlinson said: "It was a complete surprise and a delight to receive this honour, particularly for my contributions to technology. It spurs me on to do even more in the future."

Adrian Allen said: "The award is obviously a great honour for me and something I am very proud of. Really, it's a recognition of the strength of the team at the AMRC and at the University. It's now close to ten years since we established the AMRC with Boeing, and we're now recognised around the world as a model for how academia and industry can work together."

Professor Franklin said "I was delighted and surprised to receive this honour. It is recognition for all the hard work locally and nationally that is done in developing postgraduate dental education and training".