Projects & Research

Research Focus

My research sits at the intersection of sustainable engineering, machine learning, and industrial systems: thermal management, circular economy implementation, and manufacturing optimisation. The work has been funded by UKRI, Horizon Europe, the Royal Society, and the Alan Turing Institute, and published with Elsevier, Springer, and IEEE.

The through-line is translating advanced engineering research into practical, commercially viable tools for industrial decarbonisation — not papers that stop at the paper.

Funded Projects

Six projects spanning Horizon Europe, the Royal Society, the Alan Turing Institute, and industry partners including Rolls-Royce and Hitachi Astemo. Each sits at the same intersection: applied engineering research turned into something a manufacturer can actually use.

Micro-FloTec: Advanced Heat Transfer Technologies

Horizon Europe (Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions) | Project Research Manager | 2022–2025

Pioneered compact heat transfer and thermal management systems for electric vehicles, aerospace, and renewable energy storage. Coordinated 17+ international partners with a £800,000+ budget.

Impact: delivered IP and proof-of-concept ahead of schedule, with multiple publications in top-tier journals.

View project homepage

Enhancing Thermal Management through Machine Learning Algorithms

PhD Research — University of Hertfordshire | Principal Investigator | 2021–2025

Developed a novel framework combining machine learning, bio-inspired design, and Lean manufacturing for advanced thermal management.

Results: 30–70% heat transfer improvement, 60–70% computational reduction, 43% cost reduction, 29% energy savings, and 19% lower emissions.

View the research project record

Carbon13 Venture Builder (Cambridge, Cohort 9)

Carbon13 | Climate Tech Entrepreneur | 2025

Selected as one of 80 innovators from hundreds of applicants for Cambridge's leading climate tech venture builder, focused on decarbonisation solutions.

Impact: presenting concepts to stakeholders and investors across the climate tech ecosystem, and building partnerships with the University of Cambridge, Barclays, Eagle Labs, ARM, and NatWest.

Carbon-Based Photothermal Membranes

Royal Society | Researcher | 2022–2024

Contributed to next-generation solar energy storage materials using advanced carbon-based photothermal membranes.

AI-driven Turbine Manufacturing Optimisation (Rolls-Royce)

Alan Turing Institute | Researcher | 2022

Devised a database and algorithms supporting root-cause analysis and identification of turbine production failures for Rolls-Royce.

Production Optimisation (Hitachi Astemo)

NCME Bursary | Project Engineer | 2019

Applied Lean Six Sigma and machine learning to optimise production. Reduced reject rates by 3% and improved OEE to 85%.

Read the publication

Peer-Reviewed Publications

• Journal of Cleaner Production 2025

  Implementing circular economy principles in micro heat sink development: a techno-economic-sustainability analysis

  Harris, M. & Wu, H. (2025). Journal of Cleaner Production, 527, 146731. Elsevier.

  doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2025.146731

• Int. Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 2024

  Assessing thermohydraulic performance in novel micro pin-fin heat sinks

  Harris, M., Babar, H. & Wu, H. (2024). International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer. Elsevier.

  doi: 10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2024.126581

• Thermal Science and Engineering Progress 2024

  Heat transfer optimisation using novel biomorphic pin-fin heat sinks

  Harris, M., Wu, H. et al. (2024). Thermal Science and Engineering Progress. Elsevier.

  doi: 10.1016/j.tsep.2024.102606

• IEEE ICPRS'24 2024

  Flow boiling pattern recognition using CNN-clustering algorithms

  14th IEEE International Conference on Pattern Recognition Systems.

  doi: 10.1109/ICPRS62101.2024.10677840

• Operations Research Forum 2021

  Engine mass airflow sensor production via TQM, TPM, and Six Sigma practices

  Harris, M. (2021). Operations Research Forum. Springer.

  doi: 10.1007/s43069-021-00102-y

16 publications, 183 citations, h-index 6 (Google Scholar). 9 documents, 140 citations, h-index 5 (Scopus).

View the full list on Google Scholar

Industry Research

See the full project write-ups

Funding & Academic Service

• £1m+ in competitive research funding

  Secured and overseen across UKRI, Horizon Europe, the Royal Society, and the Alan Turing Institute.

• Guest Editor — Sage and MDPI

  Editorial work on special issues in sustainable engineering and manufacturing.

• Peer Reviewer

  Reviewing for journals across all major academic publishers.

• Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA)

  Recognised for teaching and supervision practice in higher education.

University of Hertfordshire research profile