Dr Gordon Flockhart
Academic Director
Faculty of Engineering
Personal statement
I am Academic Director of the Engineering Academy in the Faculty of Engineering and Senior Teaching Fellow in the Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering. The Engineering Academy is a widening access programme providing students with an alternative pathway into higher education. I have experience teaching at all levels of higher education from 1st to 5th year undergraduate students and postgraduate taught students and supervision of postgraduate research students.
My area of expertise is photonics and in particular the application of optical sensors for industrial measurement applications. Optical sensing and instrumentation is increasingly used in advanced technologies and I have the pleasure of introducing the field of photonics to 4th and 5th year undergraduate students.
Office: Centre for Microsystems and Photonics, R219B (Royal College Building)
Area of Expertise
- Photoacoustic imaging
- Laser ultrasonics
- Optical fibre sensors
- Low coherence interferometry
- Frequency swept interferometry
- Fibre Bragg grating fabrication, characterisation and sensing applications
- Erbium distributed feedback fibre laser design, fabrication, characterisation and sensing applications
- Sensing applications of novel optical fibres
- Optical sensing and metrology systems
Prize And Awards
Publications
- Tools for synthesising and characterising Bragg grating structures in optical fibres and waveguides
- Cranch GA, Flockhart GMH
- Journal of Modern Optics Vol 59, pp. 493-526 (2012)
- https://doi.org/10.1080/09500340.2011.646332
- Distributed feedback fiber laser strain sensors
- Cranch GA, Flockhart Gordon MH, Kirkendall CK
- IEEE Sensors Journal Vol 8, pp. 1161-1172 (2008)
- https://doi.org/10.1109/JSEN.2008.926876
- Two-axis bend measurement with Bragg gratings in multicore optical fiber
- Flockhart G M H, MacPherson W N, Barton J S, Jones J D C, Zhang L, Bennion I
- Optics Letters Vol 28, pp. 387-389 (2003)
- https://doi.org/10.1364/OL.28.000387
- Differential phase tracking applied to Bragg gratings in multi-core fibre for high accuracy curvature measurement
- Flockhart G M H, Cranch G A, Kirkendall C K
- Electronics Letters Vol 42, pp. 390-391 (2006)
- https://doi.org/10.1049/el:20060261
- Efficient fiber Bragg grating and fiber Fabry-Pe'rot sensor multiplexing scheme using a broadband pulsed mode-locked laser
- Cranch G A, Flockhart G M H, Kirkendall C K
- Journal of Lightwave Technology Vol 23, pp. 3798-3807 (2005)
- https://doi.org/10.1109/JLT.2005.857735
- Photonic systems integration for postgraduate students in the Centre for Doctoral Training in Applied Photonics
- Flockhart Gordon M H, Bauer Ralf, Lengden Michael
- Proceedings Volume 12723, Seventeenth Conference on Education and Training in Optics and Photonics: ETOP 2023 Education and Training in Optics & Photonics (ETOP) 2023, pp. 1-10 (2023)
- https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2670785
Teaching
My teaching primarily covers analogue electronics, photonics and the integration of them both. I teach at all levels of our undergraduate degrees. I am responsible for developing the academic programme to provide a successful transition to university for our Engineering Academy programme. I have also developed a new postgraduate class for the Centre for Doctoral Training in Applied Photonics. I also supervise 4th year undergraduate research projects, MSc projects and postgraduate PhD students and EngD research engineers.
I currently contribute to the following classes:
- EF015 EEE Engineering Academy
- EE473 Photonic Systems
- EE979 Systems Engineering Project
- 19496 4th Year Indvidual Projects
- EF105 Physics for Engineering
- EF102 Engineering Skills
- EE781 Concepts in Signal and Image Processing
I have previously taught:
- EE107 Small group tutorials
- EE269 Electronic and Electrical Principles 2
- EE312 Instrumentation and Microcontrollers
Research Interests
I am a member of the Centre for Microsystems and Photonics and my research investigates the application of photonic technologies for measurement applications. Optical sensing technologies provide a range of different advantages compared to conventional electrical sensors. For some applications, these advantages allow optical sensors to provide a unique solution whereas conventional electrical sensors may not meet the required specification. I enjoy the challenge of developing optical sensing systems where photonics, electronics and software systems are integrated. As a researcher this exposes me to a wide range of technologies and the applications of my research can be quite varied from underwater acoustics to bio-medical applications.
Professional Activities
- External Examiner - PhD Thesis
- Examiner
- 7/11/2022
- Qualification Development Specialist
- Consultant
- 27/9/2022
- Qualification Development Specialist
- Consultant
- 29/3/2022
- IEEE International Instrumentation and Measurement Technology Conference (I2MTC), 2021
- Participant
- 17/5/2021
- Bridging the gap: an alternative pathway to studying engineering at university
- Participant
- 2021
- Accelerating Research Innovation: Teaching LabVIEW at a Centre of Doctoral Training
- Recipient
- 2019
Projects
- EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Industry-Inspired Photonic Imaging, Sensing and Analysis | Gill, Kamalpreet
- Lengden, Michael (Principal Investigator) Flockhart, Gordon (Co-investigator) Gill, Kamalpreet (Research Co-investigator)
- 09-Jan-2023 - 09-Jan-2027
- EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Industry-Inspired Photonic Imaging, Sensing and Analysis | Monaghan, Martin
- Flockhart, Gordon (Principal Investigator) Michie, Craig (Co-investigator) Monaghan, Martin (Research Co-investigator)
- 12-Jan-2022 - 12-Jan-2026
- EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Industry-Inspired Photonic Imaging, Sensing and Analysis | Martin, Euan
- Lengden, Michael (Principal Investigator) Flockhart, Gordon (Co-investigator) Martin, Euan (Research Co-investigator)
- 12-Jan-2022 - 12-Jan-2026
- Strathclyde Engineering Scholars – equal outcomes for the most disadvantaged
- Thomson, Avril (Principal Investigator) Flockhart, Gordon (Co-investigator) Race, Julia (Co-investigator) Sypek, Katarzyna (Co-investigator)
- 07-Jan-2022 - 15-Jan-2024
- NPL iCase Studentship - Understanding the Behaviour of Gases in Combustion Processes
- Lengden, Michael (Principal Investigator) Flockhart, Gordon (Co-investigator)
- 01-Jan-2021 - 30-Jan-2025
- EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Industry-Inspired Photonic Imaging, Sensing and Analysis
- Flockhart, Gordon (Principal Investigator) Marshall, Stephen (Co-investigator)
- EPSRC CDT in Industrial Inspired Photonics for Sensing, Imaging and Analysis
- 01-Jan-2019 - 31-Jan-2028
Contact
Dr
Gordon
Flockhart
Academic Director
Faculty of Engineering
Email: gordon.flockhart@strath.ac.uk
Tel: 548 4267