Professor Charles Norman MacLeod
Electronic and Electrical Engineering
Personal statement
Charles MacLeod is a Professor in the Centre for Ultrasonic Engineering.
He is the Babcock International Group / Royal Academy of Engineering Chair in Sensor-Driven Automated Welding.
He is director of the Sensor Enabled Automation & Robotics Control Hub (SEARCH), a £24M research innovation and technology transfer laboratory. Aligned to this, he is Course Director of the Autonomous Robotic Intelligent Systems (ARIS) MSc.
His research is primarily associated with the inspection and manufacturing enhancement of high-value assets and components, where he leads a number of high-profile inter-disciplinary in-process welding and metal additive research projects.
He has driven and co-developed core robotic and ultrasonic technology from fundamental EPSRC research, which is now being licensed by a leading industrial organisation and co-developed an innovative inspection robot for a critical life-extension inspection at Sellafield Reprocessing Facility.
He is the PI and designer of the Engaging Robotic Interactive Cell (ERIC) STEM Outreach cell.
His research interests include:
Non-Destructive Evaluation
In-Process Inspection of Fusion Welding & Metal Additive Components
Sensors including Ultrasonic, Electromagnetic, Tactile and Visual
Automation & Robotics
Automated Manufacturing & Welding
Teaching Activities.
Course Director: Autonomous Robotic Intelligent Systems (ARIS) MSc.
Module Registrar: EE987 Sensors & Instrumentation
Lecturer: EE312 Instrumentation and Microcontrollers
Prize And Awards
- The Engineer - Collaborate to Innovate Finalist AWESIM
- Recipient
- 1/3/2022
- Babcock International Group / Royal Academy of Engineering Chair in Sensor Driven Automated High-Integrity Welding
- Recipient
- 1/3/2022
- The BINDT Annual Conference Award
- Recipient
- 5/9/2019
- University of Strathclyde Faculty of Engineering Knowledge Exchange Award (2016)
- Recipient
- 1/8/2016
- Knowledge Exchange Award
- Recipient
- 2016
- University of Strathclyde EPSRC Doctoral Prize 2014/2015
- Recipient
- 1/1/2015
Publications
- Intelligent operator-independent flexibility in robotic non-destructive evaluation
- Hifi Amine, Vithanage Randika KW, McKnight Shaun, Tunukovic Vedran, Nicolson Ewan, Gomes Rylan, Poole Alastair, Mohseni Ehsan, Pierce S Gareth, MacLeod Charles, O'Hare Tom, Munro Gavin
- Advanced Intelligent Systems (2026)
- Assessment of out-of-plane ply waviness in carbon-fibre reinforced plastics : comparing different non-destructive evaluation modalities
- Gomes Rylan CVV, Mohseni Ehsan, Tunukovic Vedran, Maes Vincent, Contino Matteo, Pierce S Gareth, Burnham Kenneth, Vithanage Randika KW, MacLeod Charles N, Munro Gavin, O'Hare Tom
- NDT and E International Vol 160 (2026)
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ndteint.2026.103630
- A step towards ultrasonic guided wave monitoring for resin infusion front position estimation in composites manufacturing
- Calistru Cristian A, Mohseni Ehsan, Tunukovic Vedran, Pierce S Gareth, Lines David, MacLeod Charles N, Vithanage Randika KW, Bomphray Iain, Weis Tobias, Munro Gavin, O'Hare Tom
- NDT and E International Vol 159 (2025)
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ndteint.2025.103620
- Inter-pass peening for residual stress control in additive manufacturing : validation using ultrasonic, X-ray and contour method
- Walker Joseph, Mills Brandon, Javadi Yashar, MacLeod Charles, Sun Yongle, Ahmad Bilal, Williams Stewart, Ding Jialuo, Tamimi Saeed
- Materials & Design Vol 260 (2025)
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2025.115247
- A fly-crawl-fly UAV for full-circumference inspection of non-magnetic pipes via thrust adhesion
- Watson Robert, Zhao Taiyi, Zhang Dayi, Dobie Gordon, MacLeod Charles Norman, Pierce S Gareth
- IEEE Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering Vol 22, pp. 24278 - 24293 (2025)
- https://doi.org/10.1109/TASE.2025.3633313
- Evaluation of signal disturbance and recovery in phased array ultrasonic inspection during welding
- Dimakos Angelos, Sweeney Nina E, Loukas Charalampos, Thompson Christopher D, Serjeant Sam, MacLeod Charles N, Mohseni Ehsan, Lines David, Sibson James
- Welding in the World (2025)
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s40194-025-02256-3
Professional Activities
- The Impact of Peening on Residual Stress in Wire-Arc Additive Manufactured Ti-6Al-4V Using Contour Method and Phased Array Ultrasonics
- Contributor
- 22/10/2025
- Ultrasonic Guided Wave Sensor Network Data Inversion for Resin Front Prediction in Carbon Fibre Composite Plastics Infusion Processes
- Contributor
- 15/9/2025
- Predictive Models for Estimating Front Position in Resin Infusion Processes Using Ultrasonic Guided Wave Sensors
- Contributor
- 10/9/2025
- Statistical and Machine Learning Models for Flow Position Estimation in Resin Infusion Processes Using Ultrasonic Guided Wave Monitoring
- Contributor
- 23/7/2025
- The 78th Annual Assembly of International Institute of Welding (IIW) and International Conference on Welding and Joining
- Chair
- 22/6/2025
- EPSRC Scoping Worskhop (Critical mass)
- Participant
- 30/1/2025
Projects
- UKRI2005: DA EPSRC IDLA - University of Strathclyde 2025 / S251622-108
- Loukas, Charalampos (Co-investigator) MacLeod, Charles Norman (Co-investigator)
- 01-Jan-2025 - 30-Jan-2030
- Robotic laser ultrasonic inspection system (Photonics & Quantum Accelerator (PQA) )
- Stratoudaki, Theodosia (Principal Investigator) MacLeod, Charles Norman (Co-investigator) Pierce, Gareth (Co-investigator)
- 01-Jan-2025 - 28-Jan-2026
- BIG IA TB2
- MacLeod, Charles Norman (Principal Investigator)
- Linked to RKES 221449
- 22-Jan-2025 - 21-Jan-2028
- Comparative Analysis of Residual Stresses in Aluminum Components Produced by Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) and AdditiveFriction Stir Deposition (AFSD)
- Javadi, Yashar (Principal Investigator) MacLeod, Charles Norman (Co-investigator) BUFFA, GIANLUCA (Co-investigator) Tamimi, Saeed (Co-investigator) Rahimi, Salaheddin (Co-investigator) Paradowska, Anna (Co-investigator) Alipooramirabad, Houman (Co-investigator)
- This collaborative study between ANSTO, University of Palermo, University of Strathclyde, and AFRC investigates residual stresses in aluminum components produced via WAAM and AFSD (including MELD). Using neutron diffraction and ultrasonic techniques, the project aims to characterize and compare stress profiles across processes. The findings will inform process optimization and contribute to a doctoral thesis on in-situ stress measurement in metal additive manufacturing.
- 10-Jan-2025 - 09-Jan-2026
- RR Prod Cell
- MacLeod, Charles Norman (Principal Investigator)
- 01-Jan-2025 - 31-Jan-2028
- Fusing A Future From Glasgow's Proud Heritage - The Next Wave (Innovation project commission Glasgow City Region - Extension)
- MacLeod, Charles Norman (Principal Investigator) Dobie, Gordon (Co-investigator) Gachagan, Anthony (Co-investigator) Javadi, Yashar (Co-investigator) Mohseni, Ehsan (Co-investigator) Pierce, Gareth (Co-investigator) Stratoudaki, Theodosia (Co-investigator) Ward, Michael (Co-investigator) Wathavana Vithanage, Randika Kosala (Co-investigator) Lines, David (Research Co-investigator) Loukas, Charalampos (Research Co-investigator) Munro, William (Research Co-investigator) Nicolson, Ewan (Research Co-investigator) Watson, Robert (Research Co-investigator)
- 01-Jan-2025 - 31-Jan-2026
Contact
Professor
Charles Norman
MacLeod
Electronic and Electrical Engineering
Email: charles.macleod@strath.ac.uk
Tel: Unlisted