Dr Wei Tan

Dr Tan's recent research endeavours have been centred on addressing pivotal scientific challenges crucial for expediting our transition towards a net-zero carbon society, with a primary focus on the innovative use of lightweight materials. His research aims to reveal the deformation and failure mechanisms of materials by a combination of experimental, analytical and numerical approaches. His current research focuses on addressing the longstanding puzzle of liquid-solid impact, which involves the collision between a high-velocity liquid and a solid, leading to substantial material degradation (e.g. wind turbine blades). Dr Tan has published over 40 papers in prestigious journals (JMPS, EML, CSTE, Composites Part A/B). In recent years, he has secured substantial funding, including an European Research Council Starting Grant (~ £1.3 million), an EPSRC New Investigator Award (£392k), and a Royal Society grant (£70k). In 2023, Stanford University featured Dr Tan among the World's Top 2% Most Cited Scientists in the area of Materials research.

The following video shows some of Dr Tan's high-fidelity computational simulation of liquid-solid impact: