Dr Thomas Allen

My profile

Biography

As a Sports Engineer, I am interested in the effect of engineering and technology on sport, in terms of performance, participation and injury risk. I enjoying collaborating with researchers and working with sports brands and organisations.

Academic and professional qualifications

PhD in Sports Engineering

Chartered Engineer, Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE)

Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (HEA)

External examiner roles

External Examiner for PhD students, including at Loughborough University, Cardiff University, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, University of Naples Federico II, and Sheffield Hallam University.

Expert reviewer

Article reviewer for various journals, including Materials; Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise; Sports Biomechanics; Sports Engineering; Journal of Sports Sciences; European Journal of Sports Sciences; International Journal of Impact Engineering; Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part P, Journal of Sports Engineering and Technology and Materials. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part L, Journal of Materials: Design and Applications; Journal of Low Frequency Noise, Vibration and Active Control.

Other distinctions

• Submitted for REF 2014 and REF 2021.

Organizing committee for the 6th and 7th Winter Schools of the International Sports Engineering Association

Lead of the Health challenge of the UK Metamaterials Network

Expert reviewer for external funding bodies

Royal Academy of Engineering.

Editing

Editor in Chief ofthe journal Sports Engineering.

Guest editor of Special Issues on Predictive Modelling in Sport in Proceedings of the IMechE Part P (2012), and Sports Materials in Applied Sciences (2019).

Series editor of Routledge Research in Sports Technology and Engineering

Membership of professional associations

Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE), Board Member of the Biomedical Engineering Division and Chair of the Sports Engineering Group

Member of the International Sports Engineering Association

Vice President of the International Society for Snowsport Safety

Deputy Chair of BSI committee PH/3/11 - Protective Equipment For Sports Players

Projects

Finite element analysis

Material characterisation

Experimental mechanics

Sports injury prevention

Sports equipment design

Auxetic materials

Teaching

Why study…

As Sports Engineers we aim to get the population more active, which is one of the UK government’s priority areas in order to improve public health. Engineers can help by ensuring sports equipment and clothing is well-designed and accessible to help beginners and novices. Injuries and safety can also cause a barrier, with a number of high profile injuries making it in to the news recently, including cricket, skiing and American football accidents.

Postgraduate teaching

Computational Mechanics

Computer Aided Engineering

MEng Group Project

Sports Materials

Subject areas

Sports Engineering

Supervision

Current PhD students

Murbay, S., Factors influencing the Geometric Dimensional Accuracy of 3D Printing/additive manufacturing in Dentistry, part-time PhD commenced October 2018.

Spurrier, S., Bio-inspired design of climbing shoes, part-time PhD commenced January 2018.

Condliffe, J., Human Responses to 3D forms, part-time PhD commenced January 2018.

Cárdenas, A., Metamaterials for sports applications, PhD commenced September 2021.

Completed PhD students

Elliott, N., 2015 Camera calibration and configuration for estimation of racket position in 3D, PhD.

Adams, C., 2018 Evaluating the performance of snowboard wrist protectors, PhD.

Duncan, O., 2019, Application of auxetic materials to sports equipment, PhD.

Newton-Mann, C., 2020 Finite Element Modelling of Snowboard Wrist Protectors, PhD.

Moroney, C., 2020 Design and development of sports apparel with auxetic materials, PhD.

Imam, A., 2021 Finite element model of padded clothing in Rugby, PhD.

Ascenso, G., 2021 Markerless motion tracking of swimmers, PhD.

Leslie, G., 2022 Development of a wrist impact surrogate for sports applications, PhD.

Shepherd, T., 2022 Finite element modelling of auxetic materials for sports applications, MPhil.

Gatt, I., 2023 Effects of bandaging techniques and shot types on wrist motion in boxing, PhD.

Research outputs

Tom’s research is in the field of Sports Engineering and he collaborates with a number of sports brands. He is the associate editor of Sports Engineering and was on the organising committee for the 10th conference on The Engineering of Sport.

He is an effective science communicator and enjoys promoting engineering to a range of audiences. Tom has delivered invited talks at the Royal Institution’s Faraday Lecture Theatre and the Danish Design Centre, and for a number of organisations, including the Institution of Engineering and Technology, the British Institute of Non-destructive Testing and ANSYS.

Press and media

Media appearances or involvement

My expert opinion is sought for outreach events and media appearances. My media appearances for sport and health span TV, radio, online and print, including the BBC (e.g., Breakfast, News at Six, Sport), Sky News, RTE Radio (Ireland’s national broadcaster) and ABC Radio National (Australia), The Guardian, The Telegraph and Men’s Health.

Featured on the BBC discussing running shoes