SPOTLIGHT – As he retires from Sheffield Hallam, Professor Martin Howarth reflects on his career and offers advice for future research engineers.

Tell us a bit about your early career

I originally studied and trained as a manufacturing engineer and worked in both the automotive and electronics industries. I became increasingly interested in the more technical aspects of new technology and technological developments for manufacturing, that were particularly focused around robotics in the 80s and 90s.

I was employed as a research associate at the University of Nottingham, working on the application of robotic handling of crystal glassware. I focused on finding ways of dexterous manipulation of glassware to aid the actual manufacturing of those products – that led to more engagements within academia and particularly working with universities. It also led to my own PhD, which I studied in the 90s, exploring the use of neural network on the capability of robotics to have greater dexterity and more autonomous behaviour in terms of self-learning.

What led you to work at Hallam?

I came to Hallam as a Senior Lecturer and gradually developed my engineering expertise to work with the food and drink sector. When I became head of department for engineering and mathematics, I wanted to ensure that the engineering students had the opportunity of understanding as wide a range of applications of engineering as possible.

At the time, we didn’t have any engagement with the food and drink sector – which is bigger than automotive and aerospace engineering industries combined. It’s a sector that has a huge amount of fascinating engineering applications and great opportunities for applying engineering science and technology in the manufacturing and processing of food and drinks.

I’ve become progressively more engaged with the sector and over the last few years, with increased focus on collaborating with industry to carry out research and technical development of food processing.

What is the most exciting thing about your work?

The most exciting part of my work is a combination of being associated with developing materials, ingredients, and products that we all want to consume, and being very close to a product that we all recognize and enjoy. It’s also exciting to be able to apply engineering systems to enhance the quality and taste of products everyone can relate to.

What are some of the challenges?

The challenging part is the complexities of the materials in terms of both their physical, chemical, and biological characteristics. The combination of these characteristics makes the challenge much more difficult than other materials where the basic science of the characteristics is independent.

Because we need to understand and build in the health and nutrition aspects as well as the taste and texture, all that makes it much more complex, but also more fascinating – it has motivated me to find great solutions to innovate on products that people want to consume.

Who or what inspired you to pursue your career?

Professor Jeffrey Knight from the University of Nottingham was the original inspiration for me to carry out further, more detailed research into technical and engineering solutions to manufacturing operations. There was also Siva, Dr Sivayoganathan from Nottingham Trent University – he and I worked very closely together, and he was a real inspiration for his enthusiasm for investigating and finding technical solutions to mechanical and electrical production systems.

Can you share a turning point or defining moment in your work as a researcher?

There were two turning points and they were both in terms of the development of Food Engineering as a specific discipline at the university. The first one was gaining the support of the sector, particularly driven by the Food and Drink Federation and the National Skills Academy for Food and Drink, to get them and their partners to work with us and support us to pursue Food Engineering as an educational discipline.

This enabled us to make a change in terms of our engagement with the industry and demonstrate that a focus on this critical sector, was something which was really positive for multi-disciplinary and cross-disciplinary activities. The second was in 2016 when we got the funding to design and build the bespoke National Centre for Excellence in Food Engineering (NCEFE) research centre, from where we have been delivering food engineering research since 2019.

What do you most enjoy about your work?

I enjoy the interplay between engineering, science, and products that we all recognize and consume, understanding the connection between the fundamental processing of those materials, ingredients, and processes into the products that are healthy and sustainable.

I like that there’s real knowledge application in what we do – when we find solutions, we can see the direct impact it’s actually having on the sector.

What do you see as the next steps for the research centre?

We’re on a journey to continually build capacity and impact for the centre – regionally, nationally, and internationally. There are and will be more and more opportunities for researchers and others to collaborate to develop significant innovations and impacts for the sector.

Is there an opportunity for colleagues to collaborate with NCEFE?

Yes, we openly encourage collaborations from across I²Ri, the colleges and different research centres in Hallam – we’re always looking to grow our knowledge base!

We want to work with and support others to deliver their own expertise within the food manufacturing space that we focus on – our research theme are broad and inclusive: National Centre of Excellence for Food Engineering Research Themes | Sheffield Hallam University (shu.ac.uk)

What real-world impact does the centre’s research make?

We demonstrated in the last REF round that we had an impact on energy systems for food processing and so that’s a theme that we are continuing to work on: How we’re saving energy in the food industry

We also have numerous case studies of impact across our research themes: Our impact | Sheffield Hallam University (shu.ac.uk)

Making an impact on health outcomes through food engineering and advanced manufacturing solutions is something we are passionate about.

What advice would you give to someone who was looking to embark on a career in research?

Don’t hesitate, just do it!

What does retirement have in store for you?

Initially, some slightly longer more relaxed holidays and I want to improve my German. There are also some community initiatives which will be very rewarding to support.

I also like riding anything that has two wheels. I did have a time when I was racing three-wheeled things but that was when I was a lot younger.

What is your parting wisdom for everyone involved with NCEFE?

The food system is so important, from its economic value, to its contribution to everyone’s health. It’s also a fascinating interaction of engineering and bio-sciences, complicated further by the psychology of choice. NCEFE is perfectly positioned to make a big impact in the sector – go for it!