Andrew Pollard - Industrial Professor

Prof Andrew Pollard was appointed in 2003 as Industrial Professor in the Faculty of Science & Engineering and is a specialist in development and commercialisation of new products. After gaining a 1 class hons degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Bristol he started his career working for BAE Systems as a composites production engineer. He went on to carry out research at the University of Salford, gaining a PhD for his work on the performance of composite structures in a deep sea environment.

Prof Pollard has 16 years industrial experience at GKN Technology, the central R&D centre for GKN plc, where he worked on new product and process development for springs, driveshaft’s and couplings produced from composite materials. He has developed an international reputation in high power driveshaft’s produced from composite materials, with publications in that field and also responsibility for the development and commercial introduction of a new composite driveshaft coupling for wind turbines.

He has recently completed a 3 year term engaged by SBS (a European organisation representing the interests of small companies) to sit on a European Committee working to develop standards for companies involved in the supply of construction products.

At Wolverhampton, he is now Project Director for two multi-million ERDF funded business innovation support projects, Intellectual Property manager for the University of Wolverhampton and leads the CIC Investment Fund, which develops and invests in University spin-out companies. He is a director of Disulfican Ltd, which has been established to develop a novel anti-cancer therapy and a director of Space Audit Systems Ltd, which has developed specialist software to assist University resource management.

A.Pollard@wlv.ac.uk

Tel: 01902 321763