Andrew Ball

Professor Andrew Ball is Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research and Enterprise and Professor of Diagnostic Engineering at the University of Huddersfield.

Graduating from the University of Leeds in 1987, Andrew attained a first class honours in Mechanical Engineering, his degree having been sponsored by BICC Electronic Cables. Andrew went on to work for Ruston Gas Turbines and then gained a sponsorship from WM Engineering and the Royal Navy, enabling him to join the Total Technology Scheme at the University of Manchester, from which he graduated in 1991 with a PhD in Machinery Condition Monitoring.

Andrew then took the Shell sponsored lectureship in Maintenance Engineering at the University of Manchester; he was promoted to Professor of Maintenance Engineering in 1999, and was the Head of School of the Manchester School of Engineering from 2003 to 2004. In 2005 he became Dean of Graduate Education and in late-2007 he moved to the University of Huddersfield as Professor of Diagnostic Engineering and Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Enterprise.

Over the 25 years that he has been an academic, Andrew has established the largest independent plant maintenance and diagnostics research group in the world. The Centre for Efficiency and Performance Engineering aims to advance the scope and sensitivity of machinery fault detection and diagnosis and of plant performance and emissions monitoring. The philosophy is to use routine instrumentation where possible, to apply sophisticated signal processing, to develop non-intrusive on-line techniques and to focus upon incipient faults with the intention of predicting future behaviour. The group is recognised internationally for its specialism in:

• Machinery condition monitoring, fault detection and diagnosis
• Signal processing, feature extraction and pattern recognition
• Vibro-acoustic and vibro-impact analysis
• Model based and predictive methods
• Sensor development & novel measurement
• Non-intrusive parameter estimation

Andrew’s personal research expertise is in the detection and diagnosis of faults in mechanical, electrical and electro-hydraulic machines, in data analysis and signal processing, and in measurement systems and sensor development. He is the author of over 300 technical and professional publications, and he has spent a large amount of time lecturing and consulting to industry in all parts of the world.

Andrew has to date graduated more than 60 research degrees, in the fields of Mechanical, Electrical and Diagnostic Engineering. He has acted as external examiner at over 30 institutions, he holds visiting and honorary positions at 4 overseas universities, he sits on 3 large corporate scientific advisory boards, and he is also a Registered Expert Witness in 3 countries.

• Machinery condition monitoring
• Vibration analysis
• Signal processing
• Fault detection
• Acoustics

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