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Last updated 17th April 2024

Professor Dame Xiangqian (Jane) Jiang DBE FREng

Professor Dame Jane Jiang is a Professor of Precision Metrology at the University of Huddersfield, and the Chief Scientist in the Centre for Precision Technologies (CPT).  She is the Director of the EPSRC Future Metrology Hub and is a Renishaw/Royal Academy of Engineering Chair in Precision Metrology. Jane obtained her PhD in measurement science in 1995, a DSc for precision metrology in 2007, and an honorary DSc from City, University of London in 2019.

She is a member of the Engineering and Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC), the Technology and Accelerator Advisory Board of the Scientific Technology Facility Council (STFC) and the Wales Science and Innovation Advisory Council. She is an Impact Assessor in the Research Assessment Framework (REF 2021), serving on the Engineering Panel 12.

Jane started her career in the Chinese automotive industry, spending twenty years moving from an apprentice to a qualified engineer. In 1990, Jane started her academic life as an MSc student in measurement science following by a PhD programme where she focused on measurement instruments research. Jane obtained her PhD in 1995 with a thesis entitled “Theory and method for measurement of curved surface topography”.

In 1994-1995, she became a visiting scholar at the Measurement and Instrumentation Centre at City University under Professor Ken Grattan OBE FREng. In 1996, Jane joined the Centre for Metrology at the University of Birmingham with the late Professor Kenneth Stout. In 1997, the research group moved to the University of Huddersfield, where the Centre for Precision Technologies was founded. She first worked as a Research Fellow on the development of standards for areal surface metrology. In 2003, she was awarded the Chair in Precision Metrology.

She created two unique metrology research groups in CPT at the early 2000, whose current research areas are:

Mathematics for Metrology Group focuses on the development of mathematical, scientific and philosophical foundations to support measurement and manufacturing including: 

• Development of numerical representation and characterisation models for freeform surface analytics, including true 3D representation, volumetric representation for XCT analysis, and surface parameterisation, etc.
• Development of decomposition models for freeform surface analytics, including association and robust filtration, freeform filtration, volumetric data analysis, and AI-assisted analytics.
• Development of a semantic language (Category Semantic Language, CSL) and its tools to support semantic representation, reasoning, interpretation and AI-ready decision-making for smart manufacturing through design, manufacturing, metrology, and whole systems modelling. 

Advanced Optical Metrology Group focuses on embedded optical metrology sensor technologies for the assessment and control of surface topography and geometry, process monitoring and defect detection in smart manufacturing applications requiring in-process or on-machine measurement. Specific research areas include:

• Optical interferometry without mechanical motion based upon dispersive and/or polarisation optics, fibre optics and photonic integrated circuits.
• Structured light techniques include fringe projection for optically diffusive surfaces; deflectrometry for the measurement of both continuous and discontinuous specular surfaces; and miniaturised hybrid systems which simultaneously combine both functions.
• Nanophotonics-enabled optical technologies: metasurface-enhanced metrology sensors and instruments which combine size/weight/complexity reduction with enhanced functionality compared with conventional optical systems.

Directly undertaking research, Jane has been awarded more than £ 25M research grants as a Principal Investigator, including EPSRC Critical Mass Grants, a Programme Grant, and an ERC Advanced Grant. She has published more than 500 papers, 7 books, 9 guest-editorships of journal issues and delivered more than 70 plenary lectures, keynotes, and public lecture worldwide. Jane has also intensively worked with industry and transferred research outputs into industrial products and ISO standards.

She is a leading author for a series of scientific reviews published in: the Royal Society Proceeding A (Vol.463, Part I and Part II) in 2007, the CIRP (Vol. 2) in 2012 and 2021 and the Contemporary Physics (Vol.  62). These provided a well-defined fundamental framework for surface metrology. Jane is also a leading organiser for a successful 2011 Royal Society Scientific Discussion Meeting “Ultra Precision Engineering – from Physics to Manufacturing”, https://royalsociety.org/science-events-and-lectures/2011/ultra-precision-engineering/ which became a significant milestone in the history of precision engineering, being the first such scientific discussion meeting in the manufacturing field in the 350-year history of the Royal Society, with a dedicated issue of Philosophical Transition of the Royal Society A 2012 (Vol. 370).   

She is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, the International Academy of Production Research (Collège International pour la Recherche en Productique, CIRP) and Institute of Engineering Technology. In 2006, Jane was awarded a Royal Society Wolfson Merit Award, becoming the first Royal Society Wolfson Research Fellow from a 92’ new University. Jane was awarded an Outstanding Woman of Achievement Award – The Lloyds TSB AWA and presented to The Queen as one of the “People who have made a significant contribution to national life in 2006”, at Buckingham Palace. In 2017 she was recognised in the Queen's Birthday Honours list and was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire for services to Engineering and Manufacturing.