Ultra-precision engineering – from physics to manufacturing

Professor Jane Jiang holds the Chair of Precision Metrology and Chief Scientist at the Centre for Precision Technologies, University of Huddersfield. She has a PhD in Surface Measurement Science and a DSc in Precision Engineering. She is a principle member of the ISO TC/213 committee “Dimensional Geometrical Produces Specification and Verification” and the BSI TW/4 committee "Engineering drawing, metrology, precision measurement", and a UK Measurement Advisory Committee Member.

Jane Jiang’s main research includes: development of mathematical models and algorithms for form and surface texture analysis, filtration and parametric characterisation; optical interferometry techniques for measurement of ultra-precision micro/nano-scale surface topography. Prof. Jiang has published over 200 papers and author/co-authored 8 books on measurement science and surface/precision metrology. She is a Royal Society Senior Research Fellow and holds a Wolfson Research Merit Award. Jane was awarded the UK Outstanding Asian Woman of Achievement in 2006. Prof. Jiang is an elected Fellow of IET and RSA.

Professor Pat McKeown OBE FREng Hon DSc, Hon DSc, has been described as one of the pioneers of modern high precision engineering. After initial training in the aircraft industry he joined the world leading Swiss high precision machine tool company of the time, GSIP, where he specialised in the comprehensive geometric and thermal error analyses of machines. This led to rules for the design of high precision machines and eventually to 3D error-mapping and software error compensation, in universal use today. After 13 years in industry, he returned to Cranfield in 1968 to establish the Cranfield Unit for Precision Engineering, a MinTech industrial unit which designed, constructed, commissioned and supplied a wide range of ultra-precision machine tools and metrology equipment,world-wide. These included single point diamond turning machines capable of nanometre accuracy, grinding machines for large telescope mirrors, camshafts, crankshafts and complex geometry gears and several specialist metrology instruments etc. He has led professional development short courses in the UK, USA, China, Singapore, Taiwan and Australia. He has been visiting professor at U of California, Berkeley, U of Wisconsin, Madison and Nanjing University of Aeronatics, China. He was the founding president of the highly successful European Society for Precision Engineering and Nanotechnology, euspen, in 1999, has received lifetime achievement awards from the precision engineering societies of America, Japan and Europe and was awarded the Georg Schlesinger Pries from the State of Berlin in 2007 for his work in production engineering in general and high precision engineering in particular.  

Professor Whitehouse graduated in Physics from Bristol University in 1958 and was awarded a PhD in Tribology by Leicester University in 1971, then a DSc in Metrology by the University of Warwick in 1986.

He  began his professional career in 1958 as a development engineer becoming  Chief Research Engineer (Taylor Hobson)  the protégé of Dr R E Reason FRS.  After 20 years in industry he moved to the University of Warwick first as Professor of  Engineering  Science  later becoming Chief Scientist in the School of Engineering. He is regarded as the world authority on surface and nanometrology having lectured in 37 countries on these subjects. He holds 22 patents,  has written more than 250 technical papers, and 5 books including the “Handbook of Surface Metrology”, now widely considered the classic in the field and more recently the “Handbook of Surface and Nanotechnology”( new edition).  In 1990 he initiated the world’s first journal on Nanotechnology for the Institute of Physics. Whitehouse is a charter member of the American Society for Precision Engineering, a Fellow of the International Academy of Production Engineering (CIRP), and a past President of the Committee for Surface Roughness. He is a Fellow of the UK Institute of Physics, the Institute of Measurement and Control, the Institution of Production Engineers, and the Institution of Electrical Engineers. He is an Honorary Member of The Japanese Institution of Precision Engineers and a Senior Member of the Chinese Society of Mechanical Engineers.

He has received many prizes and honors throughout the world including a lifetime achievement award from, the American Society of Precision Engineers in which he is described as the ‘Father of digital metrology’.