Dr Zahur Ullah

Biography	Dr Zahur Ullah is an Associate Professor of Computational Mechanics in the Department of Engineering at Durham University, UK. With an academic and professional background spanning both industry and academia, his expertise lies in advanced computational modelling, particularly in the areas of solid mechanics and Fibre Reinforced Polymer (FRP) composites. He graduated from UET Peshawar, Pakistan, with a BEng in Mechanical Engineering, followed by an MSc in Mechanical Engineering (Applied Mechanics and Design) from UET Taxila, Pakistan. After five years in industry as a Design Engineer, he returned to academia as a Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering at Sarhad University of Science and Information Technology (SUIT), Peshawar, Pakistan. In 2013, he completed his PhD in Computational Mechanics in the Department of Engineering at Durham University, where he specialised in nonlinear solid mechanics using coupled meshless and finite element methods. Following his PhD, he worked for four years (2013-2017) as a Postdoctoral Researcher in the School of Engineering at the University of Glasgow, UK contributed to research in computational modelling of FRP composites and computational fracture mechanics. In 2017, he joined Ulster University as a Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering and Design and later, he moved to the School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Queen’s University Belfast in 2019 as a Lecturer. He also holds a Post-graduate Certificate in Higher Education Practices (PgCHEP) from Ulster University and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA), highlighting his commitment to educational excellence.
Research Interests	Finite elements, meshless and other advanced numerical methods Multi-scale and multi-physics modelling of fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites Low velocity impact (LVI) and compression after impact (CAI) modelling of FRP composites Hybrid composites-metallic laminates for bolted joints 2D/3D woven FRP Composites Use of artificial intelligence (AI) for failure prediction in FRP composite Topology optimisation of both isotropic and anisotropic materials Use of AI in topology optimisation Multi-physics simulation of additive manufacturing processes Damage/fracture/contact mechanics Stochastic finite element method and reliability analysis Auxetic materials Error estimation and adaptive analysis in both finite element and meshless methods Open-source computational mechanics software development Life cycle assessments

Biography

Dr Zahur Ullah is an Associate Professor of Computational Mechanics in the Department of Engineering at Durham University, UK. With an academic and professional background spanning both industry and academia, his expertise lies in advanced computational modelling, particularly in the areas of solid mechanics and Fibre Reinforced Polymer (FRP) composites.
He graduated from UET Peshawar, Pakistan, with a BEng in Mechanical Engineering, followed by an MSc in Mechanical Engineering (Applied Mechanics and Design) from UET Taxila, Pakistan. After five years in industry as a Design Engineer, he returned to academia as a Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering at Sarhad University of Science and Information Technology (SUIT), Peshawar, Pakistan.
In 2013, he completed his PhD in Computational Mechanics in the Department of Engineering at Durham University, where he specialised in nonlinear solid mechanics using coupled meshless and finite element methods. Following his PhD, he worked for four years (2013-2017) as a Postdoctoral Researcher in the School of Engineering at the University of Glasgow, UK contributed to research in computational modelling of FRP composites and computational fracture mechanics. In 2017, he joined Ulster University as a Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering and Design and later, he moved to the School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Queen’s University Belfast in 2019 as a Lecturer. He also holds a Post-graduate Certificate in Higher Education Practices (PgCHEP) from Ulster University and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA), highlighting his commitment to educational excellence.

Research Interests

Finite elements, meshless and other advanced numerical methods
Multi-scale and multi-physics modelling of fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites
Low velocity impact (LVI) and compression after impact (CAI) modelling of FRP composites
Hybrid composites-metallic laminates for bolted joints
2D/3D woven FRP Composites
Use of artificial intelligence (AI) for failure prediction in FRP composite
Topology optimisation of both isotropic and anisotropic materials
Use of AI in topology optimisation
Multi-physics simulation of additive manufacturing processes
Damage/fracture/contact mechanics
Stochastic finite element method and reliability analysis
Auxetic materials
Error estimation and adaptive analysis in both finite element and meshless methods
Open-source computational mechanics software development
Life cycle assessments