Sarah Spurgeon

Last updated

Sarah Spurgeon
OBE FREng
Born
Sarah Katherine Mudge

(1963-12-04) December 4, 1963 (age 60)
Wolverhampton
Education Ounsdale High School
Alma mater University of York (BSc, DPhil)
Known for Control Engineering
Scientific career
Fields Electrical engineering
Sliding mode controls [1]
Institutions University College London
University of Kent
Loughborough University
University of Leicester
Thesis An assessment of robustness of flight control systems based on variable structure techniques  (2003)
Website www.ucl.ac.uk/electronic-electrical-engineering/people/prof-sarah-spurgeon

Sarah Katherine Spurgeon OBE FREng (born 4 December 1963) is the Head of Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering at University College London. [1] [2] She served as President of the Engineering Professors' Council from 2017 to 2019. She has previously served as Head of the Department of Engineering at both the University of Leicester and University of Kent.

Contents

Early life and education

Spurgeon was born in Wolverhampton. She is the daughter of Michael and Sheila Mudge. [3] She attended Ounsdale High School. She studied mathematics at the University of York, and earned her Bachelor's degree in 1985 and Doctor of Philosophy degree in engineering in 1988. [4]

Research and career

After completing her studies Spurgeon first moved to Loughborough University, where she worked as a lecturer, before joining the University of Leicester in 1991.

Spurgeon is a control engineer. She works to optimise different systems, including aeroplanes, cars, robots and healthcare. Her contributions to control engineering include sliding mode control and variable structure control. [5] When setting up a control problem there are mismatches between the plant and model used for control design. Spurgeon's sliding mode control theory produces controllers that overcome these discrepancies. [6]

Academic service

In 2006 Spurgeon was Head of the Department of Engineering at the University of Leicester. She moved to the University of Kent in 2008, where she was made Head of the School of Engineering and Digital Arts. In 2011 she was appointed the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Distinguished Lecturer for the Controlled Systems Society. She served as Vice Chair of the International Federation of Automatic Control from 2014 to 2017. [7] During this time she also chaired the Royal Academy of Engineering Ingenious Award panel. [8] [9] In 2015 she was elected President of the Institute of Measurement and Control. [7] In 2016 she joined University College London as Head of Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering. She serves as the President of the Engineering Professors' Council. She is a member of the Royal Society International Exchanges Committee, who make decisions on international exchange programs including the Yusuf and Farida Hamied Foundation International Exchange Award and the Royal Society of Chemistry Exchange Award. [10] As of 2019 she serves on the board of EngineeringUK and the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory. [11] [12] She serves on the advisory team of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. [13] She has been involved in the promotion of women in engineering with the Royal Academy of Engineering. [14]

Awards and honours

Her awards and honours include;

Selected publications

Her publications [1] [2] include;

Personal life

Spurgeon is married to Christopher Thomas Spurgeon. [3] Together they have three children. [3]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Sarah Spurgeon publications indexed by Google Scholar OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  2. 1 2 Sarah Spurgeon publications indexed by the Scopus bibliographic database. (subscription required)
  3. 1 2 3 Anon (2019). "Spurgeon, Prof. Sarah Katherine" . Who's Who (online Oxford University Press  ed.). Oxford: A & C Black. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U249767.(Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  4. ↑ Spurgeon, Sarah K. (1988). An assessment of robustness of flight control systems based on variable structure techniques (DPhil thesis). University of York. OCLC   59767971. EThOS   uk.bl.ethos.383881.
  5. ↑ Introduction to Sliding Mode Control - Lecture by Sarah K Spurgeon , retrieved 29 August 2019
  6. ↑ Edwards, C.; Spurgeon, S. (27 August 1998). Sliding Mode Control: Theory And Applications. CRC Press. ISBN   9780748406012.
  7. 1 2 Anon (2015). "Introducing Professor Sarah Spurgeon, OBE . . . President of the Institute of Measurement and Control 2015–2016". Measurement and Control. 48 (1): 3. doi: 10.1177/0020294014567040 . ISSN   0020-2940.
  8. ↑ "Watch it Made® Wins Royal Academy of Engineering Funding". Ultra Precision. 15 April 2015. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  9. ↑ "Royal Academy of Engineering - Ingenious". Jodrell Bank. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  10. ↑ "Sarah Spurgeon". royalsociety.org. Royal Society . Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  11. ↑ "Plenary Speakers". eventi.unibo.it. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  12. ↑ "Defence Scientific Advisory Council (DSAC)". GOV.UK. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  13. ↑ "Strategic Advisory Team - EPSRC website". epsrc.ukri.org. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  14. ↑ "Celebrating leading women in engineering". Royal Academy of Engineering. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  15. 1 2 "WES Fellow Professor Sarah Spurgeon Appointed President of Institute of Measurement and Control | Women's Engineering Society". wes.org.uk. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  16. ↑ May 2015, Gary Hughes 11. "Professor receives OBE from HRH the Prince of Wales - University of Kent". The University of Kent. Retrieved 29 August 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  17. ↑ "About the IEEE Fellow Program". www.ieee.org. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
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