Dr. Wesley Cantwell is the Director of the Aerospace Research and Innovation Center (ARIC), the Associate Dean for Research and a Professor in Aerospace Engineering at Khalifa University. He received his BSC in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering from the University of Southampton and MSc and PhD degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Imperial College, UK. He then worked as a Research Scientist in the Department of Materials at the Ecole Polytechnique Federal de Lausanne for nine years and as a Lecturer/Reader/Professor at the University of Liverpool for eighteen years. During this time he directed a research team focusing on the impact behavior of lightweight structures. He joined Khalifa University in 2012 to direct the Aerospace Research and Innovation Center (ARIC). This research center is a joint effort between Khalifa University and Mubadala and supports the manufacturing operations at Strata, an aerostructures company located at Al Ain. Phase I of the ARIC initiative focused largely on manufacturing and automation in the aerospace industry. Phase II will expand on these initiative and include topics such as additive manufacturing and digital technologies.

Most research interests for a scientist

Wesley Cantwell’s research interests are in composite materials, additive manufacturing, the impact response of structures and smart materials. He has published more than 230 published journal papers on these topics. He has presented a number of keynote addresses at leading international conferences since joining ARIC, including at the 2014 European Conference on Composite Materials and the 2017 International Conference on Composite Structures. He currently works with a number of international partners on this topic, including the University of Cape Town, Tokyo University of Science and Tongji University.

Specialization

• Aeronautical
• Astronautical Engineering