Professor Martin Birkett

Professor

School: Engineering, Physics and Mathematics

Professor Birkett joined the Mechanical Engineering Department at Northumbria University in 2011. Prior to this he worked in the manufacturing industry for sixteen years, where he completed a Craft Apprenticeship before moving on to work as a Manufacturing Engineer and then a Senior Research and Development Engineer, primarily working on the development of new thin film materials and processes. During this period, he also studied on a part-time basis for a BEng (Hons) degree in Manufacturing Systems Engineering and a PhD degree in the area of thin film materials and coatings.

Professor Birkett currently leads the Engineering Materials and Mechanics Group (EM²G) and he mainly teaches on the Mechanical Engineering degree programmes in the areas of materials and manufacturing technology and systems. His research is focussed on the development of new thin film materials and coatings for mechanical, electrical and biomedical applications and has been funded by the European Commission, The Leverhulme Trust, EPSRC, The British Academy, The Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 and several industrial collaborators.

Professor Birkett is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA), a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (FIMechE), a Chartered Engineer (CEng) and a member of the EPSRC, UKRI FLF/Talent and Leverhulme Trust Peer Review Colleges.

Email Martin

Key Publications

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Effect of Surface Roughness on Microstructure, Microhardness and Wear Properties of Fused Filament Fabricated 316L Stainless Steel, Igwe, A., Mahamood, R., Mwema, F., Birkett, M., Akinlabi, E. 23 Feb 2026, Proceedings of ASME 2025 International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition, New York, US, American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
Experimental Investigation of the Tensile and Fatigue Behaviour of 3D-Printed Recycled PLA Parts, Igwe, A., Mahamood, R., Igwe, N., Birkett, M., Mwema, F., Akinlabi, E. 29 Apr 2026, In: Advances in Materials and Processing Technologies
Transformative Bioactive Wear Resistant Ti₃Au:N and Ti₃Au:O Coatings for Medical Implants and Devices, Lukose, C., Anestopoulos, I., Panagiotidis, I., Zoppi, G., Black, A., Dover, L., Bowen, L., Serrano‐Aroca, Á., Mendola, L., Morrone, D., Panayiotidis, M., Birkett, M. 9 Feb 2026, In: Advanced Healthcare Materials
Concurrent Biocompatibility and Antimicrobial Functionality of Soft Diamond‐Like Carbon Coating for Healthcare Applications, Zia, A., Tuñón‐Molina, A., Anestopoulos, I., Martí, M., Panagiotidis, I., Ijaz, A., Serrano‐Aroca, Á., Panayiotidis, M., Birkett, M. 28 Jul 2025, In: Advanced Healthcare Materials
Emergence of near-zero temperature coefficient of resistance in the Mn3CuN antiperovskite thin film structure, Cherian Lukose, C., Zoppi, G., Birkett, M. 15 Jan 2025, In: Applied Surface Science
Enhancing mode I fracture resistance of aluminium-carbon fibre-reinforced polymer hybrid composites via boehmite crystallisation and through thickness reinforcement, Raja Adzhar, R., Blacklock, M., Birkett, M. 1 Feb 2025, In: Advanced Composites and Hybrid Materials
Boosting photocatalytic activity in ternary lamellar hierarchical structured ZnFe2O4/polymeric carbon nitride by constructing an electronic bridge, Zhao, Y., Guo, Z., Wang, Y., Birkett, M., Xiang, X., Zhang, C., Jin, Y., Che, G., Wang, H., Liu, C., Liu, T., Qi, J. 1 Jun 2024, In: Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering
Characterisation of print path deviation in material extrusion, Blacklock, M., Sherugar, S., Birkett, M. 1 Aug 2024, In: Progress in Additive Manufacturing
Nanomechanical and Microstructural Characterization of Biocompatible Ti3Au Thin Films Grown on Glass and Ti6Al4V Substrates, Cherian Lukose, C., Anestopoulos, I., Panayiotidis, M., Birkett, M. 13 May 2024, In: ACS Biomaterials Science and Engineering
Optimisation of Printing Parameters of Fused Filament Fabrication and Uniaxial Compression Failure Analysis for Four-Point Star-Shaped Structures, Wambua, J., Mwema, F., Akinlabi, S., Birkett, M., Xu, B., Woo, W., Taverne, M., Ho, D., Akinlabi, E. 17 May 2024, In: Rapid Prototyping Journal

Current and Recent Projects

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
NU-Pico Additional Funding, Birkett, M. (Principal Investigator), Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, 01/10/25 - 31/03/26, £400,000.00
Northumbria University Scanning Electron Microscope Picomechanical Indenter (NU-Pico), Birkett, M. (Principal Investigator), Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, 03/01/25 - 03/07/26, £449,990.00
Advanced Thin Film Sputtering Fabrication Facility (TF-FAB), Zoppi, G. (Principal Investigator), Birkett, M. (Co Investigator), Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, 01/04/23 - 31/03/26, £971,033.00
Wear performance of Ti3Au coatings for biomedical implants, Cherian Lukose, C. (Principal Investigator), Birkett, M. (Co Investigator), RIS Internal Funding, 01/04/23 - 31/07/23, £8,400.00
Advanced Bioactive Diamond-like Carbon-based Coatings for Next Generation Orthopaedic Implants, Birkett, M. (Principal Investigator), British Academy, 23/12/21 - 17/03/22, £9,892.00
High-Performance Biocompatible Ag-DLC Coatings - Precise and Localized Silver Doping Through Novel Helium Pulse Injections, Birkett, M. (Principal Investigator), European Commission, 01/10/20 - 30/09/22, £191,270.00
Super Hard Biocompatible Coatings of Beta Ti3Au, Birkett, M. (Principal Investigator), The Leverhulme Trust, 01/03/19 - 28/02/22, £224,630.00
Development of Advanced Polymers for Subsea Applications, Birkett, M. (Principal Investigator), Technip Umbilical Systems (TUS), 01/02/18 - 31/01/21, £141,811.00
Development of Ultra-Precision Thin Film Resistive materials, Birkett, M. (Principal Investigator), TT electronics plc, 02/03/14 - 02/03/17, £37,250.00
Development of 5W, 4-terminal Metal Strip Shunt Resistor, Birkett, M. (Principal Investigator), Welwyn Components Limited, 01/03/14 - 31/03/14, £6,000.00

PGR Supervision

Darkam Al Janabi An Investigation into the Relationship Between Organisational Culture and Maintenance Implementation in Iraqi Power Plants Start Date: 09/12/2013 End Date: 27/02/2017
Siti Nabilah Misti Development of a Precision Trimming Process for Manganin Shunt Resistors Start Date: 15/10/2012 End Date: 15/06/2017
Cecil Cherian Lukose An investigative study of Manganese-based Antiperovskite structures as a thin film resistive material system Start Date: 02/04/2014 End Date: 10/10/2018
Maria Alafogianni An investigation of varying laser trim pattern characteristics on the performance and reliability of discrete resistive components Start Date: 01/10/2014 End Date: 07/11/2018
Mohamed Abduelmula An investigation into the barriers to lean implementation in Libyan manufacturing companies and development of a framework for its utilisation Start Date: 05/11/2014 End Date: 26/07/2019
Chinyere Okolo Investigation of Thermal Conductivity and Mechanical Properties of Polyurethane Urea Nanocomposites for Bend Stiffener Application Start Date: 01/08/2018 End Date: 26/04/2024
Osama Elgadi Investigation into the Barriers to Six Sigma in Libyan Manufacturing Companies and Development of a Framework for its Implementation Start Date: 03/02/2014 End Date: 10/10/2018
Aaron Kirkbride The material selection, coating and joining requirements for the avoidance of Hydrogen degradation mechanisms to ensure the provision of cost-effective, damage tolerant systems for the net zero emissions strategies that involve H2 and CCUS applications. Start Date: 01/10/2025 End Date: 17/10/2025
Raja Muhamad Hafiz Raja Adzhar Investigation into the effect of varying aluminium surface pre-treatments on the mechanical properties of hybrid aluminium-carbon fibre reinforced plastic joints Start Date: 01/03/2020 End Date: 25/07/2025
Aaron Kirkbride Mechanical performance of high entropy alloy coatings for hydrogen applications Start Date: 01/10/2025