Huddersfield Professor wins PWI BARBRO Award

(Pictured left to right: Professor João Pombo, Steven Bell - PWI President and Jamie McMahon - Murphy Group)

Professor João Pombo, Associate Director of the Institute of Railway Research (IRR), University of Huddersfield, has been awarded the prestigious Permanent Way Institution’s (PWI) BARBRO Star of the Year award 2023. The PWI is the professional body for rail infrastructure engineers and has more than 4,500 members in the UK.

The annual Star of the Year award recognises a PWI member who has shown outstanding personal development. The award was created in memory of longstanding PWI Member and employee Alison Stansfield, in honour of her passion for people’s life journey and their ability to better themselves as individuals.

Professor Pombo impressed the awarding panel with the diversity and breadth of his experience, capability and that of his research team.

Nominees for the award are assessed against four criteria: outstanding personal development and progress within the industry; leadership; contribution to industry events and demonstration of personal societal contribution, promoting the benefits of working within the rail infrastructure sector.

As an integral part of the award-winning Institute of Railway Research, this accolade is testament to Professor Pombo’s contribution to a range of successful projects within the rail industry and their significant impact on the design and implementation of major investment programmes.

Professor Pombo, who was presented with his award at a ceremony in York, commented: “It is great honour to receive this prize from such a prestigious professional organisation as the PWI. As well as being an important milestone in my career, it recognises the excellent work the whole IRR team is doing to support the railway industry. I am delighted that our work is promoting the development of new technology and contributing to the industry’s strategic plans to reduce costs and decarbonise our railways. Such developments will improve the competitiveness and attractiveness of rail transport, encouraging modal shift from road to rail and the accompanying benefits to the environment through carbon reduction”.

Beginning his career at the University of Lisbon (Portugal) and Herriot Watt University (UK), Professor Pombo joined the University of Huddersfield in 2018. He is a specialist in railway engineering and technology with more than 25 years’ experience. He has been involved in research and development activities relating to train and track dynamics, vehicle-infrastructure and pantograph-catenary interaction, structural analysis, condition monitoring and maintenance.

During his career, Professor Pombo has led and participated in several national and international projects in close collaboration with leading research centres and industry players worldwide.

Professor Pombo’s research and development activities have been awarded five innovation prizes and he is the author of more than 180 papers in international journals and conferences. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the “International Journal of Railway Technology”, Chair of the "International Conference on Railway Technology" series, and Editorial Board member of the Journals “Multibody System Dynamics” and “Energies - Electric Vehicles”.