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Dr Sam Grimshaw

College position(s)

Director of Studies, Fellow

Subject

Engineering

Specialising in

Aerodynamics and Turbomachinery

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) Senior Research Fellow

Degrees, Awards and Prizes

MEng, MA, PhD (Cambridge).

  • Associate Fellow of Higher Education Academy.
  • The 2025 Freeman Prize for Innovation at the Whittle Laboratory.
  • American Society for Mechanical Engineers Turbo Expo Committee Best Paper Awards for Turbomachinery in 2014, Unsteady Flows in 2016, and Education in 2017.

Research Themes

As Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) Senior Research Fellow, I am based at the Whittle Laboratory, part of the Department of Engineering, and I research new technology for power and propulsion applications such as electricity generation and zero-carbon flight. The aim of my work with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is to make large compressors used in power generation more efficient, flexible and reliable so they can be used in the zero-carbon energy transition. We do this by studying the complex flow phenomena found in compressors using experimental tests performed at the Whittle Laboratory and at MHI’s R&D centre in Japan, and with computational simulations run on the University’s supercomputer.

Alongside this work, I co-lead a group at the Whittle Laboratory working on “electric jet engines” for future, zero-carbon flight. This work is supported by the UK government and a British SME, called Green Jets, who we are collaborating with to commercialise this new, exciting technology.

Away from power and propulsion, I am very interested in the aerodynamics found in sport and have recently finished supervising a PhD on “The Aerodynamics of Cricket Balls Swing”.

Responsibilities

Teaching is an important part of my work and something I hugely enjoy. I currently supervise Girton undergraduate engineers in first and second year as well as fourth year Masters Projects and PhDs. I am the first year Director of Studies for Engineering at Girton and I lead our Engineering Admissions.

Other

Away from work I enjoy playing hockey and cricket (though I’m starting to slow down…) and I’m involved in coaching, umpiring and administration with Cambridge University Hockey Club (CUHC).

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