Dr David Clark
Senior Lecturer
- clarkd@cardiff.ac.uk
- +44 (0)29 2087 5070
- E3.23, Queen's Buildings - East Building, 5 The Parade, Newport Road, Cardiff, CF24 3AA
- Welsh speaking
- Available for postgraduate supervision
Overview
I am a Senior Lecturer, conducting research into high voltage insulation systems for aerospace, lightning protection and direct effects and power system earthing. I teach a variety of subjects on both the Electrical & Electronic and Integrated engineering degree schemes at Cardiff, specialising in electromagnetics and power engineering.
As deputy-director of the Morgan-Botti Lightning Laboratory, I am involved with a range of industrially-focussed projects concerned with the impact of lightning on materials and structures, and the effective operation of lightning protection schemes. We work closely with the aerospace, power and telecommunications sectors at the early stages of technology readiness, to develop solutions for earthing and lightning protection.
I am also involved with research projects on lightning protection and electrical safety cases for community nanogrid schemes in developing countries, and measuring the ecological impact of lightning in the tropics as a consequence and possible driver of climate change.
Biography
Appointments
- 08/2020 - present: Senior Lecturer in High Voltage and High Current Engineering, School of Engineering, Cardiff University
- 01/2014 - present: Deputy Director, Morgan-Botti Lightning Laboratory, School of Engineering, Cardiff University
- 01/2014 - 07/2020: Lecturer in High Voltage and High Current Engineering, School of Engineering, Cardiff University
- 04/2012 - 12/2013: Research Associate, School of Engineering, Cardiff University
- 10/2007 - 03/2012: PGR Teaching Assistant, School of Engineering, Cardiff University
Qualifications
- Postgraduate Certificate in Undergraduate Teaching & Learning (PgCUTL), Cardiff University, Wales, UK, 2017
- Ph.D – Electrical & Electronic Engineering, Cardiff University, Wales, UK, 2012
- BEng – Electrical & Electronic Engineering (1st Class), Cardiff University, Wales, UK, 2007
Honours and awards
Teaching of the Year Awards 2016-2017
Professional memberships
- Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (HEA)
- Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE)
- Member of the Institution of Engineering & Technology (IET)
Speaking engagements
- 2022: International Conference on Lightning & Static Electricity (ICOLSE), Madrid.
- 2022: DTE+ Networking Event, Cardiff
- 2019: International Symposium of High Voltage Engineering (ISH), Budapest
- 2017: Visiting Academic Seminar, UNCIAMP, Capinas
- 2017: International Symposium of High Voltage Engineering (ISH), Buenos Aires
- 2015: International Symposium of High Voltage Engineering (ISH), Pilsen
- 2013: International Symposium of High Voltage Engineering (ISH), Seoul
- 2013: Univeristies Power Engineering Conference (UPEC), Dublin
Committees and reviewing
- Journal Reviewer - IEEE, IET and MDPI Journals
Previous
- Organising Committee - Universities' High Votlage Network (UHVNet) Conference, 2022
- Academic Contributor - EUROCAE WG31 - Lightning
- IET Electromagnetics TPN Committee
PhD Vivas (External)
- 2021 - Jing Qiang (Supervised by Prof. J. Yan, University of Liverpool)
PhD Vivas (Internal)
- 2023 - Mohamed Alruwaili (Supervised by Prof. Liana Cipcigan)
- 2023 - Ehsan Mohamed Altayef (Supervised by Dr Fatih Anayi)
- 2018 - Saodah Binti Omar (Supervised by Prof H Griffiths)
PhD Vivas (Chair)
- 2022 - Xibo Yuan (Supervised by Prof Jun Liang)
- 2021 - Davide Pinzan (Supervised by Prof Manu Haddad)
Publications
We are currently unable to retrieve the list of publications. Visit our institutional repository.Teaching
I am a senior lecturer and outgoing Year 3 / Project tutor for the EEE discipline. I also sit on the Degree-Apprenticeship partnership board
I have teaching responsibilities on the following taught programmes:
- Integrated Engineering (BEng / MEng)
- Electrical & Electronic Engineering (BEng / MEng)
- Electrical Energy Systems (MSc)
I am Module Leader and contributing lecturer on the following courses:
- Power Engineering & Electrical Materials (Year 1)
- Engineering Project Management (Year 3) - advisory
- Individual Project (Year 3) - advisory
Contributing lecurer on modules:
- Electromagnetics & Electronic Materials (Year 1)
- Fields, Waves & Lines (Year 2)
- Power Systems Analysis (Year 2)
- Automotive Design (Year 4)
- Electric Vehicle Design (Year 4)
Project supervisor and/or examiner on modules:
- Group Design Project (Year 2)
- Engineering Project Management (Year 3)
- Individual Project (Year 3)
- Group Project (Year 4 - MEng)
- Automotive Design (Year 4 - MEng)
- Electric Vehicle Design (Year 4 - MEng)
- Research Study (MSc)
- Dissertation (MSc)
Previous module contributions:
- Network Analysis (Year 1)
- Power Engineering 1 (Year 1)
- Electromagnetics 1 & Electrical Materials (Year 1)
- Electromagnetic Fields and Transmission Lines (Year 2)
- Power Engineering 2 (Year 2)
- Power Engineering 3 (Year 2)
- Group Design Project (Year 2)
- Project (Year 3)
- Power Systems Analysis (Year 3)
I hold a Postgraduate Certificate in Undergraduate Teaching and Learning and am a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
Research Interests:
- Insulation Coordination at Altitude
- Atmospheric Correction in Electrical Insulation Systems
- Lightning Direct Effects
- Lightning Electrostatics and Electromagnetics
- Earthing and Grounding
- Ecological Impacts of Lightning
- High Voltage and High Current Measurement techniques
- Optical Sensing and Measurement for Harsh Electromagnetic Environments
- Computational Electromagentics
Research Contracts:
| Project Title | Grant Holders | Funder | Value (ENGIN) | Duration |
Identification and quantification of g3 gas arcing by-products and their implication for GIS operation | A Haddad | National Grid Electricity Transmission PLC | £1,611,619 | 11/2022 - 03/2026 |
| Toward evaluating the performance of high voltage insulation for aerospace | D Clark | EPSRC DTE+ Network | £33,558 | 05/2022 - 11/2022 |
| Modelling and Simulation of Radome Lightning Protection | A Haddad | Airbus ENDEAVR Wales | £240,000 | 10/2019 - 12/2021 |
| Robust Extra-Low Cost Nanogrids (RELCON) | M McCulloch | EPSRC | £244,086 | 05/2018 - 04/2021 |
| Understanding the effects of condensation on electrical discharge phenomena in next generation more/all-electric and hybrid aircraft | D Clark | EPSRC | £101,015 | 02/2018 - 11/2019 |
| High frequency earthing and its impact on the transmission system | A Haddad D Clark S Robson | National Grid | £292,232 | 03/2019 - 05/2021 |
| Characterization and modelling of SOP transients due to lightning strikes in OPGW cables | A Haddad | Huawei Technologies Dusseldorff GmbH | £116,966 | 01/2018 - 02/2019 |
| Protection of Structures from Lightning Strikes (PROTEST) | A Haddad | ATI InnovateUK Airbus | £546,906 | 03/2014 - 01/2019 |
| Dynamic capacitive sensor for the measurement of millimeter-displacement of carbon composite panels: Applications to aircraft materials subjected to lightning strikes | A Haddad D Mitchard H Griffiths D Clark | Ser Cymru NRN Swansea | £115,211 | 01/2015 - 12/2016 |
Other Projects:
| Project Title | Project Partners | Funder | Value | Duration |
| Lightning: An invisible driver of tree mortality in the tropics? | University of Exeter | NERC | £654,000 | 01/2017 - 12/2021 |
Internships:
| Project Title | Student | Funder | Value | Duration |
| Lightning damage assessment in aerospace fastener assemblies | Alexander Washbourne | CUROP | £1,440 | 06/2017 - 09/2017 |
| The musical Tesla coil – development of a high-voltage demonstration and training tool using embedded hardware and LabVIEW | Moucheng Xu | CUROP | £1,440 | 06/2015 - 09/2015 |
| Optimisation of the Morgan-Botti Lightning Laboratory Control and Data Acquisition System | Luca Martinelli | CUROP | £1,440 | 06/2014- 09/2014 |
Supervision
I am interested in supervising PhD students in the areas of:
- Insulation Coordination at Altitude
- Atmospheric Correction in Electrical Insulation Systems
- Lightning Direct Effects
- Lightning Electrostatics and Electromagnetics
- Earthing and Grounding
- High Voltage and High Current Measurement techniques
- Optical Sensing and Measurement for Harsh Electromagnetic Environments
Current supervision
Past projects
- Simon Evans - "Characterisation of outgassing from carbon fibre composite aircraft joints subjected to lightning current", PhD (2018)
- Michail Michelarakis - "Investigation of surface discharges in insulation gases through synchronisation of improved electrical and fast enhanced-imaging techniques", PhD (2022)