Taking design off the drawing board

British engineer Roger Owen, a winner of the Chinese Friendship Award this year. [Photo provided to China Daily]

"This method really changes engineering completely," says Owen.

"It revolutionized how people design structures and manufacture components."

It has also proved an invaluable tool in fundamental scientific research.

"The computer-based method allows you to find stressors in any structure or any manufacturing processes," says Owen.

"So, if you're making some component for the car industry, you can model its behavior before you even build it ... You know exactly what the stresses are, which enables you to design more sophisticated and adventurous structures."

Swansea University has been a world leader in the development and application of such computational methods for five decades. China's scientific community recognized that long ago, and Swansea has hosted a stream of Chinese students and visiting researchers since the mid-1970s.

Owen has personally supervised more than 15 PhD students and 20 postdoctoral students from China.

Three of his textbooks have been translated into Chinese, providing a basis for students and researchers to develop their own codes to be used as academic tools and in practical applications.

Owen says Chinese scientists and engineers show great interest in his books. He gets regular emails, thanking him for his work or asking for help in applying it.

His career as an engineer began in 1963, when he completed his first degree in civil engineering at the University of Wales, followed by a master's degree the following year.

He completed his PhD at Northwestern University in the United States in the field of theoretical and applied mechanics in 1967.