Paul Maropoulos is the Professor of Advanced Manufacturing at Queen’s University Belfast, the founding Director of the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Centre (AMIC) of Northern Ireland, and the Editor-In-Chief of the Journal of Engineering Manufacture.

Paul Maropoulos graduated in Mechanical Engineering from the Aristotle University in Greece and completed his MSc and PhD at UMIST. He has held Professorial appointments at Durham University, the University of Bath, where he also served as Head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, and Aston University, where he was the Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation. He is a Chartered Engineer (CEng), a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (FIMechE) and a member and past-Chair of IMechE’s Manufacturing Industries Division Board. He is a member of MATRIX, Northern Ireland’s Science & Industry Panel.

Paul Maropoulos is a Fellow of CIRP (the International Academy of Production Engineering) and the founder and General Chair of the Digital Enterprise Technology Series of International Conferences that has been organised 12 times around the world since 2001.

Throughout his career he worked collaboratively with blue-chip industries in design and manufacturing research. At Durham University, he established R&D collaboration with Thorn Lighting, Caterpillar, Nissan and Astrium. At the University of Bath, he formed the Laboratory for Integrated Metrology Applications (LIMA) in collaboration with industry including Airbus UK, Rolls-Royce, Airbus Defence and Space, Renishaw and the National Physical Laboratory. LIMA pioneered metrology enabled manufacturing for aircraft wing assembly (Airbus), new technologies for machine tool calibration and verification (Rolls-Royce), and a novel ‘Design for Verification’ framework for satellites (Airbus Defence and Space).

His main research focus in on Smart and Metrology Enabled Manufacturing and Assembly, combining and linking the product and process verification and control from the cyber to the physical domains. The smart verification thread is an enabler of a new generation design and manufacturing, facilitating the design of products and the effective development of capable production technologies, automation and control, with minimal testing. Digital twin technologies are utilised extensively in this context.

He is also interested in enhancing the competitiveness of industry within a region by developing innovation policy and strategic initiatives focused on productivity, capability enhancement and resilience. In the North-East of England, he led the Agility project focused on productivity and competitiveness of SMEs. In the South West of England he directed the Business Technology Centre that developed process control and verification capability within the region’s SMEs. In the Midlands he contributed to the development of the regional innovation policy for industry and the engagement of universities. In Northern Ireland, against the backdrop of a lack of manufacturing innovation facility of national scale in the province, he developed the vision, strategic direction and provided tangible evidence of the need for a major manufacturing innovation facility, engaging widely with industry leaders, universities, councils, NI and UK Governments. The £98 million Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Centre is now open and constitutes a major R&D innovation centre in NI and the UK.

Digital Manufacturing and Process Modelling

Metrology-Enabled Manufacturing Technology

Design and Process Verification

Aerospace Assembly

Machining and Tooling Technology

Created advanced research centres at Durham and Bath Universities.

Worked with blue chip companies, including Airbus, Rolls-Royce, Renishaw, Airbus Defence and Space, Caterpillar, Nissan and Thorn Lighting.

At Bath created and directed the Laboratory for Integrated Metrology Applications (LIMA) that was recognised by Airbus as a Framework Agreement University Lab, and had partnerships with NPL and Renishaw.

Collaboration with National Physical Laboratory on Industrial Metrology

Published more than 100 papers in Learned Journals, (h index = 34).

11 Distinctions and Prizes, including the 'Joseph Whitworth Prize' of the IMechE, best paper awards from SAGE and IEE, and numerous Conferences.

14 invited Keynotes, including the prestigious 'Alistair Graham-Bryce Memorial Lecture' of the IMechE. 

Graduated 18 PhD students.

Research income in excess of £28.6 million from EPSRC, Innovate UK, Industry and the EU.

Secured major institutional funding of £98m from the Belfast Region City Deal for the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Centre (AMIC).

Directed the Agility Projest in North East of England, that worked with 131 SMEs and generated £10.5m of new SME turnover.

Directed the LIMA Business Technology Centre at Bath, that worked with 254 SMEs and generated £68m of additional GVA.

Elected Fellow of the International Academy of Production Engineering (CIRP), one of 180 Fellows worldwide.

Founder and General Chair of the Digital Enterprise Technology Series of International Conferences, that held 12 Conferences around the world from 2001 to 2025.

Competitiveness and Readiness of Supply Chains

Innovation ecosystem development and innovation adoption by industry

Strategic initaitives for industrial capability enhancement and economic growth

Taught Manufacturing Technology at MEng Level

Designed and Directed the MSc in Innovation and Technology Management of Bath University, joint degree between Mechanical Engineering and School of Management

Academic Qualifications:

Mechanical Engineering (Dipl.-Eng.) Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece,

MSc and PhD UMIST, UK

Professional Qualifications:

Fellow of IMehE (FIMechE)

Chartered Engineer (CEng)

Fellow of Higher Education Academy (FHEA)

Member of European Federation of National Engineering Associations (Eur.-Ing.)

Member of the Technical Chamber of Greece (Dipl.-Eng.)

Fellow of International Academy of Production Engineering (FCIRP)