Gary Stevens (27), from Whitehead, carried out his Mechanical Engineering PhD at the Sir William Wright Technology Centre (W-Tech)at Queen’s School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. The aim of the Centre is to promote research and advanced engineering to facilitate the creation and development of technologies suitable for today’s bus industry, particularly as these needs become increasingly complex.

Speaking about his PhD experience, Gary said: “It was brilliant to be able to carry out my research in collaboration with such a reputable industrial partner.

“The main highlight of my PhD was being able to see the impact of the research that I was doing in the real world. My research was able to answer crucial questions and direct engineering effort on the next generation of mild hybrid buses from Wrightbus.”

Dr Robert Best, Engineering Manager for Research at Wrightbus, said: ‘‘The collaboration between Wrightbus and Queen’s University Belfast through the Sir William Wright Technology Centre focusses on delivering the state of the art in public bus technology.

“Gary’s research has played an important role in the development of our hybrid double-decker bus (HEV) product, and his work has delivered new tools and methods which can be used in our future product lines.”

Since finishing his degree Gary has started a job as a Mechanical Engineer at an automotive company based in the North East of England.

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