The only way to promote R&D driven innovation is through business-led collaboration among scientists, academics, engineers, entrepreneurs, industry leaders and Government.

Gokul Murali, our next pathbreaker, Research Manager – Aerospace at National Composites Centre (UK), works on research projects for a range of sectors such as energy, construction, and aerospace. 

Gokul talks to  Shyam Krishnamurthy from The Interview Portal about his thesis experiences during his bachelor’s and master’s that gave him exposure to experimental research which subsequently led him to a PhD sponsored by the Marie Curie fellowship.

For students, the output of research should not be restricted to the confines of a lab or a paper, but realised through real world applications that benefit the world !

Gokul, can you share your background with our young readers?

I grew up in the outskirts of Coimbatore, in a semi-rural environment. I was exposed to a very limited world. Back then, my parents were high school graduates and did not have college education. They motivated me (and my brother)to achieve great heights, and to never limit ourselves. As a result, I had great ambition from early on in my life. 

What did you do for graduation/post graduation?

I did my BTech – Aerospace engineering from Amrita university (Coimbatore, India) followed by an MSc in Aerospace engineering from TU Delft (Delft, The Netherlands)

I then did my PhD in Aeronautical engineering from Imperial College London (London, UK)

What were some of the drivers that influenced you to pursue such an offbeat, unconventional and unusual career in Aerospace?

Right after high school, I was quite interested in complex machinery. Among them, I found aircrafts very interesting, and so, I decided to do my bachelors in Aerospace engineering. My thesis mentor encouraged me to explore the field of composites.

My undergrad thesis was on development of electrically conductive nanocomposites using MWCNTs dispersed in an epoxy matrix. In simple terms, we loaded epoxy with varying ratios of MWCNTs (multiwalled carbon nanotubes) and tested the resultant electric conductivity of the composite. The idea was to demonstrate a concept that could then be developed for next-gen Aerospace/Space applications.

Tell us about your career path

During my bachelors, my thesis mentor encouraged me to pursue my MSc at TU Delft as he felt it would expand my horizons. 

I did my masters at TU Delft. My masters was self-funded as I did not have any extensive work-experience at that time to allow me to get any scholarships. However, I did win a small sum through the Holland Scholarship. 

My master’s thesis was on investigating whether dielectric spectroscopy could be used to assess the quality of adhesive bonds. This was done in partnership with Fokker Aerostructures. My thesis experiences in bachelors and masters gave me exposure to experimental research which was instrumental in guiding me towards PhD.

Through my peer network there, I was able to identify suitable opportunities for me and was able to secure my PhD position at Imperial College London.

The problem statement for my PhD was to investigate high performance shape morphing composites with intrinsic heating capabilities. This was through an EU-sponsored Marie Curie fellowship. It is a prestigious fellowship that takes young researchers across different countries and gives them extensive training and research opportunities to make them world class researchers.

Even before I applied for the role, I spoke to several experts, and developed a few hypotheses. Later, I developed these hypotheses further and proposed some potential research avenues to my PhD supervisor as a part of my application/interview process. 

I gained extensive practical knowledge in composites research, and decided to pursue a career in it as a Research Project Manager at National Composites Centre, UK

The key learning for me is that there should be no stopping in learning. Once your knowledge starts to plateau, it means you are at the wrong place and are not pushing yourself. For example, I might have completed my PhD two years ago, however, I still study new fields and even try to get certifications in them. This has been quite useful in my career.

How did you get your first break?

I would say my first break would be my PhD work at Imperial College London. When I first came across the job vacancy, I realized it would sit well within the scope of my planned career growth. So, I consulted my peers, my teachers and other experts in the field and prepared a convincing job application. I was relentless in my approach and regularly followed up with the application until I secured it. It was 50% hard work, 40% networking, and 10% luck

What were some of the challenges you faced? How did you address them?

Challenge 1: Moving countries regularly means I had to uproot my life several times. My passion, and fire to achieve success fueled me

Challenge 2: Facing failures on a day to day basis as a researcher meant that I had to have tenacity, and never give up in the face of adversities

Challenge 3: Managing people is very essential in any career. No one teaches this in school, as much as real life experience teaches you

Where do you work now? What problems do you solve?

The National Composites Centre (NCC) is a world-leading UK research and development facility that provides access to state-of-the-art engineering capabilities and technology. Collaborating to address the most complex engineering challenges, the NCC accelerates the development of new products across advanced materials, digital engineering, sustainability and hydrogen. Delivering pioneering innovation to drive industrial transformation, the NCC works across a diverse range of sectors to deliver benefit to the UK, investing in the talents of current and future workforces. 

Part of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, it collaborates with organisations of all sizes – from innovators to SMEs, the supply chain and OEMs, providing businesses with a de-risked environment to design, develop, test and scale their ideas and get to market fast. NCC (National Composites Centre, UK) is a research and technology organization. It is one of the catapult centers of the UK. Catapult centers are a network of nine organizations set up by Innovate UK in the United Kingdom, to promote research and development (R&D) and to exploit market opportunities. Catapult centers promote R&D and innovation through business-led collaboration between scientists, academics, engineers, entrepreneurs, industry leaders and Government. They receive grants from public funds but are also expected to seek commercial funding.The primary goal of NCC is to foster the growth of UK capabilities in composites as well as sustainability and digital technologies, among many others.

The vision of NCC is to be the world-leading authority on composites, bringing together and developing the best minds and the best technologies, to solve the world’s most complex engineering challenges. 

What skills are needed in your role? How did you acquire the skills?

Fundamental knowledge in sector, and leadership and people management skills

What’s a typical day like?

Ensuring research projects proceed as planned, and to mitigate any blockers that might affect the research

What is it you love about this job? 

Seeing the outcomes of my effort changing the industry, or the life of others

How does your work benefit society? 

My work helps support the latest technology that is developed and is incorporated into society.

The work I do (managing research projects) ensures that the brilliant ideas that researchers have are not restricted to just papers, but are developed and applied in real-world applications. I have worked on research projects for a range of sectors such as energy, construction, and aerospace. 

Tell us an example of a specific memorable work you did that is very close to you!

There are many examples. My most memorable experience was putting together a research project proposal  in 1 week while the industry standard was 12-16 weeks

Your advice to students based on your experience?

Never stay within your comfort zone. Always try to grow, and never be scared to explore what is out there. Do not be afraid to ask for support.

Future Plans?

Develop my career to ensure I will be able to strategically influence the way the technology in my industry progresses.