Professor Mike Adams FREng, CEng, FIChemE, C.Chem, FRSC, CPhys, FInstP

Professor Mike Adams

School of Chemical Engineering
Professor of Product Engineering and Manufacturing

Contact details

Telephone
+44 (0)121 414 5297
Email
m.j.adams@bham.ac.uk
View my research portal
Address
School of Chemical Engineering
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Mike has published over 230 papers in scientific journals and 5 edited books.

He is the recipient of the Donald Julius Groen Prize for outstanding achievements in interfacial engineering and the Tribology Trust Silver Medal for outstanding and sustained achievements in tribology.

He is a member of the editorial boards of seven scientific journals.He has coordinated five major grants from the EU and also led major grants from EPSRC. His interests include process engineering, the applications of in-line sensors, particle technology, tribology, sensory perception and modelling.

Qualifications

  • PhD in Molecular Acoustics
  • GradRSC in Chemistry
  • Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering
  • Fellow of the institution of Chemical Engineers
  • Fellow of the Institute of Physics
  • Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry

Biography

Mike Adams studied for a PhD in molecular acoustics at the University of Essex and subsequently joined Unilever Research where he was a Senior Scientist when he left to take up a professorial position in the School of Chemical Engineering.

His contributions in interfacial engineering and tribology were acknowledge by the awards of the Donald Julius Groen Prize the Tribology Trust Silver Medal. He was one of the pioneers in applying rigorous tribological principles to the fields of powder technology, and skin friction and its influence on tactile perception.

He has also taken an active interest in applying modelling and simulation to a range of material systems involving molecular dynamics, finite element analysis, the fast multipole boundary element and discrete element methods.

Postgraduate supervision

Mike Adams undertakes postgraduate student supervision in the Engineering Doctorate scheme and EU funded projects.

Research

His current research involves understanding the origin, prevention and treatment of pressure ulcers, the dispersion and dissolution of hydrocolloids, the wear behaviour of metal coatings.

His recent research includes the development of haptic feedback in virtual reality environments, understanding the plasticisation of polymers at the molecular scale and discrete computational modelling of twin-screw granulation.

Other activities

  • Member of the Executive Editorial Board of Surface Topography: Metrology and Properties (2015-)
  • Member of the Editorial Board of Biosurface and Biotribology (2015-)
  • Member of the Editorial Board of Journal of Powder Technology (2012-)
  • Member of the Editorial Advisory Board of Lubricants (2011-)
  • Member of the Editorial Advisory Board of Powder Technology (2005-)
  • Member of the Editorial Advisory Board of Tribology International (1998-)
  • Member of the Editorial Board of the Proceedings of the IMechE, Part E: Journal of Process Mechanical Engineering (2005-)

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Tyowua, AT, Zhang, Z, Adams, MJ, Joseph, E, Lian, G & Wu, C-Y 2026, 'Hydration Dynamics of Hydrocolloid Particles. Part 1: Experimental Investigation of Water Vapor Sorption and Bulk Diffusion', Food Hydrocolloids, vol. 170, 111734. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodhyd.2025.111734

Joseph, E, Lian, G, Adams, M, Zhang, Z, Tyowua, A & Wu, C-Y 2026, 'Hydration Dynamics of Hydrocolloid Particles - Part 2: Molecular Dynamics Simulation and Correlation of Self-Diffusion Coefficients with Water Vapor Sorption Kinetics', Food Hydrocolloids, vol. 170, 111653. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodhyd.2025.111653

Chen, Y, Zheng, L, Zhao, Q, Adams, MJ, Alexiadis, A, Niu, J, Jin, H & Guo, L 2026, 'Molecular dynamics study of the desorption mechanism for shale oil in supercritical water within reservoir nano-slits', Fuel, vol. 416, 138567. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2026.138567

Niu, J, Zhao, Q, Zheng, L, Ke, B, Song, Z, Chen, Y, Jin, H, Adams, MJ & Guo, L 2026, 'Predicting the Solvent Properties of Supercritical Water by Integrating Solubility Parameter Theory and Molecular Force Fields', Advanced Chemical Engineering, vol. 1, no. 1, e70000. https://doi.org/10.1002/ache.70000

Tyowua, AT, Zhang, Z & Adams, MJ 2026, 'Swelling and dissolution of starch granules in water under low and high shear mixing', Food Hydrocolloids, vol. 170, 111745. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodhyd.2025.111745

Évora, AS, Zhang, Z, Johnson, SA, Zhang, Z & Adams, MJ 2025, 'Atomic force microscope protocols for characterising the elastoviscoplastic biomechanical properties of corneocytes', Communications Biology, vol. 8, no. 1, 1747. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-025-09142-0

Singh, M, Alexiadis, A, Manik, G & Adams, MJ 2025, 'Interfacial adhesion of in silico developed functionalized linseed oil based green pressure-sensitive adhesives', Journal of Adhesion Science and Technology, vol. 39, no. 17, pp. 2731-2749. https://doi.org/10.1080/01694243.2025.2514875

Zheng , L, Zhao, Q, Adams, M, Alexiadis, A, Wang, Y, Jin, H & Guo , L 2024, 'Molecular dynamics study of shale oil adsorption and diffusion behavior in reservoir nanopores: Impact of hydrocarbon composition and surface type.', Journal of Molecular Liquids, vol. 414, no. Part A, 126110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molliq.2024.126110

Évora, AS, Zhang, Z, Johnson, SA & Adams, MJ 2024, 'The effects of hydration on the topographical and mechanical properties of corneocytes', Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials, vol. 150, 106296. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmbbm.2023.106296

Évora, AS, Abiakam, N, Zhang, Z, Johnson, SA, Adams, MJ, Bader, DL & Worsley, PR 2023, 'Characterisation of superficial corneocyte properties over category I pressure ulcers: Insights into topographical and maturation changes', Journal of Dermatological Science, vol. 112, no. 2, pp. 63-70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdermsci.2023.08.008

Evora, A, Abiakam, N, Jayabal, H, R Worsley, P, Zhang, Z, Johnson, S, Adams, M & L Bader, D 2023, 'Characterisation of superficial corneocytes in skin areas of the face exposed to prolonged usage of respirators by healthcare professionals during COVID-19 pandemic', Journal of Tissue Viability, vol. 32, no. 2, pp. 305-313. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtv.2023.02.007

Évora, AS, Zhang, Z, Johnson, SA & Adams, MJ 2023, 'Characterisation of topographical, biomechanical and maturation properties of corneocytes with respect to anatomical location', Skin Research and Technology, vol. 29, no. 11, e13507. https://doi.org/10.1111/srt.13507

Torres, DT, Vezzoli, E, Lemaire-Semail, B, Adams, M, Giraud-Audine, C, Giraud, F & Amberg, M 2022, 'Mechanisms of Friction Reduction in Longitudinal Ultrasonic Surface Haptic Devices with Non-Collinear Vibrations and Finger Displacement', IEEE Transactions on Haptics, vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 8-13. https://doi.org/10.1109/TOH.2021.3140003

Sahputra, IH, Alexiadis, A & Adams, MJ 2020, 'A coarse grained model for viscoelastic solids in discrete multiphysics simulations', ChemEngineering, vol. 4, no. 2, 30, pp. 1-15. https://doi.org/10.3390/chemengineering4020030

Review article

Évora, AS, Adams, MJ, Johnson, SA & Zhang, Z 2021, 'Corneocytes: relationship between structural and biomechanical properties', Skin Pharmacology and Physiology, vol. 34, no. 3, pp. 146-161. https://doi.org/10.1159/000513054

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