Professor Mark Sterling BEng, PhD, CEng, CEnv, FRMetS, MIAgrE, FICE

Professor Mark Sterling

School of Engineering
Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Head of College (Interim)
Deputy Pro-Vice Chancellor (Staffing)
Beale Professor of Civil Engineering

Contact details

Telephone
+44 (0) 121 414 5065
Email
m.sterling@bham.ac.uk
View my research portal
Address
EPS College Hub
Poynting Building
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Mark Sterling ice fellowsProfessor Sterling has research interests in Fluid Dynamics, Wind Engineering and Water Engineering. His research in Water Engineering is mainly directed towards understanding and evaluating the conveyance capacity of rivers, while within the field of Wind Engineering he has carved out two distinct areas of research, namely the effect of wind on plants and the effects of extreme wind events. He has been involved in a variety of research council and industrial funded projects, with a research portfolio in excess of £4.5m and has published over 120 journal/conference publications.

He teaches at both undergraduate and postgraduate level on a variety of subjects including Fluid Mechanics and Structural Engineering.

Qualifications

  • Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers, 2013
  • Chartered Environmentalist, 2005
  • Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, University of Birmingham, 2004
  • Fellow of the Royal Meteorological Society, 2004
  • Chartered Engineer, Engineering Council, 2002
  • Member of the Institution of Agricultural Engineers, 2002
  • PhD in Hydraulic Engineering, University of Birmingham, UK, 1998
  • BEng in Civil Engineering, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK, 1994

 

Teaching

He has taught a variety of modules at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, spanning a number of different subjects.

Postgraduate supervision

Mark Sterling has research interests in wind engineering which fall into two general areas of research, i.e., the effect of wind on plants and the effects of extreme wind events.

Other activities

  • Chair of the Wind Engineering Society (2014 – 2016). Also committee member (2004 – 2008; 2011 – 2015). The Wind Engineering Society is an affiliated society of the Institutions of Civil Engineers.
  • A member of the international scientific advisory committee for the 7th European-African Conference on Wind Engineering, 4 – 7 July 2017, Liege, Belgium.
  • A member of the scientific advisory committee for International Colloquium on Bluff Body Aerodynamics and Applications. 7 – 11 June 2016, Boston.
  • European-African regional representative for the International Association of Wind Engineering.
  • Chair of the Wind Engineering Society.
  • Member of the international scientific advisory committee for the 1st International WINERCOST conference, Ankara, 21-22 April, 2016.
  • Member of the international scientific advisory committee for the 13th Conference of the Italian Association for Wind Engineering (in-vento-2014) June 22-25, Genova, Italy.
  • Member of the international scientific advisory committee for the 8th Asia-Pacific Conference on Wind Engineering (APCWE-VIII), Chennai, India, 10-14 December 2013.
  • A member of the Civil Engineering for Sustainability and Resilience (CESARE ’14), Amman, Jordan, 24-27 April 2014.
  • Member of the International Association of Wind Engineers Executive board (2009 – 2013).
  • Member of the international advisory committee and scientific committee for the seventh international colloquium on bluff body aerodynamics and applications which took place in Shanghai, China (September 2-6, 2012).
  • A member of the international scientific advisory board for the 13th International Conference on Wind Engineering, Amsterdam (2011).
  • A member of the governing committee of the Wind Engineering Society (2004-2008; 2011 – 2015). The Wind Engineering Society is an affiliated society of the Institutions of Civil Engineers.
  • Member of the editorial panel of the Proceedings of Institutions of Civil Engineers - Structures and Buildings Journal (2008 - 2012). I have also acted as guest editor for a themed edition of the journal on Wind Engineering (April 2010).
  • A member of the general assembly of the International Association of Wind Engineers, (2006-2008).

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Huo, SS, Hemida, H & Sterling, M 2023, 'Investigation on debris initialization in tornado-like wind fields', Journal of Fluids and Structures, vol. 121, 103938. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfluidstructs.2023.103938

Sterling, M, Huo, SS & Baker, C 2023, 'Using crop fall patterns to provide an insight into thunderstorm downburst', Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics, vol. 238, 105431. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jweia.2023.105431

Huo, SS, Wang, J, Haan, FL, Kopp, GA & Sterling, M 2022, 'A Study of the Effects of Tornado Translation on Wind Loading Using a Potential Flow Model', Frontiers in Built Environment, vol. 8, 840812. https://doi.org/10.3389/fbuil.2022.840812

He, M, Huo, SS, Hemida, H, Soper, D, Baker, C & Sterling, M 2022, 'The Flow Around a Lorry Platoon Subject to a Crosswind—a Detached Eddy Simulation', Frontiers in Future Transportation, vol. 3, 901204. https://doi.org/10.3389/ffutr.2022.901204

Berry, P, Baker, C, Hatley, D, Dong, R, Wang, X, Blackburn, A, Miao, Y, Sterling, M & Wyatt, D 2021, 'Development and application of a model for calculating the risk of stem and root lodging in maize', Field Crops Research, vol. 262, 108037. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.2020.108037

Shu, Z, Jesson, M & Sterling, M 2021, 'Nonlinear dynamic analysis of daily rainfall variability across the UK from 1989 to 2018', Journal of Hydrology, vol. 603, 126849. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2021.126849

Mohammadi, M, Finnan, J, Sterling, M & Baker, C 2020, 'A calibrated oat lodging model compared with agronomic measurements', Field Crops Research, vol. 255, 107784. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.2020.107784

Joseph, G, Mohammadi, M, Sterling, M, Baker, C, Gillmeier, S, Soper, D, Jesson, M, Blackburn, A, Whyatt, JD, Gullick, D, Murray, J, Berry, P, Hatley, D & Finnan, J 2020, 'Determination of crop dynamic and aerodynamic parameters for lodging prediction', Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics, vol. 202, 104169. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jweia.2020.104169

Huo, R, Hemida, H & Sterling, M 2020, 'Numerical Study of Debris Flight in a Tornado-like Vortex', Journal of Fluids and Structures.

Vita, G, Shu, Z, Jesson, M, Quinn, A, Hemida, H, Sterling, M & Baker, C 2020, 'On the assessment of pedestrian distress in urban winds', Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics, vol. 203, 104200. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jweia.2020.104200

Baker, C, Sterling, M & Jesson, M 2020, 'The lodging of crops by tornadoes', Journal of Theoretical Biology, vol. 500, 110309. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtbi.2020.110309

Mohammadi, M, Finnan, J, Baker, C & Sterling, M 2020, 'The potential impact of climate change on oat lodging in the UK and Republic of Ireland', Advances in Meteorology, vol. 2020, 4138469. https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/4138469

Bourriez, F, Sterling, M & Baker, C 2020, 'Windborne debris trajectories in tornado-like flow field initiated from a low-rise building', Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics, vol. 206, 104358. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jweia.2020.104358

Robertson, F, Bourriez, F, He, M, Soper, D, Baker, C, Hemida, H & Sterling, M 2019, 'An experimental investigation of the aerodynamic flows created by lorries travelling in a long platoon', Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics, vol. 193, 103966. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jweia.2019.103966

Baker, C & Sterling, M 2019, 'Are Tornado Vortex Generators fit for purpose?', Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics, vol. 190, pp. 287-292. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jweia.2019.05.011

View all publications in research portal