Professor Roger Dixon BEng (Hons), MSc, PhD, CEng, FHEA, FIMechE

Roger is Professor of Control Systems in the School of Engineering at Birmingham University.

He is a specialist in applied Control Systems, Mechatronics, Condition Monitoring, Fault Detection and Systems Engineering. Roger has published over 150 research papers and has lead major research activities in Industry and Academia.

His team in BCRRE at Birmingham work on research projects that have a strong focus on rail, but also include application to the road, aerospace and energy sectors.

Roger’s vision is to use his skills and enthusiasm to transform Industrial practice through a combination of world leading research and excellent teaching.

REPOINT – Next Generation Railway Track Switch(?)

Railway track switches (points) are crucial for the flexibility and efficiency of railway networks, as they enable trains to switch between different tracks. However, they are also a major source of vulnerability and risk, as they are prone to malfunction and failure. When this happens, trains may be forced to stop, re-route, or even derail, causing delays, disruptions, and accidents.  Despite their importance, the design and operation of track switches have not changed significantly for many decades. The talk will introduce a novel alternative to the conventional track switch technology. REPOINT is an innovative track switch system developed by applying a mechatronic systems design approach to create a fault-tolerant switch.  As well as presenting the new concept, the talk will discuss the research and development journey to date, including discussing some of the challenges and opportunities that remain to be overcome.

Lunch & Learn

The PWI Lunch and Learn sessions were launched in 2024, building a community for industry experts to share their knowledge on Rail Infrastructure Engineering and a great Continuous Professional Development(CPD) opportunity for all!

The topics can cover technical research, project delivery or novel technology; the first ever event covered the delivery of a major rail infrastructure project with the subsequent session on the technical intricacies of turnouts.

The key difference to other PWI chapter events is this event spans all states and wider, looking to connect like-minded professionals from different rail infrastructure managers for the benefit of the rail industry as a whole; with internationally delivered presentations also planned.

This is achieved by holding the events on line via Microsoft Teams, typically every 8 weeks.

For any queries relating to Lunch and Learn sessions please contact us on lunchandlearn@pwinsw.org.au