He spent almost 30 years working in the lubricants business for Shell Research where he had various roles, including being the Global Technology Manager for Shell's Lubrication Science team from 2006 to 2012. His research mainly focussed on energy efficient lubricants, and he also managed Shell's various University research links in tribology (the science of friction and wear) from the mid 1990's to 2020, working closely with various UK, US and Chinese Universities. 

His tribology research has resulted in over 70 papers in peer reviewed scientific journals. 

Ian has been a Visiting Professor at the University of Central Lancashire since 2020, mainly working on improved models for mixed/boundary friction, and also investigating realistic low carbon transport options for heavy duty vehicles. 

Ian is a Fellow of the Institute of Physics and also of the STLE (Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers). He received the Tribology Silver Medal from the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in 2020.

Abstract: 
Options for Decarbonizing Future Transport (EV)

The various options for decarbonizing future transport are discussed, looking at the cost and CO2 emissions of the various options.  For passenger cars, it has been known since the King Review of 2007 that the best option for reducing CO2 emissions from future passenger cars is electrification, provided that the electricity grid is sufficiently decarbonized. There may be tribological issues associated with the operating conditions of hybrid electric cars, and the types of lubricants used in electric vehicle transmissions will be different from those used in conventional cars. For heavy-duty vehicles (trucks, trains, ships, planes) electrification may be more difficult and a number of different options are being investigated. 

In addition, there is much focus on lubricant sustainability. Although many papers in the tribological literature are focussed on bio-based lubricants, the lubricants business is actually more focussed on the use of re-refined base oils to reduce the carbon footprint of their lubricants, and the reasons why this is so will be explored.