David Holmes

Dr. David Holmes is an Associate Professor in Mechanical Design & Manufacturing at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT), within the Faculty of Engineering and School of Mechanical, Medical & Process Engineering. He holds a B.Eng(Hons) and Ph.D. in Computational Mechanics from James Cook University (JCU), and is a registered professional engineer (RPEQ and CPEng). His research focuses on advanced numerical methods like Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) and Finite Element Method (FEM), applied to biomechanics, porous media flow, and racing vehicle dynamics. Holmes has held academic roles at QUT (since 2017) and JCU, and postdoctoral positions at MIT.

Education:

• Ph.D. in Computational Mechanics, James Cook University (JCU)
• B.Eng(Hons) in Mechanical Engineering, JCU

Research Interests: Development of numerical methods for fluid dynamics, mechanical design optimization, and biomedical applications. Specific areas include SPH for porous media simulation, FEA for biomechanical systems, and aerodynamics of racing vehicles.

Teaching & Awards:

• Recipient of 2021 QUT Faculty of Engineering Teacher of the Year
• 2016 National Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning (for industry-driven curricula)
• Teaches mechanical design, FEA, and project management at all university levels

Publications: Over 50 peer-reviewed articles, including work on metamaterials for energy absorption, battery state-of-charge estimation, and SPH-based reservoir characterization. Recent focus areas include 3D bioprinting and respiratory disease modeling.

Affiliations:

• Member of Engineers Australia (MIEAust)
• Member of QUT's Laboratory for Advanced Modelling and Simulation in Engineering and Science (LAMSES)
• Past contributor to MIT's Geonumerics Group