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Dr Jennifer Olsen

Lecturer & Deputy Degree Program Director in Mechanical Engineering

Background

I am currently a lecturer in Mechanical Engineering, leading "MEC8056: Medical Devices Regulatory Requirements", and deputy degree program director (DPD) for mechanical engineering.


My main research themes are:

  • Upper-limb prosthetics, with a focus on safety, design, and sustainable manufacturing
  • Orthopaedic implant failure and wear analysis
  • Innovative assistive devices.


Through my research I have gained experience in mechanical testing, wearer feedback, additive manufacturing and EMG signal processing. I have supervised MSc and undergraduate students within the SoE working on a range of projects in the area of prosthetics, orthotics and assistive technology. I have also supervised a cross-disciplinary vacation medical studentship. I have previously guest lectured at Strathclyde University for undergraduate Prosthetics & Orthotics students. I have a keen interest in STEM outreach, having worked with Newcastle University's SAgE outreach team for seven years prior to commencing my current position.

Teaching

Teaching

  • MEC8056, Medical Devices Regulatory Requirements (Module Lead)
  • I have guest lectured on the University of Strathclyde's Prosthetics and Orthotics undergraduate course and at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, teaching best practices in additive manufacturing for medical devices. I have 8+ years of experience in outreach events and STEM teaching at primary, secondary and HE/FE levels.


Outreach and Engagement

  • I am the Mechanical Engineering strand lead for the 2025 PARTNERS assessed summer school. For this, I have developed a fun and engaging 2-day workshop focused on the principles of automotive design.
  • 2025 Holmes Lecture: How Engineering Shapes Our World - featured as a speaker, discussing biomedical engineering as a career option.
  • Developed an outreach demonstration in collaboration with Dr Sigrid Dupan (UCD, Ireland) through winning £2,500 of Engagement and Place funding. The demo features simple electromyographic control and 3D printed articulating prosthetic hands, alongside body-powered prosthesis simulators and craft workshops. These resources were exhibited at the 2025 Discover Festival to 1250+ attendees.


Media


Supervision

  • I currently supervise several undergraduate/MSc projects within the field of biomedical engineering, alongside two 2025 research interns.
  • I have previously supervised summer vacation research interns, and currently advise several students from the Faculty of Medical Sciences on their extra-curricular STEM projects.


Student successes


Research

Research Activity

  • 2019-2023, PhD programme in Electrical and Electronic engineering, Newcastle University - "Towards Modernising Trans-radial Prosthetic Socket Creation With Digital Methods"
  • 2023-2024, EPSRC Doctoral Prize Fellowship. Currently working towards developing safety testing procedures and standards for upper-limb prosthetic sockets.
  • 2025, EPSRC IAA - Investigating orthopaedic implant failure in collaboration with the NHS Implant Analysis Service (ExplantLab)


Research Funding

  • EPSRC PhD Studentship (approx. £90,000) (2019-2023)
  • EPSRC Doctoral Prize Fellowship (approx. £85,000) (2023-2025)
  • Global Transfer Partnership Funds (£5,000) (2024)
  • EPSRC Impact Accelerator Award (approx. £10,000) (2025)


Engagement & Awards

  • Runner-up - Volunteering Innovation Award | NUSU Community Impact Awards (2022)
  • Winner - Top 50 Women in Engineering | WES, WE50 (2021)
  • Winner - Hackcessible Team Design Competition | Hackcessible (2021)
  • Selected to present my research at STEM4Britain competition in the UK parliament as a finalist (2020)
  • Winner - Female Engineer of the Year 2016 | Talent 2030 (2016)
Publications