One of the founding researchers from the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre has been appointed Professor of Machining Practice at the age of 41.

Sam Turner's appointment comes not long after he was named the AMRC's Chief Technical Officer.

Prof Turner said: "It's a great honour and it comes at an exciting time when big opportunities are opening up around digital manufacturing.

"I see our Factory 2050 development as the UK flagship for digital manufacturing and my role as CTO as enabling and delivering high impact projects that change the UK's manufacturing infrastructure and support the sector's growth.

"I want to ensure the AMRC is recognised as the place to come to for state of the art manufacturing science, bringing new technology through the development pipeline that will improve productivity and help both existing companies and the start-ups that I believe will come out of the AMRC environment."

Prof Turner joined the AMRC at its start, after studying Mechanical Engineering with French Language in Sheffield and Grenoble and gaining industrial experience with Thomas Turton & Sons, in Chesterfield, where he set up a new machine shop and modernised its heat treatment facilities.

He became the inaugural member of the AMRC machining group - which now numbers 85 people and has been a key contributor to the AMRC group's growth into an organisation with 560 staff and a turnover approaching £50 million.

Prof Turner sees a key part of his role at the AMRC as ensuring its cutting edge research leads to tangible benefits for industry.

"I have always been passionate about the idea of advancing the state of the art by applying research and by using what we discover to solve problems," says Prof Turner.

"There is a risk of focussing too much on research without an end in mind. There is also a risk of just applying what you already know and not advancing that knowledge. Balancing the two has been a challenging priority for me for the last 15 years.

"A fundamental part of my new role will be making sure we get the right research, using the right technology to get the balance right and maintain the AMRC as the hub for machining and manufacturing research, working with the best companies, the best universities and the best staff."