Prof. Dr. William M Megill

Prof Dr William Megill has been teaching and conducting research in physics, biology and engineering for over thirty years. His interest is in what goes on underwater, specifically in the coastal and riverine environments, where life is complicated.

His group designs and builds propulsors and sensors which they incorporate into small submersibles and boats, then field test in open water. Many of their designs draw their inspiration from the animals which live and thrive in rivers and the coastal zone.   

Alongside the engineering research and development work, Prof Megill and his group are interested in the ecology of the environments their robots are built to study. The fieldwork is done all over the world, starting with the Spoy Canal in front of the lab, and heading out into the North Sea, the Mediterranean, and the Atlantic Ocean. The group has close links with groups in Wales, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Turkey, Ghana, Mexico, the United States and Canada. 

Like his research, Prof Megill's teaching is also multidisciplinary. He teaches several courses on bionics as part of the MSc in Bionics and the BSc's in Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering. He taught first year mathematics for two two years during and after the pandemic. His philosophy is very much to encourage and guide the students' experiential learning, so his courses are always accompanied by laboratory exercises. Prof Megill also leads FabLab.blue, a prototyping facility where students can learn the practical aspects of making a drawing come to life.

Outside the curriculum, Prof Megill is the driving force behind the University's ENSPIRE teams, which design and build machines to take part in international competitions at venues all around the world. The HSRW submarine team has been the flagship so far of ENSPIRE, and are the current European champions in their unique sport.

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Contact info

Office Tel: +49 2821 80673 646

Email: wmm@hsrw.eu