Dr Ryan McFadden is a Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering at Ulster University. He specialises in antibacterial surface engineering of metallic biomaterials, particularly medical grade titanium, using laser surface texturing (LST) techniques. His work bridges materials science, microbiology, and laser engineering to develop surfaces that inhibit bacterial adhesion and biofilm formation on implantable devices.

Ryan holds an integrated MEng degree in Aerospace Engineering from Queen’s University Belfast (2012–2017), followed by a PhD at Queen’s (2017–2021) focused on laser surface modification of titanium for orthopaedic applications. He then held a teaching-focused role at INTO Queen’s University Belfast (2021–2024), delivering engineering and science modules to year one engineering students, before joining Ulster University as a Lecturer in 2024.

He is actively involved in undergraduate teaching and research supervision, aiming to link core engineering concepts with cutting-edge technologies and real-world applications.

• Antibacterial surface engineering of titanium and other biomaterials

• Laser surface texturing (LST) and laser-material interactions

• Additive manufacturing (AM) and post-processing of biomedical implants

• Biofilm formation and bacterial adhesion studies

• Quantitative image analysis of bacterial coverage (Python/MATLAB)

• Characterisation of surface chemistry and topography (SEM, XPS, ToF-SIMS, AFM)

• Translational applications in orthopaedics and dental implantology

Dr McFadden has experience teaching a wide range of engineering modules across his time at Queen's University Belfast and Ulster University. His teaching interests include:

• Core engineering subjects:

  • Fluid Mechanics

  • Mechanical Principles

  • Dynamics

  • Engineering Mathematics

  • Solids and Structures

  • Materials and Manufacture

  • Aerospace Principles

• Design and manufacturing modules:

  • Computer-Aided Design (CAD)

  • Computer-Aided Engineering (CAE)

  • Manufacturing Systems

  • Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma (including DMAIC, value stream mapping, and Kanban)

At Ulster University, he currently teaches/ has taught on the following modules:

• Computer-Aided Design (Year 2)

• Computer-Aided Engineering (Final Year)

• Manufacturing Systems (Year 2, Shaanxi University of Science and Technology)