Personal profile
Research interests
I am interested in studying interfaces in engineering systems. I use a range of molecular simulations methods supported by experiments. Some particular areas of interest are:
- Rational design of lubricants and additives to reduce friction and wear.
- Understanding biotribological mechanisms in formulated products, e.g. sensory perception for foods and cosmetics.
- Developing digital twins of tribological systems, including machine learning-based surrogate models.
Education/Academic qualification
Mechanical Engineering, Doctor of Philosophy, Molecular dynamics simulations of lubricants and additives, Imperial College London
2014 → 2017
Award Date: 1 Nov 2017
Chemistry, Master of Chemistry, University of Bath
1 Oct 2010 → 1 Aug 2014
Award Date: 1 Aug 2014
External positions
Honorary Research Fellow, Imperial College London
1 Oct 2025 → …
Grant Reviewer, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
2025 → …
Visiting Research Fellow, Technische Universität Wien
2025 → …
Visiting Research Fellow, Swinburne University of Technology
2020 → …
Technical Consultants, Imperial Consultants
2019 → …
Keywords
- Tribology
- Molecular Dynamics
- Interfaces
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
Projects
- 1 Active
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Understanding premature bearing failure in beam wire scanners
Lunt, A. (CoI) & Ewen, J. (PI)
31/10/25 → 30/05/26
Project: Research-related funding
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A Coarse-Grained MARTINI Model for Mucins
Kanesalingam, T., Weiand, E., Cann, P. M., Masen, M. & Ewen, J. P., 13 Jan 2026, In: Journal of Chemical Theory and Computation. 22, 1, p. 723-737 15 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access2 Link opens in a new tab Citations (SciVal) -
Friction-induced electrochemical activation of platinum group metals via electromechanical coupling
Liu, C., Zhu, Z., Ouyang, W., Pan, H., Shi, Z., Chen, X., Ewen, J., Zhang, J., Dini, D., Ma, M., Zeng, H., Tian, Y. & Meng, Y., 31 Jul 2026, In: Materials Today. 96, 103323.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access1 Link opens in a new tab Citation (SciVal) -
Breaking the Tradeoff between Oil Film Thickness and Viscous Friction: n-Alcohol-Containing Lubricants in High-Pressure Contacts
Reddyhoff, T., Montgomery, W., Suhaimee, M. A., Deshpande, P., Xia, Y., Wang, P. & Ewen, J., 26 Mar 2025, In: ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces. 17, 12, p. 19143-19155 13 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access8 Link opens in a new tab Citations (SciVal) -
Electrically Tunable Friction through Surface Adsorption Layer Restructuring
Zhao, Y., Zhu, Z., Zhang, J., Weiand, E., Wang, C., Ewen, J. P., Dini, D., Spikes, H. A. & Wong, J. S. S., 31 Dec 2025, In: ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces. 17, 52, p. 70994-71007 14 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access -
Mechanochemistry of phosphate esters with external electric fields
Zhu, Z. & Ewen, J. P., 2 Sept 2025, In: RSC Mechanochemistry. 2, 5, p. 732-744 13 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access1 Link opens in a new tab Citation (SciVal)
Prizes
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Wen Shizhu Maple Leaf Award - International Young Scholar
Ewen, J. (Recipient), 2022
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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IMECHE (External organisation)
Ewen, J. (No value)
2022Activity: Other contribution to the discipline › Member of professional body
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Tribology Letters (Journal)
Ewen, J. (Peer reviewer)
2021 → …Activity: Publication peer-review and editorial roles › Editorial activity