Professor Dr Philip A Wilson is Emeritus Professor of Ship Dynamics within Engineering and Physical Sciences at the University of Southampton.

Philip is Emeritus Professor of Ship Dynamics; He studied Mathematics for his first degree at the University of Leicester and was subsequently awarded a DSc by the University of Leicester. Following work for Plessey Underwater systems he started in the University of Southampton in 1973 as a research fellow in the former Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics as part of the fledgling Ship Science group. He is a founder member of the former Department of Ship Science and a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Naval Architects. He is founding editor of the International Journal of Maritime Engineering, the Journal of Royal Institution of Naval Architects. He is a member of RINA as a council and Board of Trustees. He is the chair of the RINA publications committee. He has published more than 350 academic papers and has supervised 50 PhD students. He has appeared in such television programmes as Blue Peter, What Sank the Mary Rose? and as a judge in Scrapheap Challenge.

Philip has supported research supervsion for doctoral students in the following areas: seakeeping, ship manoeuvring, control of surface following ships, control of autonomous underwater vehicles, fluid dynamic flow in composite materials, collision avoidance techniques. Recent research has been funded on contract from the EU in the following areas: reduction of ship wash, updating the aspects of voyage data recorders (black boxes), autonomous underwater vehicle design and operation. A Tempus project is underway with the emphasis on masters and doctoral education training with Russia, Poland, Ukraine as partners. Within the UK funding is current from the RNLI in studying the performance of rigid inflatable boats, both the A and D classes. He has current interests in historic ships and the development of these during the past 500 years. Current research students are working on prediction of turbulence levels associated with flow around offshore structures; the optimisation of a fleet of AUVs; and the performance characteristics of RIBs. Finally the Lloyd’s register Foundation collegium is being funded this year for the third time with 25 researchers fully funded for a period of nine weeks to study Eco-cities.

Previously he was Director of MTEC, the multi university part-time degree programme run in conjunction with Newcastle. He lectured on Marine Hydrodynamics, Ship Control Systems and Basic Naval Architecture