Meet Tim Mullis – Motorsport Engineer and Tutor at NMA
Tell us a bit about your background!
Always motorsport, the academic side came as a bit of an accident to be honest when a team I was working for partnered with a university.
What is your area of expertise? How do you bring your experience and expertise to the NMA?
I’ve always worked in motorsport in data, systems, strategy and race engineering roles. My NMA modules reflect this and I look after the data acquisition, vehicle dynamics and strategy modules across the BSc and MSc courses.
What inspired you to pursue a career in motorsport?
Growing up I always wanted to be involved in motorsport – I guess watching the Grand Prix on a Sunday light the flame!
What has been the highlight of your career so far?
To be honest it would be wrong to identify a single highlight here – there have been lots and for many different reasons. There have also been some tremendous ‘lowlights’ too and those are difficult to deal with. I guess really the answer is that I’ve had a motorsport career – I’ve managed to pay the bills for 28 years doing the job I always wanted to.
When did you join the National Motorsport Academy, and what drew you to the role?
2018. The ‘distance learning’ concept…and in a similar way to the students who can combine work and study, I’m able to combine a flexible work pattern with racing commitments. I’d previously been at a traditional university – while this works well for many, distance learning is more suitable for some.
Can you tell us a bit about the modules you currently teach on?
I currently teach on a range of modules covering both the BSc and the MSc
Online BSc (Hons) Motorsport Engineering
Module 7 – Vehicle Dynamics & Data Acquisition.
Online MSc Advanced Motorsport Engineering
Module 3 – Advanced Vehicle Dynamics
Module 6 – Driver Coaching
Module 7 – Race Car Applications
Module 8 – Race Strategy Optimisation
BSc Module 7– this is a module looking at data acquisition and vehicle dynamics. ChassisSim software is also introduced and used in the assignment – a car model can be created and tested virtually. Setup changes can be evaluated via the output channels that can be viewed in data acquisition software.
MSc Advanced Motorsport Engineering
Module 3: this module develops some of the vehicle dynamics aspects introduced in the BSc M7…although it isn’t a prerequisite to have done ‘our’ BSc. ChassisSim software is used, and some of the more advanced features are introduced.
Module 6: this is our ‘Driver Coaching’ module for the Masters….using several pieces of software to analyse driver data with a view to making the driver faster. As well as the graphical data, video is also used making it easier to see the racing lines used by the drivers.
Module 7: a follow on to some of the vehicle dynamics concepts introduced in MSc M3, but using Matlab and Simulink to model some aspects of the dynamics.
Module 8: This module looks at some of the key concepts in the animal that is ‘strategy’. A much banded about term….have you ever noticed that engineers, team managers, drivers, pundits alike always mentions this thing called ‘strategy’? It’s either a good one or a bad one….it lost or won the race….and conveniently serves as a distraction topic so that an individual’s own performance doesn’t have to be discussed. But what actually is it, and what defines or controls it? This module raises some important questions to direct your thinking and understanding.
All my modules are informed by the experience I’ve gained racing. Case studies, data, current ideas and concepts all come from my work – directly industry relevant and current.
This isn’t about just about facilitating teaching but allowing students to develop deeper understanding about topics that will be useful in both securing and progressing a career in motorsport. Always remember, this isn’t and shouldn’t be ‘answer’ driven…..the ‘answer’ in motorsport isn’t always known or correct!
What do you enjoy most about working with NMA students?
Students come from a mixture of different backgrounds, but we do have a number already employed in motorsport, or working in broader engineering industries. That mix of backgrounds means I get some good questions and discussions which challenge my understanding.
What’s your earliest motorsport memory?
Sitting in an old F1 car at the NEC, I could reach the pedals or see out….but not both.
What is one thing that you can guarantee to each student that undertakes your module?
From the modules: Industry appropriate content
From me: I’ll always try to help you out where I can, if that needs to be out of ‘normal’ office hours we can arrange that….there are no normal hours in motorsport! On the flip side of that – you won’t get an immediate answer if I’m busy at the track, but I will get back to you in the evening!
Online BSc (Hons) Motorsport Engineering
course – Flexible Study.
Applications from non-NMA students and mature students welcome.
