Joe Milarvie

Meet Joe, Graduate Research Engineer at CFMS. Joe has shared his journey to becoming an engineer, what interested him about CFMS and some of the exciting projects he’s worked on since joining the team.

I joined CFMS in June of 2024. I graduated with a degree in physics and had recently finished a postgraduate theoretical physics course. In my degree project I created a simulation of a microelectromechanical material using finite element modelling. I also created several simulations, this time in python, for my postgraduate course. These included a group project to simulate a quantum computer and a project to simulate vortices in superconductors. With this history of building models, when I discovered CFMS, it was an obvious choice to apply so that I could continue on that path of learning and creating simulations. I’m glad to say; both have continued to happen!

When I first joined CFMS, I worked on a novel client project with Isaac and Lewis. I was eventually responsible for developing a major milestone on this project, which was used to demonstrate the tool’s capabilities.

Since my first project, I have worked on several other projects: COSINC, Timetable Modelling and ISLAA. I have learnt how to develop finite element models with MOOSE which was applied in the COSINC project, in addition to helping to build the initial COSINC pipeline. I was part of the initial team that continued the development of the train rescheduling tool for Avanti West Coast. I also took over the development of the RVE pipeline, recently presenting a poster on this work at the 2026 UK MOOSE Conference.

I have particularly enjoyed collaborative projects where I get to work with the team and customers. I’ve also recently had the opportunity to develop my own set of simulation tools around density functional theory for simulating atoms as an extension of the RVE pipeline. This ongoing project has been a fantastic opportunity to investigate and learn about an entirely new simulation method that allows me to utilise skills and knowledge that I last used all the way back in my degree and postgraduate project!