Aerospace Engineering (PhD) – (Ph.D.)

The University of Bristol benefits from the concentration of aerospace industry in the south-west of England and a key feature of the Department's research is its close links with the industry - including Airbus, Rolls-Royce, AgustaWestland, BAE Systems and others further afield. The Department has also seen burgeoning links with the renewable energy industry.

Some of these research links have led to the establishment of formal technology partnerships, namely the Rolls-Royce University Technology Centre in Composites, the GE Aviation University Technology Strategic Partnership in Composites (with Oxford University), the AgustaWestland Helicopters University Technology Centre in Vibration, and more recently a composites technology partnership with Vestas Wind Systems. The result of this close relationship with industry, associated with substantial research funding from other UK and EU sources, is that the Department's research is industrially relevant and at the leading edge of the aerospace sector as reflected by the high proportion of research found to be internationally excellent and world-leading in the 2008 UK Government Research Assessment Exercise.

The Department holds over £15 million worth of research contracts in the fields of aerodynamics and fluid dynamics, dynamics and systems and composite materials and structures. The latter leads the University's Advanced Composites Centre for Innovation and Science (ACCIS) cross-faculty research theme, which has recently been awarded £7.1 million from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) for a Doctoral Training Centre (DTC) in Advanced Composites. The ACCIS DTC programme aims to train highly technical researchers to satisfy industry needs, reflected in the industrial support for 50% of the projects, and also to develop next generation multifunctional composite materials.

As well as the contracted research, the Department also undertakes a large amount of consultancy work and general research. The more fundamental research is supported from internal funds. This uninhibited approach to research ideas encourages collaborative projects with other departments and research centres throughout the University.

An indication of our research esteem is the recent selection by UK Government for ACCIS to lead the establishment of the UK National Composites Centre. The Centre is a key element of the UK Government's new Composites Strategy, and will be formed by the University and the South West Regional Development Agency (SWRDA) in partnership with industry, with funding of £12m from UK Government, and £4m from SWRDA. It will be an independent, open-access Centre to deliver world-class innovation in the design and rapid manufacture of composites that will enable widespread industrial exploitation. The Centre will form an internationally leading hub, linking activities across all sectors of the UK in research, education and training, technology transfer and incubation of new enterprises.

You may also be interested in our taught MSc in Integrated Aerospace Systems Design and our ACCIS DTC PhD.