Programme Description

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. 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) and the more recent AgustaWestland Helicopters University Technology Centre in Vibration. 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 a £7.1 million Engineering and Physical Research Council (EPSRC) Doctoral Training Centre in Composites. This DTC programme will fund 50 PhD students (intake 10 per year commencing in October 2009) to work at the interface of engineering and science.

The vision is twofold: firstly 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. The DTC is different from conventional PhDs in that it is a 4 year programme involving a taught element to the first year comprising advanced technical units and transferable skills training, followed by the three-year research projects.

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.