Department of Engineering

Sir Arthur Marshall Institute for Aeronautics

The launch meeting for the Sir Arthur Marshall Institute for Aeronautics was held on Wednesday 28th November. This Institute has been formed to support teaching and research in Aeronautics within the University Engineering Department and to link and present the Department's traditional strengths in aerodynamics, aero-engines, structures, materials, electronics and design in a coherent interdisciplinary manner focussed on Aeronautical Engineering. Professor Bill Dawes explains: "Anyone looking at the Department's home pages would be forgiven for thinking that we did not work in the field of aeronautical engineering at all. In fact we undertake a wide range of projects related to the aeronautical industry but under separate headings such as control engineering, electronics, structural analysis and computational fluid dynamics. Examples include: the development of a robust controller for DERA's VAAC-Harrier, designed using novel control theory; a project to develop a field emission backlight for a 55x55mm avionics display; the modelling of high lift airfoils; investigation of flow noise and cabin acoustics using the techniques of computational fluid dynamics. The funding for the Institute donated by Sir Arthur Marshall will allow us to bring many of these research programs under the umbrella title of aeronautical engineering. We will begin by developing a web site to promote the research expertise developed in the Department under this heading, and will hope to obtain further industrial funding for projects related to aeronautics." His Majesty King Abdullah of Jordan has generously agreed to be the Royal Patron of the Institute and we have appointed our first Visiting Academic Fellows: Professor John Harvey (from Imperial College to work with Dr Babinsky); Professor Sanjay Lele (from Stanford to work with Dr Stewart Cant) Undergraduate teaching was enhanced this year, through Samia, with an excellent lecture on flight testing and a visit to Marshall's organised by Terry Holloway. This supported our undergraduate teaching in the MEng year on flight stability and control.The chief test pilot described a wide range of activities and showed some amazing film of flow visualisation during various flight tests, including in-flight refuelling.

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