Postgraduate Study

The Department

The Department of Aeronautical and Automotive Engineering is a specialist centre within the UK’s largest engineering university in the UK.

It is located in modern, purpose built premises with excellent laboratories and equipment that include a fully-anechoic chamber, a large-section wind tunnel and a vehicle simulator.

Rated 9th for Aeronautical Engineering and 4th for Mechanical Engineering

The Times Good University Guide 2012

The Department has some 30 academic staff and nearly 200 postgraduate students on taught and research programmes.

In the Government’s External Subject Review, the Department was awarded an excellent score (23/24) for the quality of its teaching. In the most recent Research Assessment Exercise 95% of the Department’s research work was assessed to be of an “international standard”.

“My Department is exceptional and clearly sets out to make life better for its researchers and accommodate the specific needs of an individual’s research.”

Chris Harvey, PhD

The Department has five major research groups working across the technologies of automotive and  aeronautical engineering.

Each group works on a variety of research topics – ranging from the development of new low emissions combustion systems for gas turbine engines through to fundamental investigations into the operation of hydrogen powered fuel cells.

Each group keeps their work topical through close links with industry. Current and recent collaborations have been with BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce, Ford Motor Company, Caterpillar, Lotus Cars, Bentley Cars and QinetiQ.

The Department hosts the Rolls-Royce University Technology Centre (UTC) in Combustion Aerodynamics and the Caterpillar Innovation and Research Centre (IRC) in engine systems.