I really liked the campus environment and the feel and size of the town when I visited on the Open Day. The surrounding countryside was also a factor as I am a keen cyclist/mountain biker. Other universities I looked were very spread out over a city, or the campuses didn’t feel very cohesive.

The most interesting things for me during my undergraduate degree was the trip to MIRA for a week of practical work. It was great to be able to apply the work in the lectures to the real-world data that we had defined the tests for. It was also fantastic to be able to use a full-scale wind tunnel to get a real appreciation for what small changes to an automotive shape can do to the resulting forces. Ultimately it was my experience in the wind tunnel at MIRA that made me decide I wanted to go into experimental aerodynamics, with a PhD the clearest way to do that from the automotive engineering course.

For my undergraduate degree, my final year project was on rear end self-soiling (how cars get dirty). From my experience in the full-scale wind tunnel at MIRA during MIRA week I knew I wanted to pursue experimental aerodynamics as I enjoyed the practical side of engineering. I knew that the supervisor of this project was the only one offering automotive experimental aerodynamics and this was the area that I wanted to pursue; I chose the supervisor first, then the project. This project was also 100% experimental, supported by a PhD student looking to make his mark in this area of research and an industrial sponsor offering help where they could.